I was alone, sitting at the bar of Lucille’s drinking a dirty vodka martini made by a friendly bartender named Jack, who I had met months ago, in passing, at a union panel. Jack was part of Starbucks workers united at the time, and was involved with organizing until “the whole thing happened with my cat getting cancer.”
Jack offered me a celebratory shot of tequila when it was called by the New York Times that Susan won. Susan Crawford, liberal justice running for an open seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, defeated Elon Musk-backed Brad Schimel 55% to 45% with the results called after only 1 hour after polls closed. It was a clear, decisive victory, and in many ways it was a personal victory.
Because Crawford will likely have final say over my union’s lawsuit against Wisconsin’s Act 10, and she will very likely rule in our favor, and we will regain our collective bargaining rights taken from us by former governor Scott Walker.
It is an uphill climb, and there are many steps to complete - the ruling itself, followed by a certification campaign, but there is hope. A union meeting I had on the day after the election was filled with giggles -giggles!!! We never laugh like that.
I proceeded to meet friends at another bar, take some more victory shots. “I will never feel worse than this!!” I said, and my boyfriend corrected me - “No, you will never feel better than this, you mean. You are happy”
But no, I meant, half sarcastically, that I will never feel worse than this, because so long as this win is under our belt, nothing can bring me down. My union is going to get its rights back. Wisconsin is. And I made this happen. I took the call from our union president, and agreed to the lawsuit. My signature is in those court documents, somewhere. What more could I ask for. It was a joy to text all of my union colleagues and labor friends. “We did it.” and “Thank you” for they door-knocked, and I have a ‘no canvassing’ boundary. (Haha. I’ll do anything else, I’ll call/text/rally etc. But I do not canvass). As president of the wisconsin afl-cio said “Now the fun begins.” This win for him means more work, overseeing and supporting certification & re-certification drives.
I feel so immensely supported by my colleagues and my state. We did it. I could freaking cry.
You know it’s really difficult to build something, or win, or make a connection, or make a friend, or get someone to stand up for you, or get someone to vote with you. This work is never easy. There are so many who want us to stop, for me to stop, for me to change or shut up; there are so many with profound, nihilistic doubt in the power of collective action despite being politically leftist, there are so many who know that it is much easier to tear down and poke holes than it is to build. But what comes with building is a pride and a network and growth and bravery and integrity and these things that can not be taken from you.
Before the Crawford results were called and before Lucille’s, I stopped by a watch party for a fellow union member, Eli, running for Madison district 4 alder whose campaign we supported. He narrowly lost- only like 400 votes- to a strong incumbent. At the event, I only knew Eli, but I still went out to support (how often does one personally know someone running for office!). I chatted with several different groups with ease.
I’ve rarely sat at a bar alone, because I’ve been too intimidated, but I did that night, enjoying my favorite drink and interacting with the bartenders & other patrons. Here’s to personal & political growth!
Cheers!