“It’s Up to Us to Save Ourselves”: What Wisconsin is Teaching Us
by Jill Jacobs | Feb. 23, 2011 | Religion Dispatches
Almost exactly a century ago, on March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory went up in flames, killing 146 people, mostly immigrant women workers. The management had locked exit doors and stairwells to prevent workers from leaving early. As a result, workers trying to escape the fire were forced to jump from as high as the tenth floor, or simply to wait and smolder to death.
Governor Walker and his billionaire supporters are on the verge of destroying the labor movement in America. If that happens, workers will lose most negotiating power, wages will fall, and many more of us will lose our health insurance and other benefits. If Rose Schneiderman were here today, she would tell us, “It’s up to us to save ourselves.”
From the Opinion column of Religion Dispatches. This demonstrates what can make religion relevant again in a consumer culture.
What Religion Looks Like, Wisconsin Edition
by Kim Bobo | Religion Dispatches | Feb. 23, 2011
“Tell me what religion looks like.”
“This is what religion looks like!”
So chanted the 75 religious leaders who marched into Wisconsin’s Capitol in Madison on Tuesday, February 22, in support of the state workers who are opposing Governor Walker’s proposal to strip public sector workers of collective bargaining rights under the guise of balancing the budget. The workers have already agreed to many of the proposed salary and benefit reductions—they’re fighting to retain a voice in decisions through their unions and the collective bargaining process.
The proposals are so draconian and such clear violations of religious teachings in support of workers’ rights to organize and engage in collective bargaining that Wisconsin religious leaders across faith traditions have issued public statements, sent letters to the Governor and legislators, and are participating in rallies and public events.