Tens of thousands march on Wisconsin Capitol

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Tens of thousands march on Wisconsin Capitol

By Kelleher and | Reuters – 34 minutes ago

MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on

Wisconsin's state Capitol on Saturday to protest Republican Gov. 's

plan to curb public sector union power in order to balance the budget.

Waving hundreds of American flags and singing the national anthem, the

demonstrators were peaceful and the swelling crowds upbeat despite a setback

earlier in the week when the state Assembly approved the measure over Democratic

objections.

What began two weeks ago as a Republican measure in one small U.S. state has

turned into what could be the biggest challenge to union power since then

President Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers nearly 30 years

ago.

If Republicans prevail in Wisconsin, a number of other states governed by

conservative majorities could follow. Already, other legislatures including

Ohio, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Tennessee, and Kansas are working on union curbs.

Unlike previous protests, the rally on Saturday brought out thousands of union

workers not directly affected by the bill, including the state's firefighters,

exempted along with police from the Republican proposal. Dozens of private

sector unions were represented as well.

'WALKER HAS GOT TO GO'

About 2,500 demonstrators, chanting " Hey hey, ho ho, has got to

go, " stood directly under the office window of the state's new governor, who

introduced the controversial measure as part of a budget deficit cutting bill

that is moving the Wisconsin legislature.

Sumer, a teacher from Rockford, Illinois, just south of the Wisconsin

state line, was among them. He said the swelling crowds were proof " the momentum

is growing " and predicted the growing opposition here would give pause to

lawmakers in other states considering similar measures.

" Other governors are going to see this and think, 'I don't want to go there.' "

Sumer said. " The tenacity of this movement and civility here are impressive. "

Madison police refused to say whether the number of protesters eclipsed the

estimated crowd of more than 50,000 that gathered here one week ago. They would

only say that they expected " a sizable crowd. "

The stakes are high for labor because more than a third of public employees such

as teachers, police and civil service workers belong to unions while only 6.9

percent of private sector workers are unionized. Unions are the biggest single

source of funding for the Democratic party.

Two hours before the rally was officially supposed to start, about 5,000

protesters were in line to enter the Capitol, the building's capacity, and the

wait to get in was at least two hours.

The street circling the Capitol, roughly a mile around, was choked with

protesters, defying the frigid temperatures and steady snow that fell throughout

the afternoon.

Saturday's rally had a festival or concert feel to it with a stage set up and

some popular musicians expected to perform later in the day.

Some of the demonstrators carried signs, others pushed baby carriages, others

walked with their dogs by their sides.

The overwhelming anti- sentiment of the demonstration was telegraphed in

many ways, including a sign that read: " for President ... of

Libya. "

U.S. labor groups also staged rallies across the country to show solidarity with

Wisconsin in fighting the proposal they see as trying to break the union

movement.

BETTER WEATHER

Wearing thick outerwear and her 10-month-old son strapped to her belly, Tamarine

Cornelius, 36, carried a sign that read " If Wisconsin is gonna become

Mississippi than I am gonna want better weather. "

" I understand that there are tough times ahead, things are going to be difficult

no matter what. I think most people understand that, " said Cornelius, who works

for the non-profit Wisconsin Council on Children and Families.

Inside the already crowded Capitol, Dave Higginbotham, 45, a county

transportation worker in southern Wisconsin near the Illinois border, said curbs

on union powers could make personal connections with the boss more important

than job performance.

" To work in that type of environment, if you're someone that works hard and is

concentrated on the taxpayers and what's important to them, becomes second

nature and it gets frustrating, really frustrating, " Higginbotham said.

The Saturday protests take place in a different context than previous rallies,

after the controversial proposal passed the state Assembly on Friday, testing

the resolve of a movement that has so far been remarkably peaceful.

Backers of the bill won a major victory early Friday with state Assembly

approval of the union bill. The bill has now moved to the state Senate where it

is stalled because the 14 Democrats fled to Illinois to deny a quorum for a

vote.

People in the state capital of Madison, which is home to unionized state

government agencies and the University of Wisconsin, are overwhelmingly opposed

to the governor's plan. But Republicans said they believe there is a silent

majority who voted into office, and support the efforts.

Republicans appeared defiant in the face of the union protests. In Phoenix,

where some 2,000 conservative " Tea Party " supporters were gathered, potential

Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty drew applause when he blasted

President Barack Obama for supporting the Wisconsin unions.

" It says in the Constitution: 'In order to form a more perfect Union.' ... Mr.

President, that does not mean coddling out of control public employee unions. "

The Wisconsin changes sought by would make state workers contribute more

to health insurance and pensions, end government collection of union dues, let

workers opt out of unions and require unions to hold recertification votes every

year. Collective bargaining would be allowed only on wage increases up to the

rate of inflation.

(Reporting by Kelleher, and Stefanie Carano in Madison;

Additional reporting by Stebbins in Chicago and Jim Lekrone in

Columbus, Editing by Greg McCune)