Three updates from Wisconsin on recent actions and demos planned for the upcoming week to fight back against budget cuts and the attacks on workers and unions:

1. Civil Disobedience at the Joint Finance Committee hearing in Madison, Wisconsin (6-02-11)

2. (From Defend Wisconsin) “Join the Walkerville – a ‘city’ of tents around the Capitol square calling attention to the devastating state budget cuts to education, health care and other programs benefiting Wisconsin’s working families.
The Hoovervilles of the Great Depression were marks of the failed policies of unregulated speculation which helped lead to the collapse of financial markets. The establishment of a Walkerville marks the failure of a budget to provide for its citizens and for the state.
The action near the Capitol will begin the evening of Saturday, June 4, at 7 p.m. and will continue throughout the state budget process. Each day will focus on one area that will be harmed by the governor’s extreme budget.”

Saturday June 4 – Walkerville Tent City Kickoff
* 7:00 p.m. tent city opens
* 7:30 p.m. Briefing on Tent city
* 7:30-9:00 open mike event (why I am here)
Sunday June 5 – K12 Education
* 3-5 Press Kick off of Tent City with communal meal (teachers and education support professionals)
* 9:00 p.m. movie Freedom Riders
Monday June 6- Public Services
* 11:30 am March Against the Budget
* 12:00 pm and 7pm, Program (state workers/Council 1, local/county services, police and fire)
Tuesday June 7 – Healthcare
* 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
* 1:00 pm Press conference at the Capitol on immigration
Wednesday June 8- Higher Ed
* 12:00pm and 7pm, Program (including technical college members)
Thursday June 9- Democracy/Corporate Power
* 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
* 9:00 pm Screening of Too big to Fail with speaker
Friday June 10 – Anything Goes Friday
* 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
Saturday June 11 – Social & Economic Justice
* 12:00pm and 7pm, Program
3. June 4th March in Milwaukee to Protest Massive Cuts in Schools — Public Ed is a Civil Right!
Milwaukeeans will march Saturday, June 4, in recognition of the more than 80,000 Milwaukee Public School students who will lose math and reading programs, small-class sizes, nurses, arts programming, librarians and classroom teachers this September, when Gov. Scott Walker’s $1.6 billion cut to Wisconsin public schools takes effect.
Activists, parents, teachers and students begin the “Our Kids Count” march and rally at 11 a.m. at MacDowell Montessori, 17th and Highland Streets. The 2.5-mile march crosses the 16th Street Bridge. It ends with a rally at Forest Home Elementary, Forest Home and 15th streets, 1 p.m.
The honorable Vel Phillips and members of the NAACP Youth Council who marched during Milwaukee’s Open Housing Movement will lead the march with MICAH Pres. Rev. Willie Brisco and I Love My Public School founder Jasmine Alinder.
“I am marching to emphasize MICAH’s commitment to great community schools,” says Rev. Brisco. “We love our kids and we must support their public schools. We march as a coalition of churches, schools, social-justice groups, parents and teachers. Unity and joint effort is the only way to get on the right track and offer all our children access to the best education – so that not one of them is left behind.”
“Education is our civil rights issues,” says Alinder, whose daughter attends the district’s only two-way bilingual school. “Despite the impending passage of the state’s budget, we want our children to know that we will keep fighting for those rights because every child deserves access to an excellent public education and the opportunity for a bright future.”
Student musicians, athletes, and artists will perform – demonstrating the power of arts and extra-curricular programming and putting a face on the losses that are certain under Gov. Walker’s near-final budget cuts.
Officials from both parties have been invited to the march. Some attendees of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin State Convention will join the march as that convention draws to a close Saturday morning.
“Like many, I am marching because I believe that the success of our community and state depends on our commitment to providing the next generation with the same or better educational opportunities than what we enjoyed,” says State Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee).
Updates on the rally can be found at www.ilovemypublicschool.com, micah.org and on facebook – search “Civil Rights March for Public Education.” Brisco and Alinder will appear Wednesday, June 1, on “Evening Rush,” with Earl Ingram, 3-6 p.m. on WMCS 1290 News/Talk Radio.
“Our Kids Count” march and rally for public education is sponsored by MICAH, Wisconsin Citizen Action, I Love My Public School, Hands Across the Viaduct, Council for the Spanish Speaking, Milwaukee City Council PTA, Milwaukee Families for School Funding, and Voces de la Frontera.