12,0000 pack Capitol to PUT PEOPLE FIRST roar when one Wisconsin-14 Senator makes surprise appearance

State legislators and our governor have a lot to think about after today’s huge rally in Olympia where an estimated 12,000 Federation, other union allies and community groups demanded closing tax loopholes to save the safety net.

“We look to the future, we refuse to return to the past,” said Federation President Carol Dotlich.

Events in Wisconsin have sparked the national wave of activism that produced Friday’s rally, she said, before introducing a surprise guest – Wisconsin state Sen. Spencer Coggs, one of the “Wisconsin 14” Democratic senators who fled the state rather than give majority Republicans the quorum they needed to strip away collective bargaining rights.

Coggs addresses 12,000 in Olympia -- flanked by Federation honor guard.

“Brothers and sisters, we must unite,” Coggs said, flanked by an honor guard of Federation members in AFSCME green.

“We must fight. We must take back workers’ rights. Because the people united can never be defeated.”

We’ll have much more on our website, Facebook page and YouTube Channel on this historic day.