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Thursday, March 10, 2011

Protesters Retake Wisconsin Capitol after Republicans Pass Anti-Union Bill | Labor Notes #wearewi #WIunion

Protesters Retake Wisconsin Capitol after Republicans Pass Anti-Union Bill | Labor Notes

Protesters Retake Wisconsin Capitol after Republicans Pass Anti-Union Bill

Jane Slaughter and Mischa Gaus
| March 9, 2011
Wisconsinites have been protesting Governor Scott Walker's power grab for more than three weeks. The confrontation climaxed Wednesday night. Photo: Sue Ruggles.

Stunned and outraged, thousands of Wisconsinites forced their way into the Capitol tonight after Senate Republicans passed their bill attacking unions.

The Republicans rewrote the bill to strip out fiscal measures and focus just on attacking union rights and collective bargaining, allowing them to pass the bill without the participation of Senate Democrats.

Republicans didn’t need them because a quorum is required only for fiscal measures. The bill would cripple public worker unions by ending dues checkoff, mandating yearly votes to maintain the union’s certification, and restricting bargaining to wages, which are tightly constrained.