Wisconsin Republicans Maneuver Bill Curbing Bargaining Rights Through Senate.

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MARCH 10, 2011.GOP Ends Union Stalemate

Wisconsin Republicans Maneuver Bill Curbing Bargaining Rights Through Senate.

Republican senators in Wisconsin Wednesday night maneuvered around Democrats to

pass legislation stripping public employees' unions of collective-bargaining

rights, setting the stage for other states to pursue similar steps in one of the

broadest challenges to organized labor in decades.

A vote on Republican Gov. 's " budget-repair " bill had been stymied

since Feb. 17 when 14 Democratic senators left the state, kicking off a

rancorous, three-week political drama. Without the Democrats, the senate lacked

a quorum to vote on certain fiscal items in the bill.

On Wednesday night, Republican senators convened on short notice and removed

appropriations items from the bill to allow a vote on the remaining

issues—including curbs on the collective-bargaining rights of public-employee

unions. The vote to pass the amended bill was 18-1, with no Democratic senators

present.