Anatomy of a protest: From a simple march to a national fight

[PeaceNikki]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_3c7f9cd2-4274-11e0-8f25-001cc4c002e0.html?mode=story

On Feb. 7, with Wisconsin united in the afterglow of a Green Bay Packers victory in the Super Bowl, brand-new Gov. Scott Walker convened a dinner meeting of his Cabinet at the Governor's Mansion.

Walker held up a photo of President Ronald Reagan, who had famously fired striking air-traffic controllers, and said his plan to sweep away decades of protections for state public employees in a stop-gap budget bill represented "our time to change the course of history."
"It was kind of the last hurrah before we dropped the bomb," he said.

The budget-repair bill, which would strip most collective-bargaining rights from 175,000 public-sector workers while imposing immediate benefits concessions, went public four days later. Walker, a Republican, called for passage in the GOP-controlled Legislature within a week.

Word of the bill's union provisions started to trickle out in press reports Thursday night, which for union chiefs and organizers began what one described as "a freakout of a long weekend."

Great story - please take a moment and read the whole piece at the link.