Wisconsin’s Public Union Battle: 5 years later

Five years ago today, thousands of patriots rallied in Madison, Wisconsin to send a message that they supported common sense collective bargaining reforms. American Majority Wisconsin was new to the conservative landscape, but was able to bring together tea party groups and leaders from across Wisconsin to send a unified message. Wisconsin’s finances were on the brink, with the state facing a $3.6 billion deficit due to out of control government spending. The Budget Repair Bill (which became Act 10 when it was signed into law) sought to close this deficit through reforming Wisconsin’s arcane collective bargaining laws. Flash forward five years and Wisconsin has saved more than $5 Billion because of this reform. American Majority opened a Wisconsin chapter in October 2010. Conservatives won big in November 2010 and promised to cut spending and balance the budget. When Governor Walker proposed his reforms on February 11, 2011, Big Labor went berserk. They rushed to Madison to protest. From fake doctor’s sick notes, to closing public schools because teachers’ failed to show up, to busing in union workers from other states, the Left pulled out all the stops. The media focused all of their attention on the pushback from Big Labor and ignored the support for reforms. So we decided to do something about it that they couldn’t ignore.

On February 17, Dave Westlake and others initially came up with the idea of having a rally and we quickly jumped on board and agreed to organize the rally. We hoped we could get hundreds to show up and were thrilled when conservative speakers and groups reached out to us to help. Herman Cain, the late Andrew Breitbart, Ned Ryun, New York Times Bestselling Author Brad Thor, Joe the Plumber, Blogger Jim Hoft, Vicki McKenna, and more quickly lined up to speak. 10,000 Conservatives Disrupt Liberal Media Narrative The Rally was a huge success with more than 10,000 patriots attending and showing the world their support for taking on public sector union reforms. It was a much needed boost to the legislation and disrupted the liberal media narrative that all of Wisconsin was against the reforms. I look back fondly on what we were able to accomplish and the hard work of the American Majority team, like Heather Weininger, that made it all possible.

The legislation ultimately passed the next month and recalls ensued. Yet at the end of the day, these reforms led the way to a new boldness to take on the controversial issues and propose conservative solutions. Last week, the MacIver Institute reported that Wisconsin taxpayers have saved $5.24 billion as a result of Act 10. Moving Forward: Learn from the Left Moving forward, lessons we can glean from these fights are important. First, conservatives need to find and support bold conservative reformers who are willing to take on the status quo and reduce government spending. Second, the grassroots can be incredibly powerful and protect those who boldly lead.

The grassroots cannot be taken for granted. Third, conservatives must learn from the Left and beat them at their own game. We can organize and mobilize patriots to speak powerfully and set the narrative. There is much more work to be dofne in Wisconsin and in every state of this great nation. Let’s redouble our efforts to improve our country for future generations.