'Season of unrest' at Capitol
Written by
Chas Sisk
THE TENNESSEAN
Seven people were arrested at the state Capitol on Tuesday after a lunchtime rally organized by labor leaders to oppose legislation aimed at unions.
Police forcibly removed all seven people from a committee room around 3:30 p.m., after a larger group rose from the audience and disrupted a meeting with chants.
The seven were charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest, both misdemeanors. They were handcuffed and taken to Metro jail shortly before 5 p.m., where they would be given the opportunity to post bond, said Col. Tracy Trott, head of the Tennessee Highway Patrol, which is responsible for security at the Capitol.Associates identified the protesters as six members of the University of Memphis' Progressive Student Alliance and Ash-Lee Henderson, an advocate with Chattanooga Organized for Action. Henderson had spoken at the rally earlier in the day.
The arrests capped a heated day at the Capitol that began with a rally on Legislative Plaza that drew hundreds of people from across the state and the Southeast. More than a dozen unions took part in the event to protest a bill that would strip the state's teachers union of its ability to negotiate contracts with local school districts and other measures that they said would weaken unions in the state.
The hourlong event was the latest in a string of rallies, including a march 10 days ago that brought thousands to the Capitol. The events show broad opposition to the collective-bargaining bill and to other measures in the legislature that would limit the power of unions to sign up new members and contribute to campaigns, participants said.
"It shows the legislators — it shows the public —that we're here and we're not going to go away," said Jerry Lee, state president for the AFL-CIO and an organizer of the event.
The rally ended with a crowd being turned away at the entrance to the state Capitol as they tried to deliver a response to Gov. Bill Haslam's State of the State address to the governor. Instead, many made their way to committee rooms and the offices of state lawmakers.
"I think the focus should be on the thousands of other people, union members, that were up on the plaza, asking for Governor Haslam and the Tennessee General Assembly to create quality jobs," said Mary Mancini, executive director of Tennessee Citizen Action, one of the rally's organizers.
Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey said in a statement that the legislature "will not be intimidated by nomadic bands of professional agitators on spring break bent on disruption."
"We talk through our differences here," Ramsey said. "Tennessee is not Wisconsin."
Largest weekday rally
The lunchtime rally appeared to be the biggest weekday event so far by groups opposed to the legislature's union legislation.Members of most major unions were clearly present in the crowd, but the event also drew student groups and civil-rights activists from around the state.
"I'm part of a family that believes, if you see a good fight, you get in it," said Kwame Lillard, 71, a retired environmental engineer from Bordeaux. "We're going to create a new generation of young people who will move us much higher in the civil-rights movement and the union."
Later, about three dozen college-age people stood up in the audience of a Senate Commerce Committee meeting and began shouting chants at lawmakers.
Other activists joined in, but after about 20 minutes the crowd began to dwindle, leaving only a smaller core group that shouted questions at senators who remained behind the dais. The group indicated that they were disappointed that lawmakers, who were hearing legislation dealing with rural telecommunications when the protest started, had not taken up any of the union bills.
Police moved in, and seven activists locked arms and fell to the floor. They were carried out one by one to a side room, where they were detained for about an hour before being taken to jail.
Tamara Henderson, who identified herself as Ash-Lee Henderson's mother, sat outside the room until the protesters were moved. Later, she expressed distress about the arrest but supported her actions.
"There's no doubt to me that Ash-Lee is courageous," she said. "I think that a lot of people in Chattanooga would be proud of her; Tennesseans would be proud of her."
The arrests were the first in some time at the Capitol.
"We haven't had it in quite a few years," said Trott, "but this seems to be the season of unrest, and we'll plan accordingly and deal with it."
Rosie Dunbar shows her support for workers' rights during a rally on Legislative Plaza. Hundreds of people turned out to oppose legislation aimed at unions. / GEORGE WALKER IV / THE TENNESSEAN
A state trooper pulls a pro-labor protesters who had disrupted a Senate Commerce Committee meeting in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday, March 15, 2011. Seven protesters were later charged with disorderly conduct and resisting arrest.
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