Wisconsin's Democrat state senators returned to work Tuesday with little fanfare, a stark contrast to the scene in February when their dramatic decision to flee the state in protest over an anti-union bill helped fuel massive protests that made the state the center of a national fight over union rights.
The 14 Democrats left for Illinois with no warning on Feb. 17, leaving the Senate with one too few members to vote on the bill. Finally on March 9, Republicans removed some financial provisions from the bill so they could pass it with a lower quorum and no Democrats present. The Democrats returned to Wisconsin in March to participate in a massive rally the day after Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill into law.
The law is now tied up in court and hasn't gone into effect. It would require most state employees to pay more for health care and pension benefits while taking away all of their collective bargaining rights except over salary increases.
In a way, the Senate picked up Tuesday right where it left off. The first bill considered was a measure that includes many of the spending items Republicans removed from the anti-union bill before it passed last month. Those items are needed to plug a $137 million budget shortfall projected by July 1.
The budget shortfall measure passed Tuesday, with three Democrats even joining with 19 Republicans to pass the bill.
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The 14 Democrats left for Illinois with no warning on Feb. 17, leaving the Senate with one too few members to vote on the bill. Finally on March 9, Republicans removed some financial provisions from the bill so they could pass it with a lower quorum and no Democrats present. The Democrats returned to Wisconsin in March to participate in a massive rally the day after Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill into law.
The law is now tied up in court and hasn't gone into effect. It would require most state employees to pay more for health care and pension benefits while taking away all of their collective bargaining rights except over salary increases.
In a way, the Senate picked up Tuesday right where it left off. The first bill considered was a measure that includes many of the spending items Republicans removed from the anti-union bill before it passed last month. Those items are needed to plug a $137 million budget shortfall projected by July 1.
The budget shortfall measure passed Tuesday, with three Democrats even joining with 19 Republicans to pass the bill.
Read more
It is my sincere hope that they received NO pay, nothing since Feb. 17th. The cowards! They shouldn't have a job to even return to. If the Republicans had done that they would have been hung out to dry.
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