Georgia Union Members Rally in Support of Wisconsin Workers

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Washington Wire

• • February 23, 2011, 6:37 PM ET

By Cameron McWhirter

ATLANTA–Hundreds of union members and their supporters gathered on the steps of Georgia’s capitol today to rally in support of public unions in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere.

Union workers and supporters rally outside the State Capitol in Atlanta Wednesday in solidarity with union workers in Wisconsin and Ohio. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

“Once they take down state unions in Wisconsin, then they will go after everyone else,” said 35-year-old Eric Bass, a member of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers for a decade.
“We work 60-hour weeks,” said Mr. Bass, of Senoia, Ga. “I don’t understand why they are attacking us.”
Union supporters in this right-to-work state chanted “we are the union” and other slogans supporting Wisconsin unions and condemning Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, who is pushing for legislation that would end collective bargaining for his state’s public unions.
Many in the crowd in Atlanta said the legislation was part of a concerted effort by conservatives to weaken unions – traditionally strong supporters of the Democratic Party – in advance of the 2012 election.
About 75 people who supported Mr. Walker’s efforts gathered for a counter-protest across the street.
“The government unions are one wrung above welfare,” said Jean Blaney, 65, of Fayetteville, Ga. Ms. Blaney said she was in a flight attendants union in Illinois for years and disliked the experience.
“I didn’t need to be in a union,” she said. “I was a good worker.”
It is unlikely that a Wisconsin-type showdown will occur in Georgia. Like many southern states, the Peach State is a right-to-work state, meaning labor agreements can’t require all workers to join unions or pay dues. It has one of the lowest union membership rates in the nation, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics.