Publications

Wisconsin Protesters Oust Boss

Wisconsin Secretary of Corrections Mike Sullivan announced his impending retirement on June 2 — less than a month after some 700 members and supporters of AFSCME Council 24 rallied at Wisconsin’s Capitol on May 7 to call for his resignation.

“Is this a result of our protest? Absolutely,” says Council 24 Pres. Gary Lonzo, who is also chair of the ACU Advisory Committee. Rally speakers included Mike Marette, AFSCME’s assistant director of corrections, and Marty Beil, executive director of Council 24.

The rally resulted in a May 27 meeting between the presidents of the 16 AFSCME Wisconsin corrections locals and Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson (R). The presidents demanded that Sullivan be removed and that department rules be made reasonable and relevant to the job. Sullivan’s outrageous department policies were one of the reasons Council 24 had called for his resignation.

The governor ordered a labor/management meeting for May 28 to negotiate new policies that were acceptable to the union.

“We did in three hours what we weren’t able to do in three years,” Lonzo said of the successful meeting.

At the May 27 meeting, local presidents also presented the governor with ACU’s new anti-privatization videotape, “What CCA Doesn’t Want You to Know About Private Prisons,” along with a wage comparison between Wisconsin and neighboring states. They let the governor know that they plan to demand a big raise in their next contract negotiations.

Governor Thompson reiterated his earlier commitment to AFSCME Council 24 and the COs it represents: For as long as he’s governor, there will be no private prisons in Wisconsin.

Print Version