Last week, 150 members of the Palermo Workers Union and their allies marched 18 miles from the Palermo's Pizza plant in Milwaukee to the Mequon, Wis., home of Palermo’s co-owner Angelo Fallucca to demand that he and his brother and co-owner, Giacomo, meet with them in their ongoing dispute over workers’ rights. A year ago, the Falluccas fired nearly 100 workers who were organizing to improve working conditions at the Palermo’s factory. More than 50 groups co-sponsored the March for a Slice of Justice.

Fast food workers in Milwaukee, Wis., became the latest to join a nation-wide movement for a living wage by walking off the job on Wednesday and calling for both an increase in wages and the recognition of their right to form a union free from employer harassment or retaliation.  Hundreds of workers joined the walkout, leaving restaurants like McDonald's, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, Old Country Buffet and Popeye's.  A rally is scheduled for Thursday afternoon at 4:30 p.m. at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

Palermo’s Pizza workers in Milwaukee are marking one month on strike with two events this week. Today, they made a "special delivery" to Palermo's Pizza headquarters: pizza boxes stuffed with petitions. 

One of the most important legacies of the Wisconsin uprising is the mobilization of a new wave of activists. A powerful example is the nearly 300 workers at Palermo’s Pizza in Milwaukee, who were emboldened by the broader movement for workers’ rights in Wisconsin to fight back to raise standards for themselves and customers alike. Many of the workers had come to the United States to build better lives for themselves and their families, and their concern over unsafe working conditions and unfair wages at the frozen pizza plant inspired a desire for a voice on the job.

When the 45 AFL-CIO Union Summer 2011 interns are asked what they did for their summer vacation, they won’t have any stories about lounging on the beach or backpacking through Europe. But the will tell about making a real difference in people’s lives and about how much that involvement has contributed to their sense of social justice.

This just out from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel:

Seems Wisconsin state Sen. Dan Kapanke—who this week declared his fear of workers in his district because they likely will vote to recall him—has a campaign manager who took part in a meeting discussing whether to plant “fake” Democratic candidates in the state’s recall elections.

Across the country, tens of thousands marched and rallied May 1, May Day,  to call for national immigration reform and to support all workers’ rights.  Just as we did on April 4, working people declared: “Somos Unos—Respeten Nuestros Derechos” or “We Are One—Respect Our Rights.”

This is a cross-post from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO by Karen Hickey in AFL-CIO Field Communications.

Stan Johnson, Sid Hatch and Mike Langyel were surprised when they were asked by Gov. Scott Walker’s staff representatives and the Milwaukee police department’s professional performance division to leave a press conference this afternoon on education reform.

More than two years after Milwaukee voters overwhelmingly passed a paid sick leave city ordinance, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals today upheld the law and lifted an injunction an employer’s group was granted in June 2009.

Milwaukee City Attorney Grant Langley says Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s bill, which includes taking away public employees’ bargaining rights, is unconstitutional because it would interfer with local autonomy.