Unions show support for Wisconsin, Tea Party shows support for Gov. Walker
Tea Party members at the Iowa Capitol on February 22nd showing their support for the Governor of Wisconsin (photo courtesy Reg Randau)
With reports of how many pro-union supporters reached the Iowa State Capitol yesterday varying greatly, it’s evident that their numbers were greater than those of the Tea Party that showed up in support of the Wisconsin Governor.
Earlier this week we started off with our question of the week. “Who do you stand with in Wisconsin’s budget battle?” The voting is currently 60% in favor of Governor Walker of Wisconsin, while the Unions garnered 37% of the vote. Just 3% are unsure at this time of who they support.
In the latest Rasmussen Poll on the subject, 48% agree more with the Republican Governor in this debate. 38% agree with the Union and 14% are yet undecided on their position.
Union members buses arrive at the foot of the Iowa Capitol for Tuesdays rally in Des Moines (photo courtesy Reg Randau)
President FDR was against collective bargaining for public worker unions, while he supported the measure for the private sector unions.
Reg Randau, an Oskaloosa Resident, attended the rally yesterday and listened to both sides. Randau stated that, as the union members were being bused in, “Union members called the Tea Party group racists and scum bags. Dared us to come up the hill.”
Randau did just that saying, “I went up the hill and listened to the unions.”
Woodrow Spaur, another local resident, said why he went to the rally with the Tea Party. “I went to the support rally to support the Governor of Wisconsin and to tell these people we’re broke, the country is broke, and states are broke and we cannot sustain the debt we have.”
Spaur went on to say, “The tension was high. All of us drove and paid our own way. They bused in bus loads of Union people who got off the buses yelling F bombs at us and flipping us off. One guy was so into cussing us out he fell up the stairs then got up and F bombed and flipped us off; but it was worth the trip just for that.”
I asked Randau why he believes the Unions are wrong in this situation. “Even FDR said collective bargaining by govt employees is not tolerable. They pay no part of their insurance, little of their retirement, have more days off and higher pay than the average Iowan and produce nothing. Some jobs are needed; many only work a few hrs a day.”
Spaur went on to say that he’s not totally against unions, “I know there are some unions that are good but some of the ones there are pricing themselves out of jobs. And they had signs saying ‘we’re fighting to keep good jobs here.’ It don’t make sense to me how they can claim that and yet don’t notice lots of jobs are going out of the country for cheaper labor.”
Pro-union supporters marched on the Iowa Capitol Tuesday to show support for Wisconsin's union (photo courtesy Reg Randau)
The Unions were there to show their support for their counterparts in Wisconsin, and now other states such as Ohio. The Unions have made the concessions that Governor Walker did ask for, other than with collective bargaining. Read Wiki’s definition of collective bargaining for further insight on the issue.
The reports of how many Union people were on hand varies wildly from source to source, with estimates ranging from 400 to over 1,000. One thing is for sure, they had more on hand then the Tea Party did; with estimates going as high as 120. The Unions showed up in 8 or more chartered buses while most of the Tea Party people drove themselves or rode with a friend.
Even with both sides sharply divided on the issue, and their stance towards each other heated at times, everyone was still able to exercise their right to freely assemble that day. This gives some hope that our Republic can continue to pull itself out of, what many agree is, the worst financial times since the Great Depression.
