Hansen fights for bill to teach history of organized labor

Link to September 6 Green Bay Press-Gazette article.

Excerpt: The revised bill incorporates "the history of organized labor and the collective bargaining process" into the state's model academic standards for social studies, making it a suggestion rather than a requirement.

"I'm agreeable to that," Hansen said. "I'll accept the amendment to get it passed."

The Senate Committee on Education held a public hearing on the measure July 9 and could take a vote sending it to the floor this week, he said.

"Unions are 'the folks who brought you the weekend,' as one famous bumper sticker puts it," Hansen said in explaining his persistence about getting this information into the classroom.

"You have to remember the labor movement is what gave you the eight-hour day, the 40-hour work week, unemployment compensation, workers compensation, safety standards — improvements that have benefited non-union workers as well as unionized workers."

In a changing global economy, Hansen said it's more important than ever for new generations to understand organized labor's contributions