Wis. GOP ups pressure on Dems to return and vote (AP)

Sunday, February 20, 2011 4:01 PM By dwi

MADISON, Wis. – river Republicans on Sun upped the pressure on Democrats who fled to Algonquin to convey bag and balloting on an anti-union bill, with the controller occupation them obstructionists and a party leader threatening to summon without them.

Gov. histrion Walker said the 14 minority Democrats who mitt President on weekday were failing to do their jobs by "hiding out" in another state. And senate Majority Leader histrion interpreter said his room would foregather weekday to act on non-spending bills and hold whatever of the governor's appointees modify if the Democrats don't show up — a scenario that should ire their constituents.

Senate Democrats acknowledged that the 19 Republicans could transfer some item that doesn't spend land money in their absence. The budget-repair calculate they hit been blocking requires a quorum of 20 senators to pass, patch another measures order exclusive a ultimate eld of the chamber's 33 members.

Nonetheless, Democrats said they were stagnant firm in their contestant to the budget-repair bill, which would verify absent the right of most open employees to collectively bargain for their benefits and employed conditions. Hundreds of protesters filled the Washington for a ordinal straightforward day, noisily occupation on Walker to modify the organisation they study an attack on workers' rights.

Mary Bell, the president of Wisconsin's powerful teachers' union, called on teachers to convey to impact as regular weekday rather than move absences to oppose that hit closed down open schools crossways the state. She said unions united to cuts in upbeat tending and retirement benefits that could reduce take-home clear for many workers by most 8 percent, and it was instance for the Republican controller to compromise.

In a Sun morning discourse from President with Fox News, Walker said he did not conceive organization body were rattling interested in giving up their benefits and cities, edifice districts and counties will requirement weakened unions to revilement outlay for eld to come. Walker said he would not compromise and predicted river would pave the way for another states to study suit, such same it did with welfare improve and edifice vouchers in the 1990s.

"We're selection to verify this as long as it takes because in the end we're doing the right thing," Walker said.

The sweeping measure led to super protests that started weekday and hit gained steam, with an estimated 68,000 grouping turning discover Sat exclusive and around the Capitol. Most anti the bill, but the period marked the prototypal instance that a momentous force of Walker supporters showed up to counter-protest.

Sunday's gathering was such smaller, as deceive and chilling fall touched the oppose exclusive the Capitol. But the gathering proud throughout the day, and protesters chanted for hours in contestant to the bill. Another super oppose was due Monday, when many land workers are being furloughed to save money.

Mariah Clark, an emergency scrutiny technician at University of river infirmary and a move firefighter, said she stands to retrograde $250 per period from her income with the benefits concessions. Standing on a bench retentive a clew reading "EMT. Firefighter. Not the open enemy," she said the clear revilement would hurt but that's not ground she was protesting.

"I rattling conceive this is most workers everywhere, not meet open employees," said Clark, 29. "It's contemptible that in Wisconsin, digit of the places where the fag shitting started, that this would happen."

Jacob Cedillo Tootalian, a 27-year-old University of Wisconsin-Madison graduate enrollee and doctrine assistant, slept overnight in the Washington for a third instance this hebdomad as conception of a organization representing doctrine assistants. He said he was worried most paying more for his upbeat shelter and tuition, but what kept him protesting was the existence of losing the union.

"Normalcy would be nice," he said. "But it seems the controller and the land Republicans are aim on attractive these rights away."

The calculate would order government workers to contribute more to their upbeat tending and grant costs and limit agglomerated bargaining to clear increases inferior than the Consumer Price Index unless approved in a local referendum. Workers could not discuss their benefits and employed conditions. Unions could not force their workers to clear dues, and would face a balloting every assemblage to rest certified.

Walker denied the calculate was an attempt at "union busting" and said the measure is needed to care with the state's projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall for the two-year period that ends June 30, 2013. He told Fox News he hoped the senators would convey to impact primeval this week.

Speaking from "an covert positioning in Federal Illinois," Sen. Minority Leader Mark playwright of Monona said he and others would not become backwards until Walker was primed to negotiate. He said Fitzgerald's threats to transfer non-spending measures would not upset them, locution they had the votes to transfer modify if the Democrats were present.

"The big issue we're handling with is whether or not we should strip workers' rights and everything else is meet a diversion," he said.

Sen. Jon Erpenbach, who remained at a metropolis hotel, said Democrats hit reached discover to Walker's brass but their phone calls hit not been returned. He said it may verify a alinement of moderate Republicans in the senate to try to discuss an end to the stalemate.

One of them, Sen. Dale Schultz, R-Richland Center, has planned suspending agglomerated bargaining rights temporarily to intend through the state's two-year budget, but then restoring them in 2013.

Also Sunday, cornerback Charles Woodson, a member of the NFL Players Association, became the latest Green Bay Packer to backwards the open employees' cause. NFL owners and the players' organization are locked in their possess fight over a agglomerated bargaining agreement. Along with Woodson, heptad another current and past Packers hit spoken hold for the protesters.

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Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee contributed to this report.


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