The
demonstrations hit their peak Saturday when an estimated 70,000 protesters
converged on the Capitol, with pro-union activists facing off against a much
smaller number of supporters of Gov. Scott Walker.
There
were no clashes.
Pro-union
activists and their supporters since Tuesday have filled the Capitol with
chanting, drumbeats and anti-Walker slogans. On Saturday, Walker’s supporters
came out in force for the first time.
Walker
has proposed legislation he says is needed to bring government spending under
control. It does so, in part, by requiring government workers to contribute
more to their health care and pension costs while largely eliminating their
collective bargaining rights.
The
dispute is being watched carefully because if Walker prevails in Wisconsin,
other conservative Republican governors may try to go after powerful public
employee unions as part of their budget-cutting policies.
Defeating
the Wisconsin bill and others like it is crucial for public-sector unions, an
important part of the Democratic Party base. President Barack Obama and other
Democrats will need the strong support of unions in the 2012 elections —
especially in key swing states like Wisconsin — to counter a huge influx of
corporate funds allowed under a Supreme Court decision last year.
Nearly
every major union leader — both public and private sector — has united behind
an ambitious $30 million plan to stop anti-labor measures in Wisconsin and at
least 10 other states.
Saturday’s
protest In Madison was marked by opposing chants: “Pass the bill! Pass the
bill!” and “Kill the bill! Kill the bill!” The Wisconsin governor — elected in
November’s Republican wave that also gave control of the state Assembly and Senate
to Republicans — says that concessions from public employee unions are needed
to deal with the state’s projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall and to avoid
layoffs of government workers.
Senate
Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said the crowds of demonstrators that have
gotten bigger each day have yet to win over any member of his caucus.
“What
they’re getting from individuals back home is stick to your guns, don’t let
them get to you,” Fitzgerald said.
“Every
senator I’ve spoken to today is getting that back home, which is awesome.”
Fitzgerald said Republicans have the votes needed to pass the so-called “budget
repair” bill without any changes just as soon as 14 Senate Democrats who fled
the state on Thursday and remain in hiding return to the Statehouse.
Without
them, there isn’t the required quorum to vote on legislation.
The
missing Democrats have threatened to stay away for weeks and remain more
resolved than ever to stay away “as long as it takes” until Walker agrees to
negotiate, Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach said Saturday.
“I don’t
think he’s really thought it through, to be honest,” Erpenbach said.
Democrats
offered again Saturday to agree to the parts of Walker’s proposal that would
double workers’ health insurance contributions and require them to contribute
5.8 percent of their salary to their pensions, so long as workers retained
their rights to negotiate with the state as a union.
Walker,
who was spending time with his family Saturday and didn’t appear in public,
also rejected the Democrats’ offer. He told Fox News on Sunday that the Senate
Democrats need to come back to Wisconsin and do their jobs instead of hiding
out to delay a vote.
Madison
police estimated 60,000 or more people were outside the Capitol with up to
8,000 more inside.
Police spokesman
Joel DeSpain said there were no arrests or problems during Saturday’s protests.
“We’ve seen and shown the world that in Madison, Wisconsin, we can bring people
together who disagree strongly on a bill in a peaceful way,” he said.
Doctors
from numerous hospitals set up a station near the Capitol to provide notes
covering public employees’ absences. Family physician Lou Sanner, 59, of
Madison, said he had given out hundreds of notes. Many of the people he spoke
with seemed to be suffering from stress, he said.
“What
employers have a right to know is if the patient was assessed by a duly
licensed physician about time off of work,” Sanner said. “Employers don’t have
a right to know the nature of that conversation or the nature of that illness.
So it’s as valid as every other work note that I’ve written for the last 30
years.”
