This past weekend, between 80,000-100,000 people gathered outside the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin. I lived in Madison for 16 years and can tell you that for that many people to gather on the Capitol grounds for several winter days is remarkable: a sea of humans stood inside and outside the Capitol building and filled the streets that make up Capitol Square. This is an area of four four-lane streets that ring the Capitol grounds, measuring about one-half square mile. Close your eyes and imagine the scene.

Do their actions define how people should act in a democracy? Of course they do. The right to freedom of assembly to redress grievances is fundamental to a free and democratic society.

Something else is going on, too. Over and over again, protestors are raising an important discussion about democracy:  in a time of important debate about how the state of Wisconsin should confront its budget deficits, there must be at least two sides to the debate. This is where the defense of the right of public employees (and I would argue, all workers) to be in strong unions gets to the heart of democracy.

Critical decisions should not be left to a handful of partisan officials

We face a precarious dichotomy. The demand for high quality and improved services in education, health care, transportation and other human and social services has never been higher.  Yet the ability to pay for these services is more uncertain and complex than ever. Nothing would be more dangerous to our democracy than leaving decisions about how to resolve this dichotomy to a small number of partisan elected officials. At the moment this small group has a narrow window to make choices about these highly complex matters. The move to abolish collective bargaining removes all alternative voices.

The fiscal crisis in the U.S. and in our states was caused by long-standing political choices and economic realities. Contributing factors include loss of tax revenues as thousands of factories and other large and medium businesses closed or chose to operate overseas, term limits, changing demographics and several severe recessions, including the current “Great Recession.”

Working families who make up our communities need to be in strong unions through which they can improve how public institutions can be managed and financed. The same is true for private sector employees. An organized and empowered workforce can systematically improve work flows and work output, creating quality goods and better service to consumers and taxpayers. Workers have the experience to promote and implement service improvements, cost savings and safety.

Raising  costs for workers, lay-offs, outsourcing and stagnant wages have not benefited the U.S. economy.  Eliminating working people’s voices in the democratic process does nothing but accelerate the madness that has become the U.S. economy.

We need more workplace democracy

We are very proud that at Kaiser Permanente, the 90,000 unionized workers of the Coalition of Kaiser Permanente Unions have earned among the best wages, benefits and working conditions in the industry. We are prouder still that our voices are part of the business of Kaiser Permanente every day through the systemic improvement we are making in the delivery of high quality, affordable health care.  Check out our work at lmpartnership.org for hundreds of examples of how democracy in the workplace benefits everyone.

Indeed, the Wisconsin State Capitol’s white marble is a true symbol of democracy. For the first time in a long time, democracy’s most profound meanings are being played out on a national stage. 

Democracy cannot stop at the threshold of the workplace; rather, it is in the workplace where democracy begins.