Aaron Rodgers, Charles Woodson back unions in Wisconsin labor battle
Feb 22, 2011, 11:56 AM EDT
What do Wisconsin’s pro sports teams think about the big labor dispute in that state? As of this hour we have no official word from the Racing Sausages. But we do know that Aaron Rodgers and Charles Woodson are standing in solidarity with the unions.
That may surprise some, seeing that the average annual NFL salary is around $800,000, and many are millionaires. But as Filip Bondy of the New York Daily News points out, the NFLPA is one of the strongest unions in the country, and a union is a union.
“Thousands of dedicated Wisconsin public workers provide vital services for Wisconsin citizens,” Woodson said in a statement. “They are the teachers, nurses and child care workers who take care of us and our families. These hard working people are under an unprecedented attack to take away their basic rights to have a voice and collectively bargain at work.”
Woodson’s full statement is here.
Seven current and former Packers — Brady Poppinga, Jason Spitz, Curtis Fuller, Chris Jacke, Charles Jordan, Bob Long and Steve Okoniewski — last week signed a letter in support of the public employees. And quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the Packers rep for the NFL Players Association, is also supporting the unions according to Wisconsin Democratic Party Communications Director Graham Zelinski. He wore a Rodgers Packer jersey during a Democratic Party meeting on Thursday (video below).
I’m somewhat surprised that more pro athletes are getting involved here. The issue at stake — the right for unions to retain collective bargaining, and therefore, in essence, to exist — is one with which athletes can identify. There’s a lockout looming in the NFL, and player/owner strife could be just around the corner in every other pro sport. The fate of unions overall could be decided in Wisconsin, and that’s a tipping point that should concern every pro athlete.
Meanwhile, somewhat ironically, Wisconsin Senate Republicans are planning to go forward with a resolution to honor the Packers for winning the Super Bowl, even though 14 Democratic senators are not there.
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Aaron Rogers backs unions in Wisconsin [TheUptake]
Charles Woodson, Green Bay Packers see connection between Wisconsin unions’ plight and their own [New York Daily News]
