It was unusually cold last night over I-894 on an overpass in West Allis, a western suburb of Milwaukee. I could have used more layers. Even the cops looked cold when they came in three squad cars and stood on the overpass with us to ascertain whether there was indeed a disturbance of honking cars that would warrant shutting us down. Complaints are expected from Walker supporters. By now, we know the rules pretty well. We didn't get shut down. We were commended on how well-managed our protest was.
Last night we had a good group turn out in spite of the weather, and for a while it felt like the paparazzi arrived, with almost as many people taking photos as holding signs. Some brothers and sisters from OLB-Fox Valley came down with their Blue Fist and we all stood suspended 30 feet over one of the busiest traffic corridors around Milwaukee.
Our message to the passersby was simple and direct. WALKER = NO JOBS. Our purpose is to counter his propaganda machine. Walker throws millions of dollars at the airwaves and has saturated the media with his mantra of "It is working, Wisconsin, it is working…" Last week alone, the Koch's signed a single million dollar check over to him (his minions, really) as a small token of affection for their dead-eyed delivery system. It is working, it is working, it is working… and it is demonstrably clear that it is not working.
Wisconsin is at the bottom of national job-creation, leading the nation in a dismal race to the bottom. In his campaign propaganda, Walker promised to create 250,000 jobs by 2015. Instead, we have lost 23,900 jobs, even as the country has been on the rebound. Over the last 9 months, we are down by -0.4% while the country is up 1.1%. It is working, Wisconsin. It is working… (Oops, somebody dropped on "O"!)
So Overpass Light Brigade takes to the streets and highways with our counter to the corporate mouthpieces known as the Republican party. We don't have the millions of dollars from out-of-state money to purchase 'round-the-clock media messaging. We have $40 letters, creativity and a great group of volunteers who are willing to show up and be bridge warriors. We've got people, they've got money. That kind of money buys a lot of influence. What can people do?
For us, the answer is simple. Act. Engage. Resist. Be visible. Be powerful.
Our intention is to keep these messages in front of Wisconsin citizens as much as possible, and to extend the reach of this visibility project. We'll be in Madison this Thursday, Janesville on Friday, at the Occupy Statewide General Assembly in Fond du Lac the following week. I just presented OLB actions on a panel at an annual Labor History Conference in Milwaukee yesterday. We are currently in discussion with potential franchise groups in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Los Angeles, as well as various activist communities around Wisconsin. Our Facebook reach hit 70,000 people last week and we've recently been featured in the NYTs, Care2, and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. We'll be doing more and more with GOTV messaging as we get closer to the June 5 elections, and most significantly, we occupied "the crawl" on yesterday's Animal Nuz!
If you would like to help us with this work, please consider "buying a vowel." Up to this date, we've made 25 letters and three large signs. Each letter costs us about $40 of materials. We've had 16 people sponsor letters. We plan to build about 10 more letters between now and the recall election, and would love to have 10 more sponsors. If you'd like to "Buy a Vowel" please message me for Paypal or other donation options and information.
Thank you for your continued support of Overpass Light Brigade.