On April 1st, IBEW members helped defeat an anti-labor candidate in an important Wisconsin Supreme Court race. The result assures a pro-labor majority on the state’s high court for the next two years.
The race received national attention with Susan Crawford beating Brad Schimel in an election dominated by Elon Musk who tried to influence the race. The Tesla, Twitter, and SpaceX executive is currently heading the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency known as DOGE.
Hundreds of IBEW members inside and outside the state made phone calls, rallied, and knocked on doors ahead of the vote. Sixth District Vice President Mike Clemmons made the contest a priority, sending release staff and hosting events throughout Wisconsin with former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn. The IBEW was also heavily involved with the AFL-CIO program, sending mail and running commercials in favor of Crawford, who won by 10 points.
Bob Koerschner, Sixth District international representative, said many IBEW members voted in favor of the candidate who had their backs.
“IBEW members decided if they elect the wrong person, we could see attacks on labor rights,” Koerschner said. Koerschner said labor activists made clear Schimel was a tool of billionaires who supports right-to-work laws and Act 10, the controversial 2011 law that limited collective bargaining rights of public employees.
Elon Musk spent $26 million on ads and voter cash giveaways for Schimel, even appearing on a stage in Wisconsin wearing a foam cheesehead.
But Koerschner said Musk “energized people to vote against his candidate. He caused Crawford to win by an even bigger margin.”
The state Supreme Court will weigh in on cases involving everything from redistricting to voting rights to labor law.
Caption: In Milwaukee, former Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown, center, and former Capitol Police Officer Harry Dunn, second from left, rallied with IBEW members on March 28, including Sixth District IVP Clemmons, right.
