“We believe collective bargaining is a civil right,” said Larson. Getting rid of the mechanism that “has helped build the middle class for over fifty years is like saying, ‘Seat belts have done such a great job at saving lives that we don’t need to wear them any more.'”

–Wisconsin state Sen. Chris Larson, a member of PFAW Foundation’s Young Elected Officials Network, tells The Atlantic why he’s fighting to keep his state’s public employee unions alive.