Scott Walker will not let himself be bullied by union workers holding the state of Wisconsin hostage. This is the kind of courage GOPers in Washington should take notice of. Fox News reports that protesters are pledging to remain in the Wisconsin Capitol while Senate Democrats are committed to staying out of state until a compromise can be found with Gov. Scott Walker on collective bargaining rights for public sector employees.
Snow that turned to freezing rain Sunday considerably reduced the protest activity in the capital of Madison as hundreds gathered inside the Capitol building. That's significantly fewer than the estimated 68,000 who demonstrated on Saturday.
But Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the state AFL-CIO, said another large protest was expected Monday, when many state workers are being furloughed to save money.
Walker has been targeted by protesters for nearly a week for negotiating a bill now in the state Senate that would require workers to increase their contributions to pensions and health care coverage, would limit collective bargaining rules and tie raises to inflation. Senate Democrats fled Wisconsin to avoid voting on the legislation.
The Republican governor said that while the state enjoys a lower-than-average unemployment rate -- about 7.5 percent compared to 9 percent nationally -- about 5,000-6,000 state workers and 5,000-6,000 local government workers will find their jobs on the chopping block as the state looks to close a $3.6 billion biennial budget gap.
"I don't want a single person laid off in the public nor in the private sector and that's why this is a much better alternative than losing jobs," Walker told "Fox News Sunday."
The state's nearly 300,000 public sector employees are being asked to give up benefits worth about $300 million over two years, or less than 10 percent of the deficit total.
"If we're going to be in this together, (cut) our $3.6 billion budget deficit, it's going to take a whole lot more than just employee contributions when it comes to pensions and health care," Walker said. "But it's got to be a piece of the puzzle because as I saw at the local level, it's like a virus that eats up more and more of the budget if you don't get it under control."
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