I posted an overview of this last night on the Labor Council website that I work for :




Wisconsin Capitol stuck in limbo over governor's union proposal

Wisconsin was in political limbo, if not chaos, Thursday as a growing number of protesters swarmed the Capitol to denounce the new Republican governor's plan to strip collective bargaining rights from most public sector unions, and Democratic lawmakers fled the state, denying the GOP majority the quorum it needs to pass the bill.

Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill has sparked days of demonstrations in Wisconsin and is one of a number of attempts by newly elected Republicans to strike at public sector unions, one of the pillars of the Democratic Party.

A look at how some newspapers reported Thursday's developments.

Senate Democrats leave Wisconsin in bid to derail GOP plans (Wisconsin State Journal):

In a last-ditch effort to stop the passage of Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget repair bill, all 14 Senate Democrats staged a walk-out Thursday, leaving the state to avoid a forced return to the Capitol and a doomed vote against the bill.

The missing legislators traveled across state lines, spending at least part of the day at the Clock Tower Resort in Rockford, Ill. -- just far enough away that state troopers could not force them to return. They then spent the rest of the day in a cat-and-mouse game with members of the media, sometimes speaking by cell phone but not revealing their location.

The move stalled the vote, and the Senate adjourned Thursday afternoon without taking the matter up. Senators, however, are expected to come back into session Friday for another run at passage.

If Republicans can get at least one of the Democratic senators back into the chamber, they can force a vote that would almost certainly end with passage of Walker's bill, which would effectively strip collective bargaining rights for nearly all public workers in Wisconsin.

The GOP holds a 19-14 edge in the Senate and a 57-38-1 edge in the Assembly, and Republican leaders say they have the votes to pass the measure.

"The only option we had was to do this," said Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who was reached on his cell phone and confirmed the senators spent time in Rockford. "You cannot introduce a bill on a Friday and expect it to be law the following week. Especially something this sweeping."

Democrats Missing, Wisconsin Vote on Cuts Is Delayed (New York Times):

MADISON, Wis. -- The fury among thousands of workers, students and union supporters rose to a boil on Thursday as state lawmakers prepared to vote on landmark legislation that would slash collective bargaining rights for public workers. Protesters blocked a door to Senate chambers. They sat down, body against body, filling a corridor, and chanted "freedom, democracy, unions!" in the stately gallery as the senators convened.

Then the surprising drama in Madison this week added a new twist: The Democrats disappeared.

That left Republicans, who control the Capitol and had expected to push through the bill, in limbo. Although Republicans control the state Senate by 19 to 14, 20 senators -- at least a single Democrat must be in the room to call a vote on such fiscal matters.

"It's disgraceful that people who are paid to be here have decided to skip town," Michael Ellis, the Senate president, said shortly after the roll was called. Said another Republican leader, Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, "This is the ultimate shutdown."

And so, as the Republicans fumed and waited, and the protesters (who were buoyed by the vanishing act) went right on protesting, a desperate search begun for the missing senators -- one more topsy-turvy chapter in a saga that has, in a single week, turned Wisconsin into a national battleground over public workers, unions, and budget crises.

The reason for the disappearance was simple: Democrats, along with the thousands of workers and protesters, vigorously oppose the bill, which would weaken unions by limiting collective bargaining for state employees and many local employees, including teachers, to base wages, and would require workers to pay more for pensions and health care. Without enough votes to actually stop the bill's passage, Democratic senators apparently concluded that leaving the building would stop the vote from taking place.

"The plan is to try and slow this down because it's an extreme piece of legislation that's tearing this state apart," Sen. Jon Erpenbach, one of the missing Democrats, told The Associated Press by telephone. (He refused to say where he was.)

By noon, the sergeant-at-arms, Ted Blazel, was climbing past the crowds in the Capitol, searching for senators through the maze-like hallways, in offices, under desks -- a task he has rarely been called to carry out.

"Nothing yet," Blazel said at one point, his forehead glistening with sweat.


Obama joins Wisconsin's budget battle, opposing Republican anti-union bill (Washington Post):

WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama thrust himself and his political operation this week into Wisconsin's budget battle, mobilizing opposition Thursday to a Republican bill that would curb public-worker benefits while planning similar action in other state capitals.

Obama accused Scott Walker, the state's new Republican governor, of unleashing an "assault" on unions in pushing emergency legislation that would nullify collective-bargaining agreements that affect most public employees, including teachers.

The president's political machine worked in close coordination Thursday with state and national union officials to mobilize thousands of protesters to gather in Madison and to plan similar demonstrations in other state capitals.

Their efforts began to spread, as thousands of labor supporters turned out for a hearing in Columbus, Ohio, to protest a measure from Gov. John Kasich, R, that would cut collective-bargaining rights.

By the end of the day, Democratic Party officials were working to organize additional demonstrations in Ohio and Indiana, where an effort is under way to trim benefits for public workers. Some union activists predicted similar protests in Missouri, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Under Walker's plan, most public workers -- excluding police, firefighters and state troopers -- would have to pay half of their pension costs and at least 12 percent of their health-care costs. They would lose bargaining rights for anything other than pay. Walker, who took office last month, says the emergency measure is needed to save $300 million over the next two years to help close a $3.6 billion budget gap.

"Some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where they're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like more of an assault on unions," Obama told a Milwaukee television reporter, taking the unusual step of inviting a local station into the White House for a sit-down interview. "I think everybody's got to make some adjustments, but I think it's also important to recognize that public employees make enormous contributions to our states and our citizens."



Very exciting time to belong to the labor movement here in the States.The movement has been waning for years mostly due to younger workers not understanding their
rights to organize for better working conditions in the workplace as well as the proliferation of notoriously anti-union Walmart on nearly every street corner
(well, in nearly every city that is). Scenes like this may provide a much needed shot in the arm as younger workers ask themselves what and why:
















Edited 3 times by David Pablo Feb 18 11 7:32 PM.