Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk, who on Wednesday became the first Democrat to officially launch a campaign against Republican Gov. Scott Walker in the Wisconsin recall, appeared Wednesday night on the Rachel Maddow show, to quickly promote her candidacy in what is expected to be a contested primary.
Maddow remarked on Falk’s deep ties with organized labor, and asked to what extent Walker’s legislation stripping most collective bargaining rights for public-employee unions will be a major issue in the race, relative to other issues such as education.
“It’s an important issue, because we’re the home of collective bargaining, worker rights in Wisconsin, 50 years ago. And I am proud, and I will hope to earn the support of hardworking men and women across the state,” said Falk. “But I’m also a good example — I was the top executive, and I worked everyday with eight unions, respectfully, getting the job done with them. They agreed to about $10 million in cuts in pay. By working together, by negotiating, by treating them respectfully, we got the job done.
“That’s an important issue in restoring worker rights. But there are others — because Walker just kept one after the next after the next. You know, he chose big tax breaks for the largest corporations, and then he made the biggest cut in education in our state’s history. Those are not Wisconsin values. Those don’t help working families.”
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