For the campaign against Wisconsin's proposed civil unions and marriage ban, the endorsements keep rolling in. From senior citizen coalitions, to domestic violence prevention groups, to the Libertarian Party, more and more people are signed on to vote no.
And now...labor.
Yesterday, one of Wisconsin's largest and most politically active unions
joined efforts to defeat the ban on civil unions and marriage. Representing over 40,000 public service and health care workers in Wisconsin, AFSCME's political arm said that "the far-reaching language in this destructive amendment would affect far more people than its backers want to pretend."
From the group's release:
The AFSCME Wisconsin PEOPLE Conference voted to join the fight because the ban could strip could strip away benefits negotiated in existing contracts, undermine the state's economy and enshrine discrimination in the constitution.
And this isn't just an endorsement on paper. It's a commitment of time, money, and volunteers to help the effort.
With amendment supporters continuing to say this amendment does not go beyond the scope of marriage and would not affect things like domestic partner benefits, this is a major story for Wisconsin - one that makes it even harder for amendment supporters to try to frame this as only an issue of marriage.
In an AP story about the announcement, Julaine Appling, leader of the group working to pass the amendment said, "this amendment isn't going to change benefit structures that exist. . . . It's about whether or not we are going to live with a redefinition of marriage as something other than between a man and a woman."
Tell that to the head of AFSCME, Julaine - the same one that calls this amendment an attack on working families across the state, as well as discrimination against gays and lesbians.
When the most powerful labor unions in the state says this amendment is too far-reaching - endangering things health care and retirement benefits - continual insistence that "this is all about marriage" gets harder and harder to sell.