Get Ready Ohio, Thousands descend on Wis. Capitol in protest

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Thousands descend on Wis. Capitol in protestUpdated: Feb 16, 2011 - 12:13PM

AP MADISON, Wis. -Thousands of people descended on the Wisconsin state Capitol for a second day of powerful protests Wednesday as key votes approached on Republican Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip away the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Republican lawmakers met in secret Wednesday morning to discuss Walker's proposal, the boldest move in the nation to abolish labor rights. Wisconsin was the first state to pass a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959.

There were some signs that support for the plan among Republicans who control the Legislature may be waning after more than 13,000 teachers, prison guards, nurses and others converged on the Capitol to speak out during in a 17-hour public hearing.

When asked where Republicans stood on Walker's proposal Wednesday, Sen. Dan Kapanke of La Crosse told The Associated Press, "That's a really good question. I don't know."

Republican leaders in the Senate and Assembly said before the marathon hearing started Tuesday that there were enough votes to pass the bill as Walker proposed. Walker scheduled a news conference for late Wednesday morning.

The Legislature's budget committee was set to vote on the measure Wednesday afternoon, with votes on passage in the Senate and Assembly expected as soon as Thursday. If Republican support is wavering, the first indication may be seen in what changes to the plan the committee adopts.

Scott Spector, a lobbyist for AFT-Wisconsin which represents about 17,000 public employees, said he felt the demonstrations were having an effect on Republicans who will decide the fate of the proposal.

Union representatives were attempting to sway key moderates for a compromise but Democrats said the bill would be tough to stop. Democrats lost the governor's office and control of the Legislature in the November midterm elections, leaving them powerless.

"The Legislature has pushed these employees off the cliff but the Republicans have decided to jump with them," said Sen. Bob Jauch, one of 14 Democrats in the 33 member chamber.

The outpouring of opposition has been overwhelming, leading to protests larger and more sustained than anything seen in Madison in decades. More than 1,000 protesters, many of whom spent the night in sleeping bags on the floor of the Rotunda, shouted "Kill this bill!" on Wednesday.

More than 40 percent of the 2,600 union-covered teachers and staff called in sick at the Madison school district, the state's second largest, forcing the superintendent to call off classes Wednesday. No other widespread sickouts were reported at any other school, according to the state teachers union which represents 98,000 teachers and staff statewide.

Prisons, which are staffed by unionized guards who would lose their bargaining rights under the plan, were operating as normal without higher than usual absences, according to Department of Corrections spokeswoman Linda Eggert.

Walker has said he would call out the National Guard to staff the prisons if necessary. A union leader for prison workers did not immediately return messages.

While other states have proposed bills curtailing labor rights, Wisconsin's measure is the boldest step by a new Republican governor and Legislature to solve budget problems by confronting organized labor. It would end collective bargaining, except over wages less than the Consumer Price Index, for all state, county and local workers except for police, firefighters and the state patrol.

Opponents seized on the budget committee's public hearing on the bill on Tuesday to launch what Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, called a "citizen filibuster" that kept the meeting going until 3 a.m. Wednesday. Democrats continued listening to workers who still wanted to speak through the morning.

Two floors below the hearing, dozens of University of Wisconsin-Madison teaching assistants and students surged into the Capitol rotunda late Tuesday evening, putting down sleeping bags and blankets. Many were still asleep on the floor when the hearing ended.

"I just think it's really crappy," said Alison Port, a 19-year-old freshman from Wauwatosa as she clutched her laptop and her Green Bay Packers blanket. "Let's take all the rights away. If he starts here, where's he going to stop? What else is he going to throw at us? It's only going to get more extreme."

New Republican governors and legislatures in other states have proposed cutting back on public employee costs to reduce budget shortfalls, but Wisconsin's move appears to be the earliest and most extensive.

Wisconsin has long been a bastion for workers' rights. Aside from decades of collective bargaining in the state, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees — the national union representing all non-federal public employees — was founded in 1936 in Madison.

But the election of Walker, an outspoken conservative, last November and the GOP's seizing of control of both legislative chambers set the stage for a dramatic reversal of Wisconsin's strong labor history.

Walker's plan would make workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care premiums. State employees' costs would go up by an average of 8 percent. The changes would save the state $30 million by June 30 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Unions could still represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized. Local police, firefighters and state troopers would retain their collective bargaining rights.

In exchange for bearing more costs and losing leverage, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Walker has threatened to order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.

Wisconsin is one of about 30 states with collective bargaining laws covering state and local workers.

Walker has argued that the public employee concessions are modest considering what private sector workers have suffered during the recession.

But Democratic opponents and union leaders said Walker's real motive was to strike back at political opponents who have supported Democrats over the years.

"So many people are against this," UW-Madison senior Kylie Christianson said early Wednesday as she sat in the Capitol rotunda on her blanket, putting the finishing touches on a protest sign. "His job is to help us, not to hurt us."

The public employee bill is the latest measure that Walker has pushed through the GOP-controlled Legislature since taking office in January. He's also signed into law tax cuts for businesses that relocate to Wisconsin and those that create jobs as well as sweeping lawsuit reform. To achieve additional budget savings, he is seeking authority to make changes in the Medicaid program, sell state power plants and restructure existing debt to save about $165 million.

Governors in a number of other states, including Ohio, Indiana, Nevada and Tennessee, have called for forcing concessions from public employee unions but no similar measures have moved to final action.