Saturday, September 12, 2026
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Saturday, September 28, 2024
Despite endorsement, Wisconsin Teamsters' rank-and-file not solidly behind Kamala Harris
Jessie Opoien
MADISON – Days after Wisconsin's Teamsters Joint Council 39 broke with its national leadership and endorsed Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, the International Brotherhood of Teamsters released a poll showing rank-and-file members in this battleground state may not be unified behind the decision.
Teamsters Joint Council 39 president Bill Carroll, who spoke at a recent Harris rally in Madison, questioned the methodology of the polling while acknowledging the union does have its share of members who support Republican former President Donald Trump and his running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Carroll said there are differences of opinion within the union on a variety of issues but the local's endorsements are based on which candidates they think will be most supportive of organized labor.
The union has conducted several surveys of its members throughout the campaign, before and after Democratic President Joe Biden withdrew from the race.
In straw polls conducted between April 9 and July 3, Biden led in Wisconsin 73.5% to Trump's 15.3%. In an electronic poll conducted in Wisconsin between July 24 and Sept. 15, however, Trump led Harris 57% to 40.5%. The union's release of the poll did not share how many Wisconsin members weighed in.
According to the union, members were notified about the opportunity to participate in the electronic poll through the quarterly Teamsters Magazine mailed to all members in July, along with social media posts and postcards sent to members' homes. Nationwide, more than 35,000 members participated.
The labor union has been under fire since its national president, Sean O'Brien delivered a rousing speech to the Republican National Convention — the first time the union's leader had done so in its 121-year history. O'Brien's speech in Milwaukee was among the most talked about among convention attendees. He did not speak at the Democratic National Convention, but seven other major union presidents did.
Last week, the General Executive Board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters elected not to endorse any candidate for U.S. President.
"Unfortunately, neither major candidate was able to make serious commitments to our union to ensure the interests of working people are always put before big business.," O'Brien said in a statement. "We sought commitments from both Trump and Harris not to interfere in critical union campaigns or core Teamsters industries, and to honor our members’ right to strike, but were unable to secure those pledges.”
In response to the national Teamsters organization's decision not to endorse, Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said the rank-and-file members prefer Trump.
"While the Teamsters Executive Board is making no formal endorsement, the hardworking members of the Teamsters have been loud and clear, they want President Trump back in the White House," Leavitt said in a statement. "These hardworking men and women are the backbone of America and President Trump will strongly stand up for them when he’s back in the White House."
Teamsters locals from Wisconsin, California, Nevada, Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and others, however, have backed the Harris-Walz ticket.
Carroll introduced Harris at her Madison rally last week, praising her as "a champion for unions and working families."
"When we make our endorsement evaluation, it's pretty much solely on who is the candidate that is best for organized labor, and by extension, our membership," Carroll said. "We don't get in the weeds on guns or abortion or immigration or crime or any of those things. … There's no there's no question (about which slate to endorse). It's an easy answer."
Teamsters Joint Council 39 makes endorsements every election cycle, Carroll said. The only new element in this election, he said, is the International opting not to weigh in.
Jessie Opoien can be reached at jessie.opoien@jrn.com.
Friday, July 19, 2024
Saturday, June 29, 2024
Is there a summer wave of COVID cases in Wisconsin?
Maia Pandey
Most of the country, including Wisconsin, is seeing a summer uptick in COVID-19 cases — but experts say the numbers are not yet a cause for concern and consistent with seasonal fluctuations in the virus.
As of June 18, the number of infections was growing or likely growing in 39 states and territories, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC estimates there is about a 95% chance case numbers are growing in Wisconsin. No states are seeing cases decline.
The increase in cases also comes as a new strain of the virus becomes the most dominant in the country: the KP.3 variant accounted for 33.1% of cases as of June 22, up from 25.9% in early June, according to the CDC. The variant outpaced JN.1 as the most dominant in May and has been on the rise since.
What are COVID levels like in Wisconsin?
Both the CDC and Wisconsin Department of Health Services no longer track individual COVID cases, but rather estimate transmission based on emergency department visits and hospitalizations or wastewater testing. In Wisconsin, the number of hospitalizations due to COVID went up 14% between June 9 and June 22.
More specifically, hospitalizations are climbing in northeast, north central, western and south central regions of the state, according to DHS. The north central region saw the highest increase, with COVID hospitalizations rising 43% in June. The southeast region, which includes Milwaukee, saw no significant change in COVID hospitalizations throughout June.
As of June 22, wastewater testing across the state also shows a slight uptick in levels of COVID detected, with seven of the collection sites reporting a “significant increase.” But take these numbers with a grain of salt: the levels of detected virus are still far below the highs detected in 2021 and 2022, and virus levels have been decreasing overall since January.
Most Wisconsin cities are seeing historic low levels of COVID, especially compared to the winter surges in the virus, according University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee professor Sandra McLellan, whose lab works with the state on wastewater testing.
“When you’re in low numbers, a few increases can make it look like it’s doubling and tripling, when, in fact, it’s just kind of the variability you might expect,” McLellan said.
The slight rise in COVID is consistent with what experts have seen in past summers, with virus levels rising in August 2022 and 2023, she added.
“That might be that people are gathering — there’s a lot of outdoor festivals, there's a lot of mass gatherings going on,” McLellan said. “But it’s not near what we see in the wintertime, when it can really spike up.”
How will the Republican National Convention affect COVID spread in the city?
In Milwaukee, the Jones Island test site reported a moderate level of COVID, and the south shore test site reported a low level. But this data, which was last updated June 26, doesn’t account for potential cases during the second and third weekends of Summerfest and the upcoming RNC.
McLellan said the lab anticipates increases in the virus during large events in most cities: for example, cases usually tick up in Green Bay during the first couple Green Bay Packers games, she said.
For the RNC, however, the lab plans to increase its testing from twice weekly to daily during the week before, after and during the event — which it has not done previously for other large events. An estimated 50,000 people will come into the city for the four-day convention.
Though the data will likely not be available before people leave town for the convention, McLellan hopes it encourages people to refer to the state’s COVID data more often and monitor the spread of the virus in their city.
“We really encourage people to look at the dashboard,” McLellan said. “I think that really is helpful as people are deciding, ‘Do I want to go to gatherings with a lot of people, or do I want to take some extra precautions?’”
Saturday, June 22, 2024
Rev. Al Sharpton, local religious leaders to rally against white Christian nationalism ahead of RNC
Quinn Clark
Longtime civil rights activists and faith leaders are coming together to speak out against white Christian nationalism one day before the Republican National Convention.
The "We All Belong" campaign, which was launched last year by multi-faith organization MICAH, will hold a "Rally for Democracy" on July 14 from 2 to 6 p.m. at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee's Helene Zelazo Center for the Performing Arts.
Organizers said the event will reject white Christian nationalism and promote democracy and what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called a "Beloved Community" that has compassion for and welcomes all
The rally's speakers include both nationally and locally renowned civil rights activists, including Rev. Al Sharpton and Milwaukee's own Rev. Greg Lewis and Rev. Joseph Ellwanger.
"We're here to say Milwaukee is standing for a campaign and a way of being as Americans where we all belong, barring none, and building that 'Beloved Community,'" said Milwaukee Muslim Women's Coalition president Janan Najeeb, also a featured speaker.
Ellwanger, a longtime civil rights leader and member of MICAH, grew up in segregated Selma, Ala., witnessing the injustices of the Jim Crow South. He served as one the few white pastors of an African American congregation in Birmingham in 1958.
Ellwanger said white Christian nationalism's ideology, which excludes people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, is almost reinstating Jim Crow's policies, which is "neither Christian, nor is it patriotic."
"Legal Jim Crow died a slow, difficult death only after Martin Luther King and some Christian leadership put their lives on the line and said, 'Enough is enough,'" said Ellwanger. "And we still have the results."
Ellwanger said both the We All Belong campaign and the campaign's event planned for July 14 are nonpartisan.
"We're not for Democrats, and con or against Republicans," Ellwanger said. "We're against white, Christian nationalism, wherever it is. Unfortunately, it is in every sector of society."
Tickets for the "Rally for Democracy" are available for $5 on MICAHmke.org. A livestream of the event will also be available.
Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter. She can be emailed at QClark@gannett.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark.
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Monday, June 17, 2024
Milwaukee a 'horrible' city? 'Trump denies comment he already acknowledged
Erik S. Hanley
In a social media post he says no, after having already acknowledged the comment in an interview with a Milwaukee broadcast journalist and with Fox News.
In a post Saturday on Truth Social, the 45th president posted: “The Democrats are making up stories that I said Milwaukee is a ‘horrible city.’ This is false, a complete lie.”
But that came after an interview with Fox 6 in Milwaukee in which Trump didn't deny the remark and said he was commenting on crime and elections in Milwaukee. He made similar comments to Fox News.
The "horrible city" quote, first reported Thursday by Punchbowl News, was made before House Republicans in a morning meeting on Capitol Hill while discussing strategies for his campaign.
Republican congressmen in the room confirmed the comment to the Journal Sentinel with different takes on what Trump was talking about, but Trump in his social media post blamed Democrats, none of whom were in the room
“I picked Milwaukee, I know it well,” Trump said in his post. “It should therefore lead to my winning Wisconsin. But the Dems come out with this fake story, just like all of the others. It never ends. Don’t be duped. Who would say such a thing with that important State in the balance? Vote for Trump, Wisconsin, I will not let you down!!!”
Trump also referenced other news stories in his Truth post such as the Hunter Biden laptop case and alleged Russian collusion, calling both also lies and “disinformation.”
The Democrats are making up stories that I said Milwaukee is a “horrible city.” This is false, a complete lie, just like the Laptop from Hell was a lie, Russia, Russia, Russia, was a lie, and so much more. It’s called Disinformation, and that’s all they know how to do. I picked Milwaukee, I know it well. It should therefore lead to my winning Wisconsin. But the Dems come out with this fake story, just like all of the others. It never ends. Don’t be duped. Who would say such a thing with that important State in the balance? Vote for Trump, Wisconsin, I will not let you down!!!
The "horrible" comment spurred quick reaction from Democrats and others with close ties to Milwaukee and Wisconsin.
Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson responded to the report: “Well, if Donald Trump wants to talk about things that he thinks are horrible, all of us lived through his presidency, so right back at you, buddy."
Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers made a post on X saying to "add it to the list of things Donald Trump is wrong about."
Evers also posted on X June 14 saying "Milwaukee is a terrific city. Pass it on." This prompted others to share photos of themselves in Milwaukee, or of events in the city, with the same wording.
More:Democrats launch billboards in Milwaukee after Trump says it's a 'horrible city'
More:Here's how social media is reacting to Trump's 'horrible city' comment about Milwaukee
Republicans have put out differing accounts of what happened in that meeting.
“I was in the room,” U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of the 1st Congressional District wrote on X. “President Trump did not say this. There is no better place than Wisconsin in July.”
He later clarified that Trump was having “a broad conversation about the challenges we face as a country, in particular the challenges that we’ve seen in Milwaukee.”
Others seemingly acknowledged the comment occurred, but attempted clarification as to what exactly Trump thought was “horrible.”
An aide to U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald of the 5th Congressional District told the Journal Sentinel the comments “were about election integrity.”
In contrast, U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden of the 3rd Congressional District shared on X that he thinks the comment was, “specifically referring to the crime rate in Milwaukee.”
Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Racine on Tuesday, June 18, at Racine Festival Park.
Contact Erik S. Hanley aterik.hanley@jrn.com. Like his Facebook page,The Redheadliner, and follow him on X@Redheadliner.
Saturday, May 25, 2024
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Gomez, The Politician (Full Episode) | MGM
I would vote for Gomez over any politician running today.
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