Thousands protest anti-labor bill in U.S.

March 8, 2011 - 0:0

Thousands of people have taken to the streets in the U.S. State of Wisconsin to demonstrate against Governor Scott Walker's anti-union plans.

Thousands of protesters went to the state capitol in the city of Madison to voice their opposition to Walker's bill on Sunday.
If the bill is approved, it will prevent workers from bargaining for retirement and health care benefits, AP reported.
The Sunday protest march was the second massive rally in Wisconsin over the weekend. On Saturday, thousands of protesters had waged another mass rally in state capital Madison as well.
Liberal filmmaker Michael Moore joined the Saturday rally in Wisconsin. “America is not broke” he said, urging Americans not to give up in the struggle against Walker's bill.
The Republican governor has said that the legislation is aimed at fixing the state's budget deficit. However, critics of the plan say it will ultimately weaken the influence and power of unions, which have traditionally served as the key voting bloc for Democratic candidates during elections.
Walker has offered no compromise and has threatened to issue nearly 1,500 layoff notices if the 14 Senate Democrats, who left the state to Illinois in efforts to block a vote on the budget bill, fail to return for the final vote.
Protests have been on the rise for more than two weeks since newly-elected Walker set forth a proposal rescinding almost all collective bargaining rights for most public employee unions.
Political analysts in the U.S. say that protesters are unable to get their message across due to the lack of proper coverage by media companies such as Fox News and CNN, which heavily depend on high revenues from subscriptions and commercials.
The U.S. mainstream media blackout is intended to minimize the number of protesters rallying against the anti-union bill in Wisconsin and ultimately devalue 'the people,' highlighted in the U.S. Constitution.
CNN's income from its subscription rights in 2009 alone was $578.8 million, while Fox News made $569.5 million.
(Source: Press TV)