March 23, 2011

WASHINGTON, D.C.--More than 1,000 labor activists, union organizers and students protested a fundraiser organized by Wisconsin Republicans--including state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald and Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald--on March 11.

The fundraiser took place at the BGR Group offices, a major lobbying firm co-founded by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour. The cost to attend the affair was $1,000 to get into the door, $2,500 for sponsors and $5,000 for hosts.

The call to action was organized by a wide array of supporting organizations to show solidarity for Wisconsin workers and to pressure Gov. Scott Walker to rescind the recently passed bill stripping Wisconsin public workers of their collective bargaining rights. Among the 11 sponsoring organizations were the D.C. branch of the International Socialist Organization, the AFL-CIO, Moveon.org, AFSCME and CodePink. Also represented were New Jersey transit workers, Wisconsin firefighters, sheet metal workers and Teamsters.

The high-energy rally started with a picket that wrapped around multiple blocks in front of the BGR Group offices. Chants from the crowd included: "What's disgusting? Union-busting" and "Hey Obama, what do you say? They can't take our rights away."

After about an hour of the picket, hundreds of activists forced their way into the BGR building to occupy the lobby--while hundreds more kept up the energetic picket outside. Inside the building, a banner reading "Respect Workers' Rights" was hung from the banister of a large set of stairs leading up to the fourth floor, where the fundraiser was taking place.

The enthusiastic and passionate crowd looked strikingly similar, though smaller, to the occupation of the state Capitol by Wisconsin workers and students that began in February.

After some loud and angry chanting, Joslyn Williams, president of the D.C. AFL-CIO Council and member of AFSCME Local 2477, declared an occupation of the building and encouraged Wisconsinites among the crowd to speak. Approximately 10 people stepped up to express their deep solidarity and appreciation for D.C. workers coming out to protest the fundraiser.

After the building occupation ended, the protest flowed back outside to join the rally in front of the building, with a majority of the crowd blocking the street during the evening commute. The crowd resisted the cops demand for them to move off the street and onto the sidewalk with chants such as "Whose streets? Our streets!"

With drums and chants still going strong, more than 1,000 people then marched spontaneously to the White House. This was a rare scene--a labor rally in front of the White House while a Democrat is in office.

Around 100 to 200 people decided to march to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce building across the street from the White House to voice their opinion against that anti-worker organization. They immediately occupied the lobby with loud chanting and drumming, and were nearly locked inside the building by security officers sent by the Chamber. But protesters outside prevented the door from being closed, while chanting, "Let them out, Let them out!" All along, hundreds of protesters also remained in front of the BGR office.

According to Dena Briscoe, a member of the American Postal Workers Union Local 140:

This was important, energizing and effective at getting the message out that we should not be deprived of workers' rights by certain leaders of this country. What's going on in Wisconsin--our goal is to stop that and see that it doesn't spread. This rally was very energizing for me. If one worker or union is harmed, all unions are harmed. I'm hoping this has woken up a sleeping giant. I don't think they expected that.

The protest, occupation and march were extremely inspiring and showed the much-needed and growing solidarity emerging between workers across the nation--as well as a strong sense of confidence and an increasingly combative nature among union members and labor activists who are willing to stand up for their rights.