It Started in Wisconsin by Mari Jo Buhle

Author:Mari Jo Buhle [Buhle, Mari Jo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Verso Books
Published: 2012-05-29T23:00:00+00:00

By Dave Poklinkowski

The Wisconsin rebellion was in many ways a leaderless rebellion. The big unions tended to call the demonstrations (sometimes reluctantly, with a push from the smaller unions and their rank-and-file) and had the resources to set the stage. People turned out in numbers that exceeded several hundred thousand over two months. Indeed, two rallies were attended by 100,000 each. A mass movement was developing. The rally that packed the streets of the Capitol Square—shoulder to shoulder around the entire capitol—was amazing and unforgettable. I found myself marching for a while next to Ed Hill, president of the International Union of Electrical Workers (IBEW); I’m president and business manager of IBEW Local 2304. He had flown in because “this is the place to be, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.” The turnout was the kind that the forces of reaction and repression fear. But it was not my most memorable demonstration.

The power and the energy of the occupation of the capitol itself provided life-changing experiences for many; 5,000 to 10,000 citizens from nearly all walks of life were inside the capitol—warm and humid from all the humanity—chanting, “This is what democracy looks like.” That was a moment that historians can only imagine, the sort of event from days long ago that they try to describe. The “people’s house” provided warmth and immediate sanctuary from the outside cold; its architectural beauty and the spirit of the people inside pulled me and everyone else in. As a young cop imported for duty from Manitowoc said to me one evening as we were both taking it all in, “It’s truly inspirational.” And after a short, thoughtful hesitation he added, “And we know we are next.” Solidarity, born through struggle, was tearing away the masks of the oppressors.

But if you want to know my very best day, it would have been one of the bitter cold ones, the kind you really had to bundle up for. I had learned from experience, so I had on thick wool socks inside my Sorel boots—for rallies on days like these, you had to dress like you were going to a Packer game in January. In these first few weeks of the struggle, it was the afternoon rally where the featured guest to be thanked was Tom Morello (aka The Nightwatchman from Rage Against the Machine).1 My favorite band would have to be The Clash, so Tom’s arrival was a very good thing for this struggle.

I’ve always thought that the national anthem should be Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land.” We sang it in the public schools as kids in Manitowoc (another reason, obviously, for the corporate right-wing to cut public education). Can you imagine the people of America all singing this song at every sporting event instead of “The Star-Spangled Banner”? On this day the building trades were the featured organizers of the rally, as the unions tended to take turns providing organizational and financial leadership for the many rallies that were staged. The breadth and depth of the solidarity in the first two months of the struggle were truly amazing.

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