Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle handing International Vice President Fred Gegare the pen he just signed Assembly Bill 172 with.

International Vice President Fred Gegare would get pretty angry when he would speak to college kids and they would ask him what the Teamsters are.

“When I would say the Teamsters are a union I would see a lot of eyes rolling,” said Gegare, also President of Local 662 in Green Bay, Wis. “That’s so frustrating to see that these kids have no idea that the Teamsters are responsible for so many things that people take for granted now, like Social Security and an eight-hour workday.”

Fed up with the eye-rolling and blank stares from kids whenever he mentioned the Teamsters, Gegare began a crusade in 1996 to get the history of organized labor and collective bargaining taught in public schools. Also pushing for the subject to be taught were the Wisconsin Labor History Society and other union groups.

Long Battle Finally Won
Accomplishing that goal was an uphill battle, given the political climate in the Wisconsin Statehouse. But there has been a shift in ideology in recent years and in 2009, a bill was introduced to require the history of organized labor be taught to public school students.

Assembly Bill 172 passed, and on Dec. 10, 2009, Gov. Jim Doyle signed the bill into law. Starting this fall, public school students in ninth through 12th grades will learn about organized labor and collective bargaining as part of their social studies curriculum.

“I’m happy to sign this bill so that Wisconsin students understand how important the labor movement was in creating some of the most basic workplace rights that Wisconsin families enjoy today,” Doyle said during the signing ceremony, attended by Gegare and many other union leaders and activists.

Paul Cole, Executive Director of the American Labor Studies Center, said that his organization knows of no other state that has a law requiring that the history of organized labor be taught.

“There are a number of national and state standards which call for the inclusion of labor history into the curriculum, but Wisconsin is the only state that has a law requiring it be taught,” Cole said.

Importance of Labor History
The Wisconsin Labor History Society will assist teachers, school districts, parents and students in accessing materials that will provide information about union history and collective bargaining.

Gegare said the law will help unions during organizing campaigns.

“Sometimes during campaigns you go out and tell people you’re a Teamster and they say ‘What’s that?’” Gegare said. “When you say it’s a labor organization, they’re just dumbfounded.”

“Teamsters are the ones who fought for the middle class,” Gegare added. “Everyone should know that.”

“Triumph of Ordinary Citizens”
Tom Bennett, President of Local 200 in Milwaukee, was among those who testified before Wisconsin state legislators on the importance of the bill.

“Growing up, my personal impressions of the importance of the values of hard work were seeing my father leave the house early in the morning and come home at the end of the day, drenched with the day’s sweat,” Bennett said in his remarks.

“He only complained of the boss, the weather and the old Ford he drove to work. He never complained about his pay, his fellow workers or his union. He understood what he was earning in benefits, wages, job security and worker rights were determined by the men and woman of the organized labor movement,” Bennett said.

Kenneth Germanson, president of the Wisconsin Labor History Society, also testified before lawmakers.

“The teaching of labor history shows the triumph of ordinary citizens over the powers of society: Only by organizing into labor unions could working people in Wisconsin eventually gain the living standards that many of us enjoy,” Germanson said.