This morning, there were well-founded concerns that the Republican-controlled Wisconsin state Senate had found a way to strip state employees of their collective bargaining rights even without a single Democrat present.
Fortunately, those concerns can be put to rest. Talking Points Memo breaks the story:
Just a short time ago we brought you word that the state senate Democrats in Wisconsin were worried that the Republicans could manage an end-run and push the union-busting bill through without their being present. The approach would be to take that stuff out of the budget bill, which requires a larger quorum of senators present, and put it into regular legislation they could pass with the Dems still out of state. But now the Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald is saying he won't take the legislation up until the Democrats come back.
It’s unclear why Republicans decided not to pursue this path. Perhaps they concluded it was unconstitutional. Perhaps they didn’t have the votes. Perhaps there was some other reason or combination of reasons. Whatever the cause, this keeps the fight to protect workers’ rights going.
However, while Senate Republicans have backpeddled, Scott Walker has petulantly threatened even deeper cuts if the Senate Democrats don’t return:
The Walker administration is now warning the bill must pass by Friday to allow time to refinance state bonds in order to save money, a key component of the governor’s plan to fix the state’s $137 million deficit this year.
“If Senate Democrats remain out of state on their taxpayer-funded, fundraising vacation, it will force more aggressive and painful spending cuts in the very near future,” Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said Monday.
The statement carried a slightly ominous tone, given rumors the governor is ready to announce layoffs if the bill battle continues.
“I don’t know how to deal with a veiled threat like that,” said Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, one of the 14 Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois last week to deny the Senate a quorum and stall a vote on the bill.
With a huge amount of pressure on the Senate Democrats to return, and with recall elections still very possible on both sides, your contribution to the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee will make an immediate, substantive impact on the fight in Wisconsin. The sole purpose of this committee is to support Democratic nominees in all 33 Wisconsin state Senate districts.