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MADISON, river (Reuters) – A crowd estimated at more than 70,000 people on Sat waved American flags, sang the national anthem and titled for the finish of a river organisation to edge open facet unions that has galvanized contestant from the American fag movement.

In digit of the large rallies at the land Capitol since the warfare War, organization members and their supporters braved frigid temperatures and a reddened snowfall to exhibit their displeasure.

The mood was upbeat despite the setback their drive suffered earlier this hebdomad when the land Assembly authorised the Republican-backed restrictions on organization collective bargaining rights over unmerciful Democratic objections.

"I'm deeply reputable to be here with you," said saint Yarrow, a stager of whatever ethnic protests during his 50-year sept penalization occupation and a origination member of the group Peter, Paul and Mary. "If you persist, you module prevail."

What began two weeks past as a politico try in digit small U.S. land to equilibrise the budget has turned into a disagreement with unions that could be the large since then President Ronald Reagan fired striking expose traffic controllers nearly 30 eld ago.

Republicans ease must near the measure finished the land Senate, which has been unable to mobilisation a quorum for a vote because of a Democratic boycott.

If the organisation is authorised in Wisconsin, a sort of another states where Republicans sweptwing to conclusion in the 2010 elections could follow. Already, another legislatures including Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Tennessee, and river are employed on organization curbs.

Unlike previous protests, the feat on Sat brought discover thousands of organization workers not direct strained by the bill, including the state's firefighters, exempted along with personnel from the politico proposal. Dozens of clannish facet unions were represented as well at the event.

No "Tea Party" supporters of the offering championed by politico Gov. Scott Walker were spotted on Saturday. They staged a small feat of their possess in President a hebdomad ago.

PARTY ATMOSPHERE

The feat change more like a band than a protest.

"This is digit of the maximal uninterrupted protests we hit seen in President since the warfare War. And to my noesis there were dead no problems," President Police spokesman book DeSpain said.

Scott Sumer, a pedagogue from Rockford, Illinois, meet southward of the river land line, said he hoped the uninterrupted and broad-based contestant to the river calculate would discourage lawmakers in another states from considering kindred measures.

"Other governors are feat to wager this and think, 'I don't poverty to go there.'" Sumer said. "The tenacity of this shitting and formality here are impressive."

Demonstrators chanted "Hey hey, ho ho, Scott Walker has got to go," as they stood direct under the duty pane of the state's newborn governor, who introduced the disputable measure as conception of a budget inadequacy cutting calculate that is moving in the river legislature.

The stakes are broad for fag because more than a third of U.S. open employees much as teachers, personnel and subject assist workers belong to unions while exclusive 6.9 proportionality of clannish facet workers are unionized. Unions are the large single source of funding for the Democratic party.

Some of the demonstrators carried signs, others pushed baby carriages, and others walked with their dogs by their sides.

The overwhelming anti-Walker view of the dissent was telegraphed in whatever ways, including a clew that read: "Scott Walker for President ... of Libya."

U.S. fag groups also staged rallies across the country to exhibit solidarity with river in conflict the offering they wager as disagreeable to fortuity the organization movement.

BETTER WEATHER

Wearing fat wear and her 10-month-old son strapped to her belly, Tamarine Cornelius, 36, carried a clew that feature "If river is gonna become Mississippi than I am gonna poverty better weather."

"I understand that there are thickened nowadays ahead, things are feat to be arduous no matter what. I conceive most people understand that," said Cornelius, who works for the non-profit river Council on Children and Families.

People in the land top of Madison, which is bag to unionized land polity agencies and the University of Wisconsin, are overwhelmingly anti to the governor's plan. But Republicans said they conceive there is a unhearable majority who voted Walker into office, and stop the efforts.

Republicans appeared defiant in the grappling of the organization protests. In Phoenix, potential politico statesmanly candidate Tim Pawlenty, a past controller of Minnesota, a edge of Wisconsin, drew commendation from "Tea Party" activists when he blamed President Barack Obama for supporting the river unions.

"It says in the Constitution: 'In visit to modify a more amend Union.' ... Mr. President, that does not stingy coddling discover of control open employee unions," he told whatever 2,000 partisans concentrated for a conference.

The river changes wanted by Walker would attain land workers advance more to health insurance and pensions, end polity assemblage of organization dues, let workers opt discover of unions and order unions to stop recertification votes every year. Collective bargaining would be allowed exclusive on remuneration increases up to the rate of inflation.

(Reporting by James Kelleher, king lexicologist and Stefanie Carano in Madison; Additional news by Tim Gaynor in Phoenix; Editing by Greg McCune)

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