Tens of thousands of protesters have traveled to Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin, for weeks of protests. Protesters have even surrounded Governor Scott Walker’s home and filled the state’s capitol building, according to The New York Times.
“One of my friends got arrested for climbing in a bathroom window and running down the hall (of the Capitol building),” said sophomore English major Isabel Elliott, who is from Wisconsin.
The large protests, attracting as many as 85,000 people, are objecting a bill passed by the Wisconsin legislature that Republicans said would help balance the state’s $137 million budget deficit.
“Everyone’s really upset,” said Elliott. “I was in Wisconsin when the vote occurred and people were furious. My mom went to the protests in Madison and said she couldn’t move, the crowd was so thick.”
The bill drastically reduces the collective bargaining rights of public-sector unions, limiting their bargaining to wages only, and requiring public workers to contribute more to their pensions and their health insurance, the equivalent of an eight percent deduction in pay.
Public-sector unions offered to pay more for pensions and healthcare, but their offers were ignored. The bill has been seen by many as an attack on the union rights and the Democratic party, according to CBS News.
“It’s really just a blatant attempt to strip unions of their rights and weaken one of the largest sources of funding for Democratic candidates,” said Associate Professor of Political Science Ken Gilmore.
Fourteen Democrats, the minority in the Wisconsin Congress, left the state for three weeks in an attempt to prevent the bill from being passed. Without the Democrats the legislatures did not have the full quorum necessary to vote on the bill, as a full quorum is necessary when voting on any law affecting the budget.
According to the Huffington Post, a blogger telephoned Walker pretending to be billionaire David Koch. Walker explained to the blogger a plan to bring Democrats back to Madison under the pretext of discussing the bill. The vote would have then taken place, as the full quorum would have been present.
After the call was circulated, a spokesperson for Walker confirmed its legitimacy. The Democrats were grateful to the blogger as they were ready to take the governor’s offer, reports the Huffington Post.
Despite the setback of the call, the Republicans did pass the bill without the Democrats. A full quorum is not necessary when the bill does not affect the budget. By stripping the bill of parts directly related to appropriating funds, the Republicans said the bill did not affect the budget and they did not require a full quorum, according to The New York Times.
The vote took a total of half an hour and was signed into a law by Walker in less than a day, according to The New York Times.
“In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin,” said Mark Miller, the leader of the Senate Democrats, to The New York Times. “Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten.”
Protests have continued against the law. They have received continual support, with calls coming from as far Egypt for pizza deliveries to the protesters, reports The Associated Press.
“We don’t see the value of collective bargaining, we see the absolute positive necessity of collective bargaining,” said Vice President Joe Biden in a speech to the protestors. “Let’s get something straight: the only people who have the capacity — organizational capacity and muscle — to keep, as they say, the barbarians from the gate, is organized labor.”
According to CNN, District Attorney Ismael Ozanne filed a lawsuit, claiming that the passing of the law violated Wisconsin’s open meetings law. He said that the legislators failed to give 24 hour notice that is required about their meeting.
Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ruled a temporary restraining order March 18, blocking the law until another vote can be made, reports CNN.
“This legislation is still working through the legal process. We are confident the provisions of the budget repair bill will become law in the near future,” said Cullen Werwie, Walker’s press secretary, to CNN.
Meanwhile Democrats are telling protesters to be patient and to vote in recall elections, which are becoming likely.