Rev. Jesse Jackson Speaks in Wisconsin for Workers Rights

Rev. Jesse Jackson appeared in Milwaukee Thursday night to help plan a counter-attack to workers rights that are under fire in the state of Wisconsin. Just a few hours before Jackson's speech, the state's legislators passed a law stripping public employees of nearly all of their rights to collective bargaining. Rev. Jackson said that the coming State Supreme Court election is an opportunity for the voters of Milwaukee to take a stand and have their rights protected once again.

"All eyes are on Milwaukee," said Jackson. "The cameras are in Madison, the votes are in Milwaukee." "That's how scared everyone is," she said. "When this collective bargaining ends, they can do whatever they want."

The election takes place on April 5th and could have a profound impact on how things happen in the state of Wisconsin. As it stands, the State Supreme Court has a four-justice conservative majority, but that majority could change with the April election. If someone legally challenges the Wisconsin labor legislation, the new face of the court could make a huge difference.

"This is what democracy looks like," Rev. Jackson told the crowd.

Both Rev. Jesse Jackson and Rev. Al Sharpton are heavily involved in the national fight to protect workers' rights. Rev. Sharpton was recently in Ohio, another state that is pushing to end collective bargaining rights for public employees. The moves in Ohio and Wisconsin are part of a nation-wide effort to cut the power of unions as a remedy to state budgetary problems. Republican leadership, who are not nearly as likely to end tax cuts to businesses or the wealthy, have worked overtime to ensure that working class Americans pay the bill for the financial irresponsibility on Wall Street.

The presence of Rev. Jackson and Rev. Sharpton in the labor battles taking place across the nation are symbols of the way Civil Rights has evolved in our country. Racial barriers still exist in America and we must continue to fight them. But more importantly, there is a growing battle between the rich and the poor, where America's wealthy have been allowed to dominate the working class for the last 30 years. Since the Reagan era, where taxes were cut for the wealthy and large corporations, American workers have consistently gotten the short end of the economic stick. Additionally, recent efforts to globalize the American workforce has led to jobs leaving the United States at lightning fast speeds.

As our haggling lawmakers in Washington do all they can to fight our nation into bankruptcy, it should be noted that our current course of action may lead to our nation's demise. Capitalism has been allowed to run unregulated, leading to pharmaceutical companies having the right to decide who lives or dies, and a national debt level that is clearly unsustainable. All the while, the weakest among us (the American worker) has very little representation in Congress, as corporate money has come to define our national priorities. As much as I hate having to admit it, I don't feel so good about America's economic future.