Assault on unions is an attack on basic civil rights (by Jesse Jackson)

Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, a self-described "Tea Party governor," leads the most egregious of these efforts. Upon election, he signed into law millions in tax breaks for business. Then, pointing to the budget crisis, he demanded not only harsh concessions from public workers - dramatic hikes in what they pay for pensions and health care - but crippling limits on their right to negotiate, limits on any pay increases and an annual vote to see if the union survives. As if to flaunt his power grab, he exempted the unions - police and firefighters - that endorsed him in...