Solidarity Rally for Wisconsin at City Hall

Julia Taveras

A group of Union workers rallied on City Hall this Wednesday morning to show their support for workers in Wisconin/Wisconsin workers. who are faced with a bill proposed by Governor Scott Walker that would cut worker’s benefits.

“We’re going to fight tooth to nail over what we’ve won over the years!” says Joe Rivera, 52, Lieutenant of the NYC Fire Dept. in response to the proposed bill. He was one of the many standing outside on a chilly morning to protest against the bill that, according to The New York Times, would “require public workers to pay more for their health insurance and pensions, effectively cutting the take-home pay of many by around 7 percent.” The bill would also threaten collective bargaining for union workers in Wisconsin.

A press conference accompanied the rally, in which Jack Ahearn, President of the NYC Central Labor Council, amongst other officials spoke. “Dismantling the right to collectively bargain” said Ahearan “seeks to destroy the very principle many union organizers literally gave their lives to achieve.” Many members of Firefighters and Police Unions agreed with Ahearan’s words.

One of the biggest controversies about the bill that is causing even workers in New York to be riled up is that Governor Walker’s proposal, according to a report by The Huffington Post, would actually put at risk 46.6 out of 74 million dollars in Wisconsin’s federal funding. “They take your benefits and cover it up with ‘the health care crisis’” says Rivera.

Herman Meritt, 60, retired school principal who was present at the rally as well, emphasized how important it is for Union members and the general community to stand together: “The people in this city need to understand that what happened to them could happen to us.” He and his peers are alongside Wisconsin’s workers, “with a mayor like Bloomberg, who’s trying to break Unions in New York, we don’t want this to build momentum.”