Labor Day or May Day?

Wausau, Wis. Labor Day Parade Sponsor to Republican Pols: You're Not Welcome

Wausau bars GOP from Labor Day parade

Community parades often feature local politicians waving to the crowds, but this year's annual Labor Day parade in Wausau may be short a few elected officials.

That's because the head of the group that sponsors the Wausau Labor Day Parade, the Marathon County Central Labor Council, is telling Republican lawmakers from the area that they're not welcome Sept. 5.

"Usually they've been in the parade, but it seems like they only want to stand with us one day a year, and the other 364 days they don't really care," said Randy Radtke, president of the council.

The council is made up of about 30 local unions from the Marathon County area.

In a statement, Radtke added that the parade is intended to celebrate working men and women and what the labor movement has given them: weekends, a 40-hour workweek, child labor protection and a safe working environment.

"It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker's rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain," Radtke said.

What seems foolish about this is that the sponsors could have achieved their goal by doing nothing. Because of safety concerns, it seems likely that many GOP pols would have backed out anyway.

After all, memories of death threats (ignored by the broadcast media, of course), other threats, shoving, being chased down and trapped by hecklers, and other items detailed by Brent Bozell six months ago during the ultimately successful attempt to pass Governor Scott Walker's budget repair and collective bargaining reform bill are surely fresh in every state GOP legislator's mind. Even if you were personally up for the risk, why would you expose your spouse, children, or extended family to the potential ugliness?

A related unbylined Associated Press item, which is currently (and appropriately, in my view, as there's only one such situation) being carried as a local story, is here.

It will be interesting in the coming week before the holiday to see if this becomes a Badger State trend, and how much media attention outside of Wisconsin it gets if it does.