Budget Battle: GOP Senator Says Dems Have Left State
By Jay Sorgi and the Associated PressMADISON - The State Senate has convened in Wisconsin to discuss, debate and possibly vote on Governor Scott Walker's controversial budget bill, but not all the Senate members are there; all Democrats in the Senate are absent.
Law enforcement officials are looking for at least one Democratic senator to bring in for a quorum required for a fiscal measure, but River Hills Republican Senator Alberta Darling claimed to Newsradio 620 WTMJ that all the Democrats got on one bus and left the state.
"Guess where they are? They got on a bus, left and went to another state. That's pretty awful," said Darling to Newsradio 620 WTMJ's John Mercure.But according to the Twitter account of Democrat State Senator Chris Larson from Bay View, "For those looking for us, we are right here, standing with the people of Wisconsin."
When asked by TODAY'S TMJ4's Tom Murray why he would not divulge his location, he said "I don't want those details to take away from the message being sent by the people of Wisconsin."
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Related audio: Click on the links below to hear Newsradio 620 WTMJ "Wisconsin Afternoon News" exclusive interviews about the budget/union bill
•Governor Scott Walker
•Madison Democratic State Senator Jon Erpenbach
•Madison Teachers Union Executive Director John Matthews
As observers in the senate chamber were shouting over the microphoned senators, a roll call was happening with no Senate Democrat in the chambers, and the discussion, debate and vote cannot occur because a 3/5ths quorum cannot be reached.
"The senate is now under a call of the house, and we will try to find the members who decided not to show up for work today. We will stand informal pending the resolution of the call of the house," said State Senator Mike Ellis.
A staff member for Senator Lena Taylor (D.-Milwaukee) said that office staffers cannot even leave their office because of the commotion inside the Capitol.
With the Democrats gone, not enough Senators are available for a quorum to vote on the bill.
"We do not have the 3/5th's" said Ellis to cheers in the crowd.
"We will leave the call of the house on until we receive enough members to continue to do business. I don't know how long that will take."
"Once we have enough people to continue to work, if they're still in the building, you will hear this bell and the Senate will be reconvened."
The wait could happen for as long as hours, or even days, until a Democratic senator comes in.
The proposal has been the focus of intense protests at the Statehouse for three days. As Republicans tried to begin Senate business Thursday, observers in the gallery screamed "Freedom! Democracy! Unions!"
Republicans hold a 19-14 majority, but they need at least one Democrat to be present before taking a vote on the bill.
Democratic Minority Leader Mark Miller released a statement on behalf of all Democrats urging Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans to listen to opponents of the measure and seek a compromise. His statement did not address where Democrats were or when they planned to return.
Bill opponents in the Senate gallery cheered when Senate President Mike Ellis announced that there were not enough senators present to proceed.
The bill came to the Senate after the Legislature's budget committee endorsed it just before midnight Wednesday.
Walker and Republican leaders have said they have the votes to pass the plan.
That didn't stop thousands of protesters from clogging the hallway outside the Senate chamber beating on drums, holding signs deriding Walker and pleading for lawmakers to kill the bill. Protesters also demonstrated outside the homes of some lawmakers.
Hundreds of teachers called in sick, forcing a number of school districts to cancel classes. Madison schools, the state's second-largest district with 24,000 students, closed for a second day as teachers poured into the Capitol.
Hundreds more people, many of them students from the nearby University of Wisconsin, slept in the rotunda for a second night.
"We are all willing to come to the table, we've have all been willing from day one," said Madison teacher Rita Miller. "But you can't take A, B, C, D and everything we've worked for in one fell swoop."
The head of the 98,000-member statewide teachers union called on all Wisconsin residents to come to the Capitol on Thursday for the votes in the Senate and Assembly.
"Our goal is not to close schools, but instead to remain vigilant in our efforts to be heard," said Wisconsin Education Association Council President Mary Bell.
The proposal marks a dramatic shift for Wisconsin, which passed a comprehensive collective bargaining law in 1959 and was the birthplace of the national union representing all non-federal public employees.
But so far, Democrats have been powerless to stop the bill.
"The story around the world is the rush to democracy," said Democratic Sen. Bob Jauch of Poplar. "The story in Wisconsin is the end of the democratic process."
In addition to eliminating collective bargaining rights, the legislation also would make public workers pay half the costs of their pensions and at least 12.6 percent of their health care coverage -- increases Walker calls "modest" compared with those in the private sector.
Republican leaders said they expected Wisconsin residents would be pleased with the savings the bill would achieve -- $30 million by July 1 and $300 million over the next two years to address a $3.6 billion budget shortfall.
"I think the taxpayers will support this idea," Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said.
Wisconsin has long been a bastion for workers' rights. It was the first state to grant collective bargaining rights to public employees more than a half-century ago. And the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees was founded in 1936 in Madison.
But when voters elected Walker, an outspoken conservative, along with GOP majorities in both legislative chambers, it set the stage for a dramatic reversal of the state's labor history.
Under Walker's plan, state employees' share of pension and health care costs would go up by an average of 8 percent.
Unions still could represent workers, but could not seek pay increases above those pegged to the Consumer Price Index unless approved by a public referendum. Unions also could not force employees to pay dues and would have to hold annual votes to stay organized.
In exchange for bearing more costs and losing bargaining leverage, public employees were promised no furloughs or layoffs. Walker has threatened to order layoffs of up to 6,000 state workers if the measure does not pass.
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I would fire every one of these leeches tommorow if I could. Enough is enough.
