More than they bargained for :

When Wisconsin became the first state in the nation in 1959 to let public employees bargain with their employers, the legislation catalyzed changes to labor laws across the country. In March 2011, when newly elected governor Scott Walker repealed most of that labor law and subsequent ones--and then became the first governor in the nation to survive a recall election fifteen months later--it sent a different message. Both times, Wisconsin took the lead, first empowering public unions and then weakening them. This book recounts the battle between the Republican governor and the unions. The struggle drew the attention of the country and the notice of the world, launching Walker as a national star for the Republican Party and simultaneously energizing and damaging the American labor movement. Madison was the site of one unprecedented spectacle after another: 1:00 a.m. parliamentary maneuvers, a camel slipping on icy Madison streets as union firefighters rushed to assist, massive nonviolent street protests, and a weeks-long occupation that blocked the marble halls of the Capitol and made its rotunda ring. Jason Stein and Patrick Marley, award-winning journalists for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , covered the fight firsthand. They center their account on the frantic efforts of state officials meeting openly and in the Capitol''s elegant backrooms as protesters demonstrated outside. Conducting new in-depth interviews with elected officials, labor leaders, police officers, protestors, and other key figures, and drawing on new documents and their own years of experience as statehouse reporters, Stein and Marley have written a gripping account of the wildest sixteen months in Wisconsin politics since the era of Joe McCarthy. They offer new insights on the origins of Walker''s wide-ranging budget-repair bill, which included the provision to end public-sector collective bargaining; the Senate Democrats'' decision to leave the state to try to block the bill; Democrats'' talks with both union leaders and Republicans while in Illinois; and the reasons why compromise has become, as one Republican dissenter put it, a "dirty word" in politics today.

"Stein and Marley, veteran reporters with enviable access, have penned the definitive journalistic account of the Wisconsin uprising, especially as it played out in the state Legislature. They make it a story about individuals, not titanic forces."-- Wisconsin Watch

"Stein and Marley deliver an impressively objective account of the struggle, ably describing the objectives and tactics of each side in a confident and engaging style."-- Kirkus Reviews

"Stein and Marley deliver a swashbuckling tale of Wisconsin''s Republican Governor Scott Walker''s election and tumultuous first year in office. . . . Instead of an expected dry read, the authors'' lively, economical prose, supplemented by snippets of social media reporting in real time, place readers in the crowded Capitol building stairwells, or in the midst of Wisconsin''s largest sustained demonstration since Vietnam protests rocked the University of Wisconsin campus."-- Publishers Weekly

"This book is a political thriller, an activists'' handbook (for the Left on how to organize mass protests, and for the Right on how to effectively fight public employee unions), and a work of investigative journalism all rolled into one. Social scientists, political junkies, and anyone interested in public affairs will devour it."-- Library Journal

"Not only have Stein and Marley organized this mass of material into a coherent whole, but they also write well, ensuring that even the drier parts of their narrative are clear as well as fair. Their book provides plenty of ammunition for both sides. But it also offers something far better: the basis for an adult conversation about what actually happened."-- Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

"This timely account covers the ethics investigations, public demonstrations, runaway legislators, recalls, and physical confrontation between two state Supreme Court justices. . . . This book is written in a concise, unbiased manner and includes complete details. In a greater sense, it explores the drastic polarization endemic in American society today."-- Choice

"A testament to the information-gathering powers of good beat reporters. In Bob Woodward style, they reconstruct the backroom meetings that ushered Gov. Scott Walker''s Act 10 legislation through the protester-crammed halls of the Wisconsin State Capitol."-- Milwaukee Magazine

"Stein and Marley have managed to produce a very readable, well-researched, and thoroughly interesting narrative without any notable bias--a major accomplishment."-- Wisconsin People & Ideas Magazine

Reviews (4)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Stein and Marley, reporters for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, deliver a swashbuckling tale of Wisconsin's Republican Governor Scott Walker's election and tumultuous first year in office. Walker, who was the first Republican to win "in a dozen years," took much of the state by surprise when he introduced "2011 Act 10", a sweeping reform bill designed to slash state spending and remove Union bargaining power for state and local workers. But instead of an expected dry read, the authors' lively, economical prose, supplemented by snippets of social media reporting in real time, place readers in the crowded Capitol building stairwells, or in the midst of Wisconsin's largest sustained demonstration since Viet Nam protests rocked the University of Wisconsin campus. They follow as Democratic members of the Wisconsin senate decamp to Illinois to avoid a controversial and vital vote in the House, recording every detail and using each twist and turn to provide added insight. In a story that rocks with conservative and liberal flip flops, and results in Walker being elected governor "twice in one term," the authors' dedication and drive make this necessary reading on current American politics. (Apr.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Review

An in-depth narrative of the recent battle over the rights and future of Wisconsin's public-employee unions. The 2010 elections put Republicans in control of Wisconsin, a state in severe budgetary crisis. The new governor, Scott Walker, proposed a budget-repair bill that would severely reduce the influence of the state's public-employee unions on state and local budgets, in large part by eliminating their collective bargaining rights. The Republicans' conviction that this assault on union power was necessary to save the state from fiscal ruin, and the Democrats' equally passionate conviction that they would not permit working people to be stripped of hard-won rights, set the stage for a colossal, no-holds-barred confrontation. The Senate's Democrats decamped for Illinois, and in the full glare of international publicity, Wisconsin descended into months of high-stakes legislative maneuvers, litigation, recall elections, and huge, raucous demonstrations inside and outside the state capitol, in the course of which "the institutions of the stateat times seized up and ceased to work," demonstrating "how thin a line could separate a vibrant, respected democracy from illegitimacy and chaos." Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporters Stein and Marley deliver an impressively objective account of the struggle, ably describing the objectives and tactics of each side in a confident and engaging style. At times, however, amid the tussle du jour, readers may lose sight of the parties' larger objectives. This may be the definitive history of exactly what each side did to the other during these momentous months: Portions of the resulting law are still before the courts, and it will be years before a sober evaluation of the effect of the legislation on Wisconsin, its unions and its budgetary processes can be undertaken. The authors wisely do not attempt one. A steady, authoritative account of an intensely emotional public-policy conflict.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Choice Review

In the interest of full disclosure, this reviewer is a Wisconsin teacher, but as such is well acquainted with the events reported in this book. Two Milwaukee newspaper reporters recount the fierce controversy and protests resulting from attempts by the new Wisconsin governor, Scott Walker, to limit bargaining rights of teachers and state employees--except law enforcement and firefighters. This timely account covers the ethics investigations, public demonstrations, runaway legislators, recalls, and physical confrontation between two state Supreme Court justices. These events received national news coverage and have had political ramifications beyond the state of Wisconsin. In the end, state employees and teachers of Wisconsin lost many bargaining rights regarding wages, work hours, and working conditions. The new governor became a Republican national figure and a new hero to the Right. This book is written in a concise, unbiased manner and includes complete details. In the greater sense, it explores the drastic polarization endemic in American society today. See related, Wisconsin Uprising, ed. by Michael Yates (CH, Jul'12, 49-6378). Supported with chapter notes at the book's end and a complete index, More than They Bargained For is perfect for public affairs, political science, and labor studies collections. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Undergraduate students and general readers. C. J. Munson Western Technical College

Library Journal Review

Stein and Marley, both reporters who cover the Wisconsin state capital for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, write of intrigue, protests, and ideologues in Governor Scott Walker's 2011 fight to disempower public employee unions in an effort to cut state spending. The plan was controversial even among GOP legislators, and it stirred up massive public protests. At one point, Democratic state senators fled to Illinois in an attempt to prevent passage of the bill, but the GOP outwitted them and passed the bill into law. Embittered union supporters forced recall elections against Walker and several GOP legislators, while state Republicans also directed recall efforts at Democratic senators. In a battle that attracted national attention and millions in out-of-state dollars, Walker survived the recall and remained a star in the conservative firmament. Yet Wisconsinites provided a solid majority for President Obama's reelection bid. VERDICT This book is a political thriller, an activists' handbook (for the Left on how to organize mass protests, and for the Right on how to effectively fight public employee unions), and a work of investigative journalism all rolled into one. Social scientists, political junkies, and anyone interested in public affairs will devour it.-Duncan Stewart, Univ. of Iowa Libs., Iowa City (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

List of Illustrations	p. ix
Acknowledgments	p. xi
Actors in the Events	p. xiii
Chronology	p. xv
1 "Put Up or Shut Up"	p. 3
2 A Preacher's Son	p. 15
3 "Open for Business"	p. 22
4 "The First Step"	p. 35
5 "Dropping the Bomb"	p. 49
6 Laboratory of Democracy	p. 61
7 First Protests	p. 71
8 The Interstate to Illinois	p. 93
9 First Assembly Vote	p. 115
10 A State Divided	p. 128
11 The Beast from Buffalo	p. 150
12 Lost Sleep and "Hallucinazations"	p. 163
13 The Capitol in Lockdown	p. 177
14 "Seven Thousand People in the Statehouse"	p. 195
15 No Deal	p. 206
16 End Game	p. 221
17 Rebukes and Recount	p. 240
18 A Court Divided	p. 247
19 Recalls	p. 263
20 Recalls Redux	p. 274
Conclusion	p. 295
Notes	p. 303
Index	p. 323

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