Train Rally Monday Noon In Milwaukee

Rally to Save Wisconsin Jobs

Monday, November 15th at Noon

Talgo Site at 30th Street and Townsend in Milwaukee
(Park on 30th Street)

Canceling the high speed rail project would derail Wisconsin’s economic recovery and threaten the new Talgo train manufacturing facility.

(Milwaukee, WI) At noon on Monday, November 15th, a broad coalition of concerned labor and community activists will rally at the Talgo train site in Milwaukee to support the $810 million dollar high speed rail project which will provide a vital commuter connection between Milwaukee and Madison and spur future economic development.

Rally participants are asking Governor-elect Scott Walker to reconsider his proposal to stop construction, costing Wisconsin both family supporting jobs and money.

The job and economic losses from cancellation are as follows:

• Construction Jobs: 4,732 (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel 11-5-10)

• Permanent Jobs: 9,570 (Sierra Club, 11-5-10)

• $173 million in increased Wisconsin household income (Sierra Club, 11-5-10)

Governor-elect Walker has defended these cuts on fiscal grounds, but returning the $810 million in federal funding for this project would actually cost the state a great deal of money. The state would have to pay back the federal government and contractors for work already done.

In addition, the City of Milwaukee spent $10 million to buy the site where the trains are being built by Spanish manufacturer Talgo. If the project is cancelled, that blighted industrial area will suffer.

The rally is jointly sponsored by the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, Citizen Action of Wisconsin’s Good Jobs and Livable Neighborhoods Coalition, and Voces de la Frontera.

WHO: Wisconsin State AFL-CIO President Phil Neuenfeldt,
Community and Union Members

WHAT: Rally and Press Conference for Rail Development

WHEN: Monday, November 15th at Noon

WHERE: Talgo Site at 30th Street and Townsend in Milwaukee
(Park on 30th Street)

Thanks for your support!

opeiu 9 afl-cio