International Association of Fire Fighters Supports Recall of Wisconsin Gov. Walker, Endorses Mahlon Mitchell for Lt. Gov.

The IAFF will be active in elections to ensure worker-friendly majority takes control of the Wisconsin State Senate

Washington, DC – The International Association of Fire Fighters announced today that it will be actively engaged with financial resources and boots on the ground in the recall and ouster of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker in the election set for June 5, 2012.

The IAFF will also work hard to elect one of its own, Mahlon Mitchell, a Madison, Wisconsin fire fighter and member of IAFF Local 311, as Lieutenant Governor and will work to ensure that the Wisconsin State Senate is controlled by elected leaders who are on the side of people who work for a living.

"The records of Scott Walker and his cronies in the Senate who are now up for recall are clear – they eliminated the rights of workers, they refused to work cooperatively to resolve issues that will benefit the citizens and they created a fake budget crisis by giving away tax dollars to their corporate donors," said Harold Schaitberger, General President of the IAFF.

All IAFF affiliates within the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, representing thousands of members throughout the state, are unified in this historic effort to recall Walker, elect Mitchell as the state’s next Lieutenant Governor and elect a worker-friendly Senate.

"They thought they could buy our silence by carving fire fighters out of their plan to take away the rights of public workers – but they were wrong. We know a divide-and-conquer strategy when we see one and now they have to answer for their actions," Schaitberger said.

Mitchell emerged as a powerful and inspiring leader during the effort to stop the government overreach by Governor Walker and his extremist allies in the Senate when they eliminated the collective bargaining rights of public employees across the state.

"Mahlon Mitchell makes tough decisions every day on the job as a fire fighter, and he’s the kind of leader who can create dialogue and solve problems for Wisconsin’s citizens as its Lieutenant Governor," said Schaitberger.

Timothy Burn
Press Secretary
International Association of Fire Fighters
202-824-1566
tburn@iaff.org

The IAFF, headquartered in Washington, represents 300,000 full-time professional fire fighters and paramedics in every congressional district in the U.S. and in Canada, including 3,800 fire fighters and paramedics in Wisconsin. More information is available at www.iaff.org

Tags: