Wisconsin Republicans scored a small victory Friday morning in their fight with unions – as GOPers in the state assembly broke the Democrats' filibuster and approved a bill that would take away the majority of public workers' collective bargaining rights.
The biggest hurdle is yet to come, as the measure will now go to the Senate, where the minority Democrats have fled to Illinois in effort to boycott the measure and prevent a quorum from passing the bill.
Battles over union benefits and bargaining rights are gripping many Rust Belt states, with Republicans in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio also pushing to roll back long-held rights of government worker unions.
The vote in Wisconsin, where demonstrations against the budget have gained national attention, is being seen as a win for Gov. Scott Walker.
He argued his proposal contains a number of provisions to plug a $137 million deficit.
Democrats and unions see the legislation as an attack on worker's rights and an attempt to weaken union support for Democrats.
The vote in Wisconsin came just after 1 a.m., after more than 60 hours of debate.
The majority Republicans suddenly halted debate and ordered a vote before many of the sleep-deprived members realized what was going on. It passed 51 to 17, with 28 members not registering their votes in time.
Several Democrats rose from their seats and shouted "Shame! Shame! Shame!" at the Republicans as they left the chamber.
GOP Gov. Scott Walker. (Manis/AP)
The Democrats said they'll review the vote to see if it may have been illegal, reports the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. They said they still had several speakers and did not hear the GOP invoke and carry out the rarely used rule to allow them to end debate early and vote.
"The Democrats were clearly stalling," Republican Rep. Joel Kleefisch told the newspaper. "That's why Assembly rules allow for a vote on final passage. We took that vote and did what the people of this state asked us to do on Nov. 2 – get spending under control."
Protests about Wisconsin are far from over. Plans are in the works for all 50 states to hold demonstrations at their state capitols on Saturday in support of Wisconsin workers.
With News Wire Services
ashahid@nydailynews.com
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