page_title: 2011 Wisconsin protests
section_title: Tensions since the protest period
hierarchical_section_title: 2011 Wisconsin protests / Effects / Tensions since the protest period
caption_attribution_description: Joining in the Solidarity Sing Along, back where it all started a year ago.
context_page_description: The 2011 Wisconsin protests were a series of demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States beginning in February involving at its zenith as many as 100,000 protesters opposing the 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the "Wisconsin Budget Repair bill." Subsequently, anti-tax activists and other conservatives, including Tea Party advocates, launched small pockets of counter protests. The protests centered on the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, with satellite protests also occurring at other municipalities throughout the state. Demonstrations took place at various college campuses, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. After the collective bargaining bill was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on June 14, the number of protesters declined to about 1,000 within a couple days.
  The protests were a major driving force for recall elections of state senators in 2011 and 2012, the failed recall of Governor Scott Walker in 2012 and a contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2011.
context_section_description: Union officials in central Wisconsin voted to ban Republican politicians from the Labor Day parade held in Wausau, Wisconsin. In a statement from the union council website, council president Randy Radtke said that politicians are welcome at the festivities only if they have demonstrated support for workers' rights. Mayor Jim Ripple of Wausau responded that the city would not help with the cost of the parade unless a decision to ban Republican politicians was reversed. The union later reversed its decision to exclude Republican politicians.
  In September 2011, Republican State Senator and Joint Finance Committee Chair Alberta Darling said Democratic State Senator Lena Taylor should be removed from the Joint Finance Committee. A heated exchange transpired between the two senators during the committee meeting. Darling attempted to twice interject while Taylor was speaking. The committee went informal twice after the senators argued back and forth. It started when Senator Taylor was speaking about the need to pay for the officers who helped control protesters in February and March. Senator Darling walked out of the meeting for a moment. When she returned, the two continued the heated exchange. Senator Darling responded to the incident by saying, "She doesn't feel like she has to respect the voice and the opinions of the chair. She can call people liars. This level of disrespect for the process, disrespect for rules of law and disrespect for the process of doing legislations for the people of Wisconsin is a concern."
  In February 2012, Charles Koch, who was accused of aiding Governor Walker in his disputes against public employee unions, revealed that he received threatening e-mails of which many contained obscenities. Some Koch employees said these messages had made them nervous.
  In 2012, Governor Walker took issue with the teachers' union WEAC not releasing its annual surveys measuring layoffs and school conditions. There was a survey of superintendents by the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators (WASDA) in the fall of 2011 which the governor used to compare the performance of his reforms to the previous administration. The WASDA survey results compare favorable to those that have been released by WEAC from prior years. Governor Walker indicates that it is evidence that the efforts associated with the implemented reforms under Act 10 are successful. WEAC responded that drawing attention to this was political in nature. Walker posted WEAC's previous surveys on the governor's website and compared previous survey results to current trends which shows improvements in the following four areas: teacher layoffs, class size, student fees, and extracurricular programs. The data compares 2011–2012 (Act 10) to the school years 2002–2003 through 2008–2009. Walker requested that the survey results be made available and asked why previous surveys had been removed from their website.
caption: Protests in the Capitol, February 14, 2012
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