Protesters lined a busy thoroughfare in Troy Tuesday evening.
Attendees pulling into the parking lot at the San Marino Club for the Ronald Reagan Memorial Dinner were booed by the protesters, who were there to protest Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s appearance at the Oakland County Republican fundraiser.
Walker sparked a massive backlash in his state when he signed a law stripping collective bargaining rights from public employee unions last year. A federal judge later struck down parts of the law.
Walker now faces a recall in June.
Protesters said Walker is symbolic of a larger Republican agenda to cripple unions and the middle class.
Novi public schools teacher Chandra Madafferi was one of many teachers there. She says collective bargaining rights are about more than wages and benefits.
“We bargain for things like class size, and our calendar, and things that directly impact kids,” Madafferi said. “And if collective bargaining just gets taken away, a lot of things will get taken away.”
The UAW and other unions helped organize the protest.
Organizers say the event was part of what they call a “99% Spring” that will see similar targeted protests across the country.
