Librarian Refuses to Be Scott Walker’s Scapegoat

Librarians protest Wisconsin Republican attacks on workers.

by James Parks, Mar 12, 2011

Audrey Barbakoff, a librarian at the Milwaukee Public Library, is being anything but quiet. In a column in American Libraries Magazine, she says the vilification of public workers—teachers, fire fighters, police officers, nurses and, yes, even librarians—could cause immeasurable long-term damage beyond the loss of jobs and the middle-class lifestyle.

She says when Gov. Scott Walker and others plant the notion that public employees only work for the benefits, they ignore the real sacrifices they make and tremendous good they do every day. And public workers need to speak out loudly about their value to their communities:

I won’t apologize for making a living wage, for being able to visit a doctor when I need one, or for choosing a job that will help me build adequate retirement savings. I deserve and expect those things….But that isn’t why I became a librarian….I became one because I wanted to give.

We need to speak up about the value we bring to our communities. We need to have a presence at community meetings, in the newspapers and—should it come to that—at protests.

Bad budgets and bad legislation will hurt us for a time. Silent acquiescence to the idea we are valueless to our communities will hurt us forever.

PROMISES, PROMISES: Obama Shies Away from Protests

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Mar 12, 5:51 PM EST
By SAM HANANEL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Union leaders urged Vice President Joe Biden during a White House meeting last month to go to Wisconsin and rally the faithful in their fight against Gov. Scott Walker's move to curtail collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

Request rebuffed, they asked for Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

So far, however, the White House has stayed away from any trips to Madison, the state capital, or other states in the throes of union battles. The Obama administration is treading carefully on the contentious political issue that has led to a national debate over the power that public sector unions wield in negotiating wages and benefits.

A few labor leaders have complained openly that President Barack Obama is ignoring a campaign pledge he made to stand with unions; most others say his public comments have been powerful enough.

Wis. Labor Protesters Say Next Fight at the Polls

AP Photo/Morry Gash

Mar 13, 1:48 AM EST
By TODD RICHMOND
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Clogging the Wisconsin Capitol grounds and screaming angry chants, tens of thousands of undaunted pro-labor protesters descended on Madison again Saturday and vowed to focus on future elections now that contentious cuts to public worker union rights have become law.

Protests have rocked the Capitol almost every day since Gov. Scott Walker proposed taking nearly all collective bargaining rights away from public workers, but the largest came a day after the governor signed the measure into law. Madison Police estimated the crowd at 85,000 to 100,000 people - along with 50 tractors and one donkey - by late afternoon. No one was arrested.

Speakers delivered angry diatribes while the crowd carried signs comparing Walker to dictators and yelled thunderous chants of "this is what democracy looks like."

Lockout, Court Cases Put Popular NFL on Hold

Mar 13, 6:19 AM EDT
By HOWARD FENDRICH
AP Pro Football Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Welcome to The NFL Lockout.

As far back as May 2008, it became a possibility.

As recently as a week ago - when owners and players agreed to extend the deadline for a new collective bargaining agreement - Commissioner Roger Goodell made it sound avoidable.

And yet here we are: The country's most popular sport - water-cooler fodder for six months of Mondays; generator of more than $9 billion in annual revenues; responsible for the two most-watched programs in U.S. TV history, the 2010 and 2011 Super Bowls - is stuck in a holding pattern, thanks to its first work stoppage in nearly a quarter of a century.

The owners imposed a lockout on the players Saturday, essentially shutting down operations. That came hours after talks broke off and the union dissolved itself, meaning players no longer are protected under labor law but instead are now allowed to take their chances in federal court under antitrust law. Nine NFL players, including superstar quarterbacks Tom Brady, Peyton Manning and Drew Brees, and one college player headed for the pros filed a class-action lawsuit in Minnesota and asked for a preliminary injunction to block a lockout, even before it went into effect.