Bradley Whitford ("The West Wing"), SAG national board member Gabrielle Carteris ("The Event") and AFTRA national board member Robert Newman ("Guiding Light") are speaking in support of Wisconsin public-sector workers at a large rally in Madison.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's bill, which has generated more than a week of protests, would eliminate all collective bargaining rights except on wages and require employees to pay more for health and pension benefits. Walker has insisted the state is broke, while the unions have said members will agree to wage and benefit concessions to balance the budget but they won't agree to elimination of collective bargaining.
"The governor's using the budget at a Trojan horse to attack unions, which are the greatest generator of middle-class jobs," said Whitford, who attended high school in Madison.
"This is a real line-in-the-sand moment for unions," Newman said.
Carteris said she's a big supporter of unions after suffering an injury while filming a TV movie in 2006 that partially paralyzed her face. "When something like that happens, that's when you find out that your unions stand behind you," she added.
The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, the Screen Actors Guild and the Writers Guild of America East have issued statements opposing Walker's legislation.
Contact Dave McNary at
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