Wisconsin lawmakers debate union rights bill

The Wisconsin state Assembly finally convened Thursday to debate union rights legislation that was delayed by protests that prompted a lockdown and security sweep at the Capitol.

Legislators had been scheduled to vote around noon ET on the measure that passed the Senate on Wednesday night in an extraordinary turn of events that has rocked the state.

The state's Republican senators used a surprise procedural maneuver to swiftly pass a bill that would strip most collective-bargaining rights from public employees.

The Senate voted 18-1 without debate to approve the contentious bill, even though all 14 Senate Democrats remained out of state in an effort to stop the chamber from having enough members to vote.

The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money. Republicans made several technical changes to the legislation — taking out the spending measures but leaving in collective-bargaining changes — that eliminated the need for any Democrats to be present.

The Republican-controlled state Assembly is expected to pass the bill. Republican Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday that he will sign the bill "as quickly as I can legally."

Chaos broke out at the Capitol on Thursday morning. The morning vote was delayed because the session can't take place unless the public has access to the building, and the spokeswoman for Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said several state representatives were not able to get inside.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was part of the crowd outside and unsuccessfully tried to get inside as the guest of Rep. Joe Parisi, D-Madison, who was also temporarily locked out of the building. Police inside eventually let Parisi and other Democrats in, but Jackson was not permitted to follow as hundreds of demonstrators chanted "let Jesse in."

"This is not about whether or not I get in the door, this is about whether workers have the right to collectively bargain," Jackson said.

Sen. Jim Holperin said Democrats were returning to the state Thursday, but they wouldn't return to the Capitol because the Senate was not in session. It was not scheduled to be back in session until April 5.

On Wednesday the tactical move set off waves of yelling inside the chamber, angry comments from Democrats and chants of "Shame on you!" outside the Capitol.

A crowd of hundreds of protesters grew to about 7,000 in the Capitol, a crowd as large as any seen inside the building in three weeks of demonstrations.

"So many people have been offended by the process. I don't know how the governor could build any consensus for the rest of his term and move forward," said Dave Sebora, who has been an educator for 30 years and is a Neenah (Wis.) Education Association steward and chairman of the counseling department at Neenah High School.

Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the state AFL-CIO labor organization, accused Republicans of using the "nuclear option to ram through their bill."

Walker said, "I applaud the Legislature's action today to stand up to the status quo."

Walker has said his collective-bargaining bill was needed to reduce the state's $137 million budget shortfall. His proposal touched off a national debate over union rights and prompted tens of thousands of demonstrators to converge on the Capitol for nearly three weeks of protests.

Some Democrats challenged the validity of Wednesday's vote.

"This is a violation of law!" Barca shouted in a televised broadcast of a special conference committee hastily formed to move the bill forward.

"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin. Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten," Senate Democratic leader Mark Miller said.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Miller said there is nothing Democrats can do now to stop the bill: "It's a done deal."

The measure would require government workers to contribute about 10% more to pension and retirement benefits, a change union leaders said they would accept. Labor groups opposed collective-bargaining rules that would limit negotiations for most workers to wages and prohibit deducting union dues from paychecks.

"I think it's a very, very sad day for public workers," said Chris Heller, Appleton West High School math teacher and negotiations chairman for the Appleton Education Association, who has been an educator for 25 years. "I'm a professional educator, yet they want to silence my voice in how I educate."

Contributing: Ben Jones, Kathy Walsh Nufer and J.E. Espino, The Post-Crescent, Appleton, Wis.; Carolyn Pesce in McLean, Va.; The Associated Press