In the US state of Wisconsin, demonstrations have been organised to oppose new legislation which will curtail the rights of public sector workers to collective bargaining. Demonstrations are spreading to other states where similar measures are being discussed. In this column by Global Labour Column and edited by CSID at Wits University, Cathy Feingold contends that budget deficits are a mere scapegoat being used by Republican politicians to justify the union-busting reform. She suggests that the real reason for the attack on workers' rights is to weaken a strong support base of the Democrats. The reform is likely to have profound consequences on workers’ voice and welfare – but the resistance which Feingold documents is encouraging. As she points out, policy in the US has had for years a clear bias in favour of the rich and against everyone else – a view which is strongly supported by academic research.