2011 Wisconsin protests

2011 Wisconsin protests
Part of 2011 United States public employee protests
Thousands gather inside Madison Wisconsin's Capitol rotunda to protest Governor Walker's proposed bill.
Date	February 14, 2011 (2011-02-14) – present
Location	Wisconsin, United States 43°4′29.6″N 89°23′8″W
Caused by	Opposition to certain provisions in legislation proposed by Governor Scott Walker to restrict public employee collective bargaining and address a state budget shortfall.
Methods	Protests, sit ins, demonstrations, movement for recall elections
Status	Ongoing
Parties
Wisconsin Democratic Party Unions: Organizing for America SEIU IWW WEAC – an NEA affiliate Wisconsin Republican Party
Lead figures
Non-centralized leadership Wisconsin Democratic Legislature figures: Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca Wisconsin Senate 14 Tim Carpenter Spencer Coggs Tim Cullen Jon Erpenbach Dave Hansen Jim Holperin Robert Jauch Chris Larson Julie Lassa Mark Miller Fred Risser Lena Taylor Kathleen Vinehout Robert Wirch Governor Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Legislature figures: Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald President of the Senate Michael Ellis Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder
Number
Protesters: 100,000+ Counter Protesters: Several thousand
Casualties and losses
Arrests Injuries Deaths 9+ 0 0

The 2011 Wisconsin protests are a series of ongoing demonstrations in the state of Wisconsin in the United States involving tens of thousands of protestors, including union members and students. The protests center around the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, with smaller protests also occurring in Milwaukee, Green Bay and other municipalities. Demonstrations have also occurred at various college campuses, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

The protests began on February 14 in opposition to the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill proposed by Republican Governor Scott Walker to address a projected $3.6 billion budget deficit. The legislation would require state employees to contribute 5.8% of their salaries to cover pension costs, contribute 12.6% towards their health care premiums and would weaken and possibly abolish collective bargaining rights for most public employee union members. Democrats and union leaders offered to accept the increased cost of benefits but not the removal of bargaining rights. Walker rejected the idea because they "stood in the way of local governments and school districts being able to balance their budget."

On February 20, it was reported that 14 Democratic Party Senators had left Wisconsin and traveled across state lines to Illinois to ensure their votes could not be taken on the bill in question. The Senators remained in Illinois for three weeks, returning only after Senate Republicans passed the bill through the State Senate in their absence. It has not been determined whether or not this method of passing the bill was legal.

On March 9, Republicans removed the bill of all budgetary measures and passed it through the State Senate with an 18–1 vote. On March 10, the Wisconsin State Assembly followed the Senate's move and passed the law with a vote of 53–42 ending most collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees, except in wages. On March 18, Judge Maryann Sumi issued a stay on the bill saying it had been passed without the required the 24 hours' notice to inform the public of the meeting . Attorney General J. B. Van Hollen then announced he is appealing the ruling. Despite this, on March 25, the Legislative Reference Bureau bypassed the Secretary of State's office and officially published the collective bargaining law with Republicans saying it is law and they would enforce it. This interpretation has been criticized as unconstitutional by Marquette constitutional law professor Edward Fallone who says that the Legislative Reference Bureau, a research library service, does not have the power to turn a bill into a law. On March 29, Judge Sumi contradicted the legislative pronouncement declaring that the bill had not became law and that public officials who attempted to enforce it risked legal sanctions. Governor Walker will abide by Judge Sumi's ruling.

Background

Wisconsin was the first state in the United States to provide collective bargaining rights to public employees in 1959. There has been a great transformation in the American labor movement over the latter decades of the 20th century. A movement once led by workers in private trades and manufacturing evolved into one dominated by public workers at all levels of government but especially in the states and cities. In 1960, 31.9% of the private work force belonged to a union, compared to only 10.8% of government workers. By 2010, the numbers had more than reversed, with 36.2% of public workers in unions but only 6.9% in the private economy. The sharp rise in public union membership in the 1960s and 1970s coincides with the movement to give public unions collective bargaining rights. Public union employees depend entirely on tax revenues to fund their pay and benefits. Union critics Professors Fred Siegel and Dan DiSalvo have said growth in state and local government jobs was double the rate of population growth.

An NBC News article by John Bailey listed as one of five factors responsible for the budget shortfall a series of tax cuts beginning in 2003 by the Wisconsin Legislature, claiming they would cause an "$800 million-per-year reduction in tax revenues" in the year 2013. In January 2011, the state legislature passed a series of bills providing additional tax cuts and deductions for businesses at “a two-year cost of $67 million.” In early February, the Walker administration projected a budget shortfall in 2013 (Wisconsin functions on two-year budgets) of $3.6 billion. and found that a budget repair bill to resolve a $137 million shortfall for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011 was also needed. The protests and demonstrations began following Walker's introduction of the budget repair bill on February 11, 2011.

The Walker-backed bill would require additional direct pension and health insurance contributions and remove collective bargaining rights except for wages, which would be limited to be not greater than the Consumer Price Index." According to David Cay Johnston, Wisconsin state employers currently pay 5% of employee wages into their pension under the principle of "deferred compensation". The bargaining changes would exempt the unions of public safety officers, including police, firefighters, and state troopers. Walker has stated without the cuts, thousands of state workers would have to be laid off over the first half of 2011.

According to Robert M. Costrell, professor of education reform and economics at the University of Arkansas, teachers belong to the Wisconsin state pension plan. That plan requires a 6.8% employer contribution and 6.2% from the employee. However, according to the collective-bargaining agreement in place since 1996, the district pays the employees' share as well, for a total of 13%. Under the current collective-bargaining agreements, the school district pays the entire premium for medical and vision benefits, and over half the cost of dental coverage. Costrell claims this is partly because some districts purchase insurance through the teachers union. The district's contributions for health insurance of active employees total 38.8% of wages. For private-sector workers nationwide, the average is 10.7%. Health insurance for retirees is a benefit that is rarely offered any more in private companies, and it can be quite costly. This is especially the case for teachers in many states, because the eligibility rules of their pension plans often induce them to retire in their 50s, and Medicare does not kick in until age 65.

Other proposals within the budget repair bill have also generated controversy. One proposal seeks to diminish legislative oversight over the implementation of, and eligibility requirements for, state Medicaid programs. Another controversial passage is a clause which would allow the state to sell up to 37 heating and cooling plants across the state without requiring competitive bids. After some journalists expressed concerns that this provision could be part of a larger plan to sell state assets at bargain prices to business interests controlled by Charles G. Koch and David H. Koch, billionaires who backed Walker's bid for governor, Koch Industries issued a statement denying any interest in purchasing any state owned power plants in Wisconsin. Also generating controversy is a proposal, backed by UW Chancellor Biddy Martin and promoted as the "New Badger Partnership", to separate the flagship University of Wisconsin–Madison campus from the rest of the University of Wisconsin System. Two days after the protests began in Wisconsin, the protests spread to Columbus, Ohio over similar legislation.

Assembly Republicans began procedures to move the bill to a vote on February 22, but hundreds of constituents had signed up to give testimony while Democrats submitted dozens of amendments and conducted speeches, all which delayed the vote. At 1:00 a.m. on February 25, following sixty hours of debate, the final amendments had been defeated and the Republican leadership of the Wisconsin State Assembly cut off debate as well as the public hearing and moved quickly to pass the budget repair bill in a sudden vote. The vote was 51 in favor and 17 opposed, with 28 representatives not voting. The final vote took place without warning, and the time allowed for voting was so short (lasting only 5–15 seconds) that less than half of the Democratic representatives were able to vote; reportedly, many were pushing the voting button as hard as possible but it didn't register. Four Republican representatives voted against the bill.

Public opinion

A USA Today/Gallup Poll found that 61% of Americans would oppose a law similar to the Wisconsin bill in their state while 33% were for it. A similar New York Times/CBS Poll found that 60% of Americans opposed restricting collective bargaining while 33% were for it. The poll also found that 56% of Americans opposed reducing pay of public employees compared to 37%. The details of the poll also stated that 26% of those surveyed, thought pay and benefits for public employees were too high, 25% thought too low, and 36% thought about right. Mark Tapscott of the Washington Examiner criticized the poll, accusing it of over-sampling union and public employee households.

A nationwide Rasmussen poll reported on February 24, 2011 found that a majority (67%) of likely voters disapproved of the tactics of the 14 Democratic Senators, with only 25% approving. Another Rasmussen poll showed that 47% of likely voters supported Walker, while only 37% supported the pro-union protesters. However, a Rasmussen poll of Wisconsin voters conducted on March 2, 2011 reported that 39% support weakening collective bargaining rights while 52% oppose the idea. A majority said they support the Democrats (52%) or the unions (56%) in the current dispute, while 41–44% supported Walker's position. Asked whether state workers should be given a 10% pay cut, 44% said yes, while 38% oppose a pay cut. Polling analyst Nate Silver criticized methodology of the Rasmussen polls in his New York Times blog, claiming they had biased questions which gave a misleadingly negative impression of the protesters.

In an analysis of several concurrent public opinion polls, pollster Scott Rasmussen identified the source of seeming contradictions in the results. The results depend on the way the questions are worded. If the question collective bargaining question is worded in the context of balancing the state budget, Governor Walker does better. If the question is worded more narrowly, mentioning only the collective bargaining dispute, the unions do better.

A Pulse Opinion Research poll conducted of likely Wisconsin voters found that 56% support collective bargaining rights for public employees with 32% opposed. In the same poll, approval and disapproval for the bill was split at 50%–50% while 49% supported the protesters and 48% opposed them.

A Public Policy Polling poll of Wisconsin voters found that given a chance to vote in a rematch between Walker and 2010 Democratic nominee Tom Barrett, Walker would have lost 45%–52%. (In the actual election, Walker won 52–46%.) The poll's analysis characterized the shift as the result of changing opinions due to the budget protests. Public Policy Polling (PPP) is a Democratic Party-affiliated polling firm based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

A SUSA poll of in the districts of Republican senators Dan Kapanke and Randy Hopper found that double-digit margins in both districts would vote to recall the Senators.

A Gallup poll released on March 9 showed that Americans were more likely to support limiting the collective bargaining powers of state employee unions to balance a state's budget (49%) than disapprove of such a measure (45%). 6% had no opinion. 66% of Republicans approved of such a measure, 51% of independents did as well. Only 31% of Democrats approved of such a measure.

A Gallup poll released on March 11 showed that nationwide, Americans were more likely to give unions a negative word or phrase when describing them (38%) than a positive word or phrase (34%). 17% were neutral and 12% didn't know. Republicans were much more likely to say a negative term (58%) than Democrats (19%). Democrats were much more likely to say a positive term (49%) than Republicans (18%).

Daily Kos/PPP released a poll on March 15 that polled citizens in the districts of all eight Republican senators being recalled found that three trail generic Democratic candidates, three have small leads, and two are safe:

• Senator Glenn Grothman leads 60%-32%.
• Senator Mary Lazich leads 56%-34%
• Senator Alberta Darling leads 52%-44%
• Senator Sheila Harsdorf leads 48%-44%
• Senator Robert Cowles leads 45%-43%

• Senator Luther Olsen trails 47%-49%
• Senator Randy Hopper trails 44%-49%
• Senator Dan Kapanke trails 41%-55%

A nationwide Gallup poll (margin of error ±4%) released on April 1 showed the following;

• When asked if they supported the labor unions or the governors in state disputes; 48% said they supported the unions, 39% said the governors, 4% said neither, and 9% had no opinion.
• Women supported the governors much less than men. 45% of men said they supported the governors, while 46% said they supported the unions. This compares to only 33% of women who said they supported the governors and 50% who said they supported the unions.
• All areas of the US (East, Midwest, South, West) were more likely to support unions than the governors. The largest gap being in the East with 35% supporting the governors and 52% supporting the unions, and the smallest gap being in the West with 41% supporting the governors and 44% the unions.
• 18 to 34 year olds were much more likely to support unions than those over 34 years of age. Only 27% of 18 to 34 year olds supported the governors while 61% supported the unions. Americans ages 35 to 54 slightly supported the unions more than governors with 40% supporting the governors and 43% the unions. Americans 55 and older were tied when asked, with 45% supporting the governors and 45% the unions.
• Republicans were much more likely to support the governors when asked with 65% supporting the governors and 25% the unions. Independents slightly supported unions more with 40% supporting the governors and 45% the unions. Democrats were overwhelmingly in support of the unions. 70% of Democrats supported the unions while only 19% supported the governors.
• Those who said they were following the situation not too closely or not at all supported the unions over governors with a 45-31 margin. Those who said they were following the situation somewhat closely supported the unions over governors by a 52-41 margin. Those who said they were following the situation very closely were only slightly more likely to support the unions over the governors with a 49-48 margin.

Protests

February 14–23

Thousands gather outside of the Wisconsin Capitol building to protest Governor Walker's bill. The gathering is estimated at 70,000 to 100,000 people.

Demonstrators in steadily falling snow outside of the Wisconsin Capitol building.

On February 14, teaching and project assistants from the University of Wisconsin–Madison distributed "We ♥ UW: Don't Break My ♥" Valentine cards to the governor, as a means of protesting against the bill's negative impacts on working conditions at the university.

On February 15, tens of thousands of protesters demonstrated in and around the state capital in Madison regarding the proposed legislation's limitations on collective bargaining for and against Walker's bill. "Kill the Bill" remained one of the main slogans of the protesters. That same day, union members and students took part in public hearings with the senators and representatives from both parties, that lasted 17 hours; even though some defenders of the bill expressed their position, most of the participants were against the bill.

By February 16, the number of protesters in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol was estimated at 30,000.

On February 17, about 25,000 people continued the protest. Teachers and workers occupied the Senate chambers. On the same day, the protests spread to a capital city in another US state, Columbus, Ohio, where about 3,800 protesters demonstrated against a similar bill to "eliminate collective bargaining" being considered by the Ohio legislature. According to Mike Lux, some of the protesters in the two states carried Egyptian flags, indicating their Egyptian revolution inspiration. Ed Schultz of MSNBC's The Ed Show appeared live in Madison February 17 and 18 live outside the Capitol.

The number of protesters in Madison grew to over 70,000 on February 19, including some who supported Walker's plan. Some protesters carried signs comparing Walker to Adolf Hitler, Benito Mussolini, Hosni Mubarak, Muammar Gaddafi, and a terrorist, and accusing him of "raping" public employees. UW Health has launched an investigation into whether any of its physicians were involved in writing fraudulent sick notes for protesters.

Protest techniques continuing February 20 included a physical occupation of the Capitol building, including an information center, a sleeping area and homemade signs. On February 20, a union organizer participating in the protests said that the protests would continue "as long as it takes". Other union leaders called for teachers to return to work. Also during this time, several members of the teaching and project assistant union of UW-Madison (TAA-Madison) designed and implemented "Defend Wisconsin", a website which would serve to help coordinate rallies, publish video footage by protesters, and relay general information about the bill and protests.

Governor Walker prank call

On February 23, 2011, Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy placed a prank telephone call to Walker claiming to be David Koch, a union opponent and one of Walker's largest corporate supporters.

Walker's office later confirmed that the recording of the call was genuine, and stated, "The phone call shows that the Governor says the same thing in private as he does in public and the lengths that others will go to disrupt the civil debate Wisconsin is having." Several local public officials, including Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz, expressed concern that Walker's comments could be considered ethics violations. The Society of Professional Journalists condemned the Buffalo Beast, calling its actions "underhanded and unethical".

In the aftermath of the call, Senate Democrats refused requests from Governor Walker to return to Wisconsin and negotiate a compromise. Many of the Senators characterized their wariness as a consequence of the fake call. During the call, Walker had discussed getting the Democrats to return, purportedly to negotiate regarding the bill, but actually in order to obtain a quorum.

February 24 – March 9

On February 26, once again, between 70,000 and 100,000 protested the proposed budget in Madison. They were joined by thousands at state capitals around the nation. Out of state Union supporters continued to join the protests to show their support, with hundreds of protesters being bused by the New York Teamsters.

On February 27, it was reported by the media that Republican State Senator Dale Schultz would not vote for the bill. However, Schultz has refused to personally let his intentions be known regarding the bill; he had previously attempted a compromise budget plan which was rejected by Governor Walker. Dale Schultz got up during a Senate session to propose his amendment, but instead took his missing colleagues to task stating that he couldn't propose it because they weren't there to keep democracy moving.

On February 28, Democratic Representative Gordon Hintz formally apologized for threatening remarks made to Republican Representative Michelle Litjens on the Assembly floor following the vote.

On March 3, police found 41 rounds of 22-caliber rifle ammunition outside the Wisconsin state Capitol. Ammunition was also found inside a city and county government building in downtown Madison. By March 3, security at the Capitol had became so restrictive that a team of firefighters responding to an emergency call were denied access to the building. On the same night, Rep. Nick Milroy (Democrat) was tackled by law enforcement officers while attempting to enter the Capitol to retrieve clothes. Milroy said in a statement that "no harm was done", but criticized the "armed-palace environment created by Gov. Walker". Also on March 3, after occupation of the Capitol for more than 2 weeks, the final group of pro-union protesters left the building peacefully after a judge ordered their removal. The judge ruled that activists could not stay in the building overnight, but he ordered authorities to end the lockdown on the building and restore normal access by March 6.

On March 4, Governor Walker threatened to send layoff notices to 1,500 state employees if his budget repair bill was not passed. According to Walker, this move was needed to save the state $30 million. However, in the fake call, Walker had discussed using the threat of layoffs as a political weapon to put pressure on the Senate Democrats, saying "We might ratchet that up a little bit, you know."

On March 5, filmmaker Michael Moore spoke to a crowd of "tens of thousands" of protesters drawing cheers from the crowd as he repeatedly said, "America is not broke", and adding, "The country is awash in wealth and cash. It's just that it's not in your hands. It has been transferred, in the greatest heist in history, from the workers and consumers to the banks and the portfolios of the uber-rich."

On March 9, Wisconsin Republicans passed legislation to curtail union rights and a special conference committee of state lawmakers approved the bill a short time later. The Senate requires a quorum to take up any measures that spend money, however by removing parts of the bill related to money, they had discovered a way to bypass the chamber's missing Democrats. On March 9, the bill passed the State Senate 18-1, effectively eliminating most collective bargaining for Wisconsin State workers including health care and pensions, excepting only wages. Wisconsin Senator Dale Schultz was the only Republican to vote "no". On March 10, the Wisconsin State Assembly followed the Senate's move and passed the law with a vote of 53–42, ending most collective bargaining rights for unionized public employees.

Shortly afterwards, hundreds of protesters gathered outside the locked entrance to the Capitol, chanting "Break down the door!" and "General strike!" The crowds surged into the capitol and police did not attempt to remove them. Department of Administration spokesman Tim Donovan said although protesters were being encouraged to leave, no one would be forcibly removed. Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz said he had instructed Madison Police Chief Noble Wray not to allow his officers to participate in removing demonstrators from the building. A woman sent death threat e-mails to Republican lawmakers the same day the legislation passed, and was charged with two felony and two misdemeanor counts by the Dane County district attorney.

March 10

On Thursday, March 10, the Wisconsin Assembly passed the collective bargaining bill with a vote of 53–42. Protesters screamed "shame!" as the Republicans quickly filed out of the building. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca filed a complaint the following morning with the Dane County district attorney charging that the Joint Conference Committee that convened at 6 p.m. Wednesday and passed an amended version of Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill is in violation of the open meetings law. The complaint states that Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and his brother, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, and others "knowingly attended the meeting in violation of the Open Meetings law" and are subject to penalties identified in state statute. The complaint asks that the actions taken at the meeting be declared void. Democrats have promised to sue to overturn the law. Eighteen Republican state Senators received death threats after passing the bill.

Governor Walker's response

In the opinion section of The Wall Street Journal on March 10, 2011, Governor Walker expressed his reasons for "fighting in Wisconsin". He started his message discussing a teacher from Milwaukee Public Schools by the name of Megan Sampson who was named Outstanding Teacher of the Year but then a week later received a layoff notice. He stated that the collective-bargaining contract requires staffing decisions to be made based on seniority and got a layoff notice because the union leadership would not accept reasonable changes to their contract. Instead, according to Walker, they hid behind a collective-bargaining agreement that costs the taxpayers $101,091 per year for each teacher, protects a 0% contribution for health-insurance premiums, and forces schools to hire and fire based on seniority and union rules. The budget-repair bill, per Walker, would reform the union-controlled hiring and firing process by allowing school districts to assign staff based on merit and performance. He stated that most states in the country are facing major budget deficits. Many are cutting billions of dollars of aid to schools and local governments, and that these cuts lead to massive layoffs or increases in property taxes—or both. However, his proposal would give state and local governments the tools to balance the budget through reasonable benefit contributions. In total, Walker says the budget-repair bill saves local governments almost $1.5 billion, outweighing the reductions in state aid in the budget. He went on to say that the unions say they are ready to accept concessions, yet their actions speak louder than words. Over the past three weeks from the time the opinion piece ran, local unions across the state have pursued contracts without new pension or health-insurance contributions. He used Governor Mitch Daniels as an example for his own budget repair when they repealed collective bargaining in Indiana six years ago, and claims it helped government become more efficient and responsive. He said the average pay for Indiana state employees has actually increased, and high-performing employees are rewarded with pay increases or bonuses when they do something exceptional and that passing the budget-repair bill will help put similar reforms into place in Wisconsin.

March 11 – present

On March 11, Governor Walker signed the bill and put out a statement rescinding layoff notices for 1,500 public workers. He said the bill's passage "helped us save 1,500 middle-class jobs by moving forward this week with the budget repair. The state will now be able to realize $30 million in savings to balance the budget and allow 1,500 state employees to keep their jobs." The bill is officially non-fiscal.

In response, Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk filed suit against the state regarding the bill, stating that it was unconstitutionally passed because the budget repair bill contained fiscal provisions. Judge Amy Smith recused herself from hearing the case, which was instead heard by Judge Maryann Sumi. A second lawsuit was filed against the state on similar grounds on March 16 by Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne.

On March 12, the fourteen Democratic senators who had left the state returned and were met by crowds of 85,000 to 185,000, the largest crowds yet of the four weeks of protests. Teachers, police, firefighters, nurses, and students were joined by farmers who paraded their farm vehicles around Capitol Square. One of the returning senators, Spencer Coggs, said that "[w]e are back to unite and fight with our supporters. We gave them hope. They gave us inspiration." In contrast, senate majority leader Scott Fitzgerald said that the returning senators were "the most shameful 14 people in the state of Wisconsin[...]an absolute insult to the hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who are struggling to find a job, much less one they can run away from and go down to Illinois."

On March 18, Dane County judge Maryann Sumi issued a stay on the collective bargaining bill in response to the lawsuit by Dane County DA Ismael Ozanne. Ozanne had argued that that the legislative committee violated the state's open meetings law, and that the budget repair bill was illegally passed because it still contained budgetary provisions (and hence required a quorum.) Sumi stated that the lawsuit was "likely to succeed on the merits." The case will be heard sometime after March 28. The Judge's action does not prevent the legislature from meeting again and approving the bill a second time.

On March 25, an additional lawsuit was filed against the state alleging that the budget repair bill still contained budget provisions, and hence was unlawfully passed by the state as it would have required a quorum. Also on March 25, after meeting with Senate Republicans, the Legislative Reference Bureau bypassed the Secretary of State's office and officially published the collective bargaining law. There had been a court-issued restraining order restricting its publication, but the order was issued against the Secretary of State's office instead of the Bureau. According to the director of the Bureau, the publication is a purely ministerial act that forwards the bill to the Secretary of State; the bill needs to be published by the Secretary of State to become law. Despite this, Republicans say that the bill is officially law and they plan to enforce it

On March 29, Judge Maryann Sumi declared that the bill had not become law, and public officials who attempted to enforce it risked legal sanctions.

Sarah Palin attends a Tea Party rally in Madison on April 16th.

Sarah Palin attends a Tea Party rally in Madison on April 16th.

On April 14, Judge Sumi threw out the lawsuit against the collective bargaining law sought by Dane County Acting Executive Kathleen Falk and Dane County Board Chairman Scott McDonnell. Judge Sumi ruled "An arm of the state can not sue the state".

On April 16, Sarah Palin attended a Tea Party rally in Madison. Speaking to the crowd, Palin stated, "Your governor did the right thing and you won! Your beautiful state won! And people still have their jobs!" Police estimated that about 6,500 people attended the event including both Tea Party supporters and those demonstrating against the Walker administration policies.

Outside of Madison

Protests have occurred in parts of the state that are a great distance from Madison, as shown in this photo of some protesters in the far-northern city of Ashland.

Though the protest efforts are focused in Madison, there have been smaller protests throughout the rest of the state as well, with pro-union supporters outnumbering Walker supporters. For instance, protesters demonstrating outside the house of Senator Randy Hopper (R-18th District) were reportedly met by his estranged wife who claimed he was living in Madison with his 25-year old mistress; she intends to sign his recall petition. Meanwhile, pro-Walker protesters in Merrill, Wisconsin attempting to recall Senator Holperin (D-12th District) claimed to be intimidated by a crowd of Holperin supporters, one of whom reportedly ripped up some of their recall petitions. Similarly, pro-union protesters in River Falls, Wisconsin attempting to recall Senator Harsdorf (R-River Falls) had their petitions snatched by a local man who drove away in a car before dropping them into a puddle.

In various localities throughout the state, communities are determining whether to extend or not to extend union contracts before Governor Walker's budget repair bill takes effect. For example, in Wauwatosa, the common council voted not to ratify tentative agreements with the public works, dispatcher, clerical and fire unions after a crowd of about 100 people turned out, most urging city officials to wait until Gov. Walker's proposed state budget-repair bill became law. However, the council reconvened a month later to reconsider extending the contracts with both supporters and opponents lined up to speak at the special meeting held to reopen the discussion of the labor contracts, with the council voting 8-7 to extend the contracts. The mayor subsequently vetoed the measure.

April 5 Supreme Court Election

On Tuesday, April 5, one seat in the Wisconsin Supreme Court was up for election. The 12-year incumbent, David Prosser, sought re-election against Assistant Attorney General JoAnne Kloppenburg. The court currently has a conservative majority of 4-2-1 with Prosser identifying as a conservative and the seventh justice considered a swing vote. The race received considerable attention due to the Wisconsin protests, as well as several controversies regarding the incumbent. Both candidates have stated their unhappiness with the increasingly partisan nature of the race, which was described as a referendum on the Walker administration.

As the race became increasingly nationalized, Prosser was endorsed by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin. Kloppenburg was endorsed by Prosser's campaign co-chairman and former Governor Patrick Lucey, who resigned from the post as he made the announcement. Both Kloppenburg and Prosser have received endorsements from local newspapers, though Kloppenburg has received considerably more.

Election officials predicted a typical turnout of 20% before the election. In actuality, turnout was considerably higher, at roughly 33%. In some precincts, election officials ran out of ballots and had to begin hand counting them.

On April 6, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, with 100% of precincts reporting and absentee ballots all tallied, had Kloppenburg maintaining a 204 vote lead. Recanvassing began the next day to verify to election results, and errors were found in counties favoring both contestants; Prosser gained votes from Winnebago and Waukesha, while Kloppenburg regained ground from a scattering of other counties including Grant, Portage, Door, Iowa, Rusk, Vernon, and Shawano.

A news conference on April 7, held by the County Clerk of Waukesha County reported the existence of errors in Brookfield, Wisconsin where votes were never submitted to the Waukesha County total due to human error and that Prosser had picked up a 7,500-vote margin over Kloppenburg in the county as a result. In response, the Kloppenburg campaign has filed an Open Records request for the contact records of the Waukesha County Clerk and a request has been filed with the region's US Attorney to impound the additional ballots.

As of April 8, 2011, Waukesha County's turnout is officially 47% (increased from 42% before the correction.). Statewide turnout during the election was officially 33%. During election day, Deputy Clerk Gina Kozlik had estimated turnout in the county to be 20-25%, with up to 35% turnout in some polling locations within the county. Nate Silver of Fivethirtyeight.com did an analysis on the turnout numbers and found the Waukesha results to be in line with previous elections.

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board announced on April 8 that they were sending voting officials to Waukesha County to confirm the 14,315 votes that were found to never have been submitted from Brookfield.

On April 15, David Prosser was announced as the official winner by 7,316 votes after all county canvassing was completed.

Police actions

When first announcing the budget repair bill on February 11, Walker said that the National Guard and other state agencies were prepared for any fallout including a walk-out by state prison guards. Although unable to cross state lines into Illinois, Wisconsin State Patrol officers ... Police unions, however, have been generally supportive of the protests.

The City of Madison Police Spokesman Joel DeSpain issued a press-release on March 5 noting for the third weekend in a row that demonstrations had been peaceful. He said that there has been no arrests and no citations during the start of the weekend (March 4 and 5) where tens of thousands of protesters were present.

Effects

On February 17, the Madison Metropolitan School District canceled classes for four days because of expected staff absences. Numerous districts across the state closed due to the protests, including Milwaukee, La Crosse, Beaver Dam, Columbus, DeForest, Edgerton, Juda, Lodi, Marshall, McFarland, Middleton-Cross Plains, Mineral Point, Monona Grove, Mount Horeb, Oregon, Racine, Reedsburg, River Valley, Sauk Prairie, Stoughton, Sun Prairie, Verona, Watertown, Waunakee and Wausau.

Two days after the protests began, protests spread to Columbus, Ohio over similar legislation. Similar protests also occurred at the Nevada State Capitol in Carson City on February 21, 2011 and at the Utah State Capitol in Salt Lake City on February 26, 2011.

The Wisconsin Legislature stated they would continue passing non-budget items with no Democratic opposition in the Senate starting on February 22. On Thursday, March 3, Wisconsin Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch claimed that the weeks of demonstrations resulted in $6.5 million in damages and other costs to the Capital. The next day he admitted that he had no basis for the higher figure and that the actual cleanup costs could be as low as $347,500. State architect Jeffrey Plale, a former Democratic state senator who was appointed to his post by Walker, stated that he had not observed any damages from demonstrations.

On March 21, Professor William Cronon of the University of Wisconsin wrote an op-ed opposing the bill . In response, the Wisconsin Republican Party filed a state open records request to gain access to Cronon's personals emails to discover the sources and discussions that went into the article. The Republican Party's request has been heavily criticized for creating a chilling effect In response, The Republican Party released a statement accusing Professor Cronon of intimidation.

Responses

Domestic

Legislative walkout

In another form of protest, and as a tactic to prevent passage of the bill, all 14 Democratic members of the Wisconsin State Senate left the state of Wisconsin and traveled to Illinois in order to delay a vote on the bill. With only 19 Republican members, the Senate would not have the 20 Senators required for a quorum in order to vote on the bill, since it is a fiscal bill. On February 20, all 14 Senate Democrats announced they were staying in Illinois indefinitely. However, the provision that the protests center around—the stripping of collective bargaining rights—could still be passed as a separate bill even in the absence of the Senate Democrats, because it admittedly has no fiscal impact on the state.

In a possible lure to get the 14 Democratic Senators to return, the Wisconsin legislature has reported they will try to pass a bill that would require citizens to have some form of voter identification to vote. Democrats strongly oppose the bill, but because there are no Democratic senators to defend their position, the bill was expected to pass the Senate easily. On February 24, 2011, the Republicans in the Senate moved the voter ID provision past the amendable stage but were unable to take a final vote on it because it spends money for free ID's to comply with federal constitutional requirements. As a fiscal provision, the voter ID bill would require the same quorum currently denied over the main budget bill.

Walker has tried other methods to get the Wisconsin 14 to return to the state: he said that if the bill was not passed by February 25, 1,500 state workers would be laid off. That deadline passed without incident. On February 27, he announced a new deadline of March 1. That deadline also passed without incident. The State Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald, proposed that Democratic staffers should lose access to the copy machines if their representatives were absent without leave for two days or more, forcing staffers to pay for printing themselves. Senators now no longer receive their wages via direct deposit if they are AWOL for two days or more and will have to collect them in person (Senator Jon Erpenbach was able to circumvent this by granting his staffers power of attorney.) On March 2, Senate Republicans voted to fine members who are AWOL for two days or more $100 per day of absence.

On March 3, the Wisconsin Senate Republicans ordered the arrest of the Wisconsin 14 for being "in contempt and disorderly behavior", authorizing the Senate Sergeant-at-Arms to seek help from law enforcement officers and to use force to return the senators to the Capitol. James Palmer, the head of the Wisconsin Professional Police Association, described the action as a violation of the Wisconsin state constitution.

On March 9, the senate removed fiscal applications from the bill, allowing it to be passed without a quorum. On March 12, the "14" returned to Wisconsin, to loud acclaim from protesters and condemnation from the Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald.

On March 15, the Republican State Senate President, Scott Fitzgerald, announced that despite returning, none of the Senate Democrats will be allowed to cast official votes on the union legislation.

Recall efforts

Sixteen state senators (eight Democrats and eight Republicans) are officially facing recall petitions as a direct result of the controversy surrounding governor Walker's budget repair bill. Scholars could cite only three times in American history when more than one state legislator has been recalled at roughly the same time over the same issue. According to Thad Kousser, a University of California, San Diego political scientist, what's happening in Wisconsin is unprecedented. Wisconsin requires petitioners to gather enough signatures to equal 25% of the votes cast in the most recent race for governor in the district of the targeted legislator. Recall organizers have sixty days once they formally organize to gather the needed signatures. Under the timetables in state law, the sixty day petition period that's under way in 16 Senate districts is followed by a 31-day period where signatures are challenged, defended and reviewed. That period can be extended by a court.

On March 2, the Wisconsin Democratic party decided to officially support efforts to recall Republican state senators. The eight Wisconsin Republican senators eligible for recall are: Robert Cowles, Alberta Darling, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Randy Hopper, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich and Dan Kapanke.

Republicans have targeted some or all of the 14 Democrat state senators for recall for having fled the state to deny the quorum, but the Wisconsin State Republican Party has not yet officially announced its stance on the issue. The eight Wisconsin Democratic senators eligible for recall are: Spencer Coggs, Dave Hansen, Jim Holperin, Julie Lassa, Fred Risser, Lena Taylor, Mark F. Miller and Robert Wirch.

Wisconsin law requires an official to be in office for at least a year before becoming eligible for recall. Therefore, the remaining state senators of both parties, all members of the state assembly, and Governor Walker cannot be recalled until 2012.

Republican senators

As the pro-union recall efforts registered with the state Government Accountability Board on the same day in March, all petitions to recall Republican senators are due 60 days later on May 2, 2011.

Dan Kapanke

On April 1, Wisconsin Democrats announced that they had enough signatures to recall Senator Dan Kapanke (R- La Crosse) and filed petitions that day, with 22,561 signatures, 45% more than the 15,588 verifiable signatures required by the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB).

On April 9, State Rep. Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) announced her intention to run against Kapanke if the recall signatures are verified.

Randy Hopper

On March 25, Wisconsin Democrats announced they collected enough signatures to recall Senator Randy Hopper (R- Fond du Lac). On April 7, Wisconsin Democrats filed petitions to recall Hopper with 23,946 signatures.

Hopper is seen as a particularly vulnerable target, as he only won by 163 votes in 2008, and is currently embroiled in a scandal after his wife accused him of living with his mistress in Madison instead of inside the district he represents.

On April 13, Oshkosh Common Councilor Jessica King (who lost to Hopper by 163 votes in 2008) announced her intention to run against Hopper again if the recall signatures are verified.

Luther Olsen

On April 18, pro-union recall organizers filed petitions containing 23,931 signatures to recall Senator Luther Olsen (R). A recall election will ensue if more than 14,733 signatures are found to be valid.

It is believed that Rep Fred Clark (D - Baraboo) will announce his candidacy against Olsen.

Sheila Harsdorf

On April 19, 2011, pro-union organizers filed roughly 23,000 signatures to recall Senator Harsdorf. 15,744 signatures are required to force a recall election.

Alberta Darling

On April 20th, local Democrats announced that they had collected roughly 30,000 signatures to recall Senator Darling, approximately 150% of the required total, and would be filing petitions the next day.

Rep Sandy Pasch (D - Whitefish Bay) and former Rep Sheldon Wasserman (Darling's 2008 opponent) have both expressed interest in challenging Darling in a potential recall election.

Democratic Senators

Republican recall efforts began before their Democratic counterparts, with petitions due on April 25–26 depending on the Senator in question. On April 12, an organizer of the collective pro-Republican recall efforts claimed that 75-80% of the required signatures were collected for two senators, and more than 60% for two others.

Robert Wirch

On April 4, the chairman of the Wirch recall campaign was quoted as saying the campaign had enough signatures to recall Democratic State Senator Robert Wirch. However, the same day, the same chairman was quoted by a different source as saying the campaign had "8,000-12,000" of the required signatures. It is unclear which claim, if any, is correct.

The group needs to submit 13,537 valid signatures. According to them, they are still collecting signatures to ensure they have enough in case of possible challenges.

Jim Holperin

On April 19, it was reported that a citizens group plans to file recall petitions against Senator Jim Holperin by the end of the week. The group claims to have collected more than 20,000 signatures. The minimum amount needed for a recall in Holperin's district is 15,960.

Dave Hansen

Republican organizers are officially collecting signatures for the recall of Dave Hansen (D- Green Bay).

On March 17, one Republican petitioner collecting signatures to recall Senator Hansen allegedly stole several personal belongings from a couple. The man in question was found to be from Colorado and had a felony record; he had came to Wisconsin with other out-of-state petitioners.

In late March, the Hansen recall group began paying canvassers 50 cents per signature, soliciting persons on Craigslist in an attempt to obtain signature collectors.

On the night of April 14, an apparent break-in occurred at an office building owned by supporters of the recall in Green Bay. The burglar allegedly made off with petitions, a computer, and t-shirts, worth $1,000 in total.

Reactions

Political

• U.S. President Barack Obama, said that Walker's proposal "seems more like an assault on unions."
• Former Republican U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who helped launch Walker's gubernatorial campaign, called the debate a "profound struggle between the right of the people to govern themselves and the power of entrenched, selfish interests to stop reforms and defy the will of the people."
• Republican U.S. House Speaker John Boehner compared the Wisconsin protests to the 2010-2011 Greek protests, and accused Obama's administration of helping coordinate union groups to rally in larger numbers in Madison.
• The protests have been compared to the 2011 Egyptian revolution by both Democratic Representatives such as John Lewis, and Republican Representatives, such as Paul Ryan. Mike Lux, a political consultant, stated that "the pictures we are seeing and the story playing out in Wisconsin is like Egypt in some really important ways. The new mass militancy of union members, students, and other allies of the maligned teachers, social workers, cops, firefighters, and other public employees being attacked and threatened by the governor is not a manufactured thing, it is a mass movement spreading like wildfire, building in momentum day by day."
• Arne Carlson, a former Republican governor of neighboring Minnesota, criticized Walker for the bill provision allowing for the no-bid sale of state-owned energy facilities, and for his actions regarding the fake call.

Unions

• An ad created by advisers to the national AFL-CIO, SEIU, and AFSCME unions and paid for by the Wisconsin AFL-CIO was launched. The ad featured "Racine firefighter Mike DeGarmo proclaiming solidarity between firefighters (who, like police officers, are exempt from Walker's proposal) and other public employees. ... A spokesman for the national AFL-CIO, Eddie Vale, says [the ad]'s supported by a 'significant statewide buy'".
• Stu Betts, the former president of the WDPEA teachers union, sent a letter to the union membership indicating that he resigned under pressure from the executive committee. He claims that WEAC is about making sure that union dues are mandatory, not teachers rights. He did not endorse the local demonstrations at the capital, however he said he wrote letters to the governor expressing concerns regarding the proposed legislation.

Academia

• Linguist Noam Chomsky said that the Wisconsin protests and the 2011 Egyptian revolution "are closely intertwined", and that both consist of "struggles for labor rights and democracy".

Think tanks

• The Heritage Foundation's policy analyst James Sherk wrote in support of Walker's budget plan, "Gov. Walker's plan reasserts voter control over government policy. Voters' elected representatives should decide how the government spends their taxes. More states should heed the AFL-CIO Executive Council's 1959 advice: 'in terms of accepted collective bargaining procedures, government workers have no right beyond the authority to petition Congress—a right available to every citizen.'" The Heritage Foundation is a Koch-funded conservative think tank.
• Americans for Prosperity president Tim Phillips went to Madison to "voice praise for cutting state spending by slashing union benefits and bargaining rights [and to address] a large group of counterprotesters." Phillips also said: "We are going to bring fiscal sanity back to this great nation. ... This is a watershed moment in Wisconsin.... For the last two decades, government unions have used their power to drive pensions and benefits and salaries well beyond anything that can be sustained. We are just trying to change that." The group planned an ad campaign in support of Gov. Walker's initiatives. The AFP is Koch-funded conservative organization.
• Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington stated that Walker violated Wisconsin law by unlawfully sending state troopers in search of a missing legislator, as well as possibly conspiring with the State Patrol superintendent (the father of the Republican Senate Majority Leader, who was appointed by Walker) in order to do so. Their sentiments have been echoed by other nonpartisan watchdog groups, both local (such as Wisconsin Common Cause) and national (such as the Public Campaign Action Fund), who have requested that state authorities review Walker's conduct in the fake call to determine whether he had violated ethics/campaign laws.

Religious figures

• Milwaukee Catholic Archbishop Jerome Listecki sent a statement to the Joint Finance Committee imploring respect for the legitimate rights of workers and specifically referenced Pope Benedict XVI's encyclical Caritas in veritate and Pope John Paul II's encyclical Laborem Exercens. However, the archbishop went on to say that not every claim made by workers or their representatives is valid and that every union is called to work for the common good, to make sacrifices when required, and to adjust to new economic realities.
• United Methodist Church Bishop of Wisconsin Linda Lee has voiced her concern by referencing the 2008 Book of Discipline which supports the right of all public and private employees and employers to organize for collective bargaining. She requested that the governor reconsider his initiative in this matter.
• Rabbi Jonathan Biatch of Madison's Temple Beth El spoke out against the bill and had all the rabbis of Madison’s Reform, Reconstructionist, Conservative Jewish movements sign a letter regarding the issue.

Entertainment media

• On February 21, a major draw for the protesters was Tom Morello, guitarist of rock group Rage Against the Machine, who said his mother was a union public school teacher in Illinois. Morello also said "[f]riends and unions in Brazil and in Korea — the whole world is watching"; and that he had "even heard from a principal organizer of the protests in Cairo about what's happening in Madison."
• Peter Yarrow, from Peter, Paul and Mary also attended and voiced his support for the protesters.
• Filmmaker Michael Moore was in attendance on March 5, where he addressed the protesters from the Capitol, criticizing the Wisconsin Legislature and leadership. He said: "Right now the Earth is shaking and the ground is shifting under the feet of those who are in charge. America is not broke ... Wisconsin is not broke. The only thing that's broke is the moral compass of the rulers."
• John Darnielle of The Mountain Goats showed his support by posting pro-union tweets and publishing a video cover of Joe Hill's "There is Power in the Union".
• On February 26, actor Bradley Whitford spoke to the protesters in Madison in support of the unions, declaring, "He [Walker] needs to know this will not stand."
• On March 12, actress Susan Sarandon and actor Tony Shalhoub spoke to the protesters in Madison, and pledged their support of the unions.

Other

Some supporters of the bill accused demonstrators of thwarting democratically elected representatives from voting on a bill that has mixed support among polls. For example, New York Times columnist David Brooks wrote in that "[i]t’s the Democratic minority that is thwarting the majority will by fleeing to Illinois." Brooks opined that private sector unions push against the interests of shareholders and management while "public sector unions push against the interests of taxpayers". He also wrote that private sector union members "know that their employers could go out of business, so they have an incentive to mitigate their demands; public sector union members work for state monopolies and have no such interest."

International

A protester in Cairo's Tahrir Square shows support for the protesters in Wisconsin.

• Piotr Duda, president of the Polish trade union Solidarity, released a statement on behalf of the 700,000-strong union in support of the Wisconsin protesters.
• The Spanish union confederation CNT released a statement supporting the "workers who have taken a stand against aggressions to their rights as laborers and especially to their right to organize."

Related news

Indiana Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Cox was fired after suggesting that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker should use live ammunition against pro-union protesters involved in the 2011 Wisconsin protests. More recently, a Deputy Prosecutor in Indiana's Johnson County, Carlos Lam, suggested that Governor Walker should mount a "false flag" operation which would make it appear as if the union was committing violence. After initially claiming that his email account was hacked, Lam admitted to making the suggestion and resigned. Cullen Werwie, press secretary for Governor Walker, states that Walker's office was unaware of Lam's email. CBS News reported that Werwie commented, "Certainly we do not support the actions suggested in (the) email. Governor Walker has said time and again that the protesters have every right to have their voice heard, and for the most part the protests have been peaceful. We are hopeful that the tradition will continue."

The Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a conservative research group in Michigan, issued a public records request to the labor studies departments at three public universities in the state, seeking any e-mails involving the Wisconsin labor protests. The request asked the three universities’ labor studies faculty members for any e-mails mentioning “Scott Walker,” “Madison,” “Wisconsin” or “Rachel Maddow,” the host of The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. Greg Scholtz, the director of academic freedom for the American Association of University Professors, said: “We think all this will have a chilling effect on academic freedom. We’ve never seen Freedom of Information Act requests used like this before.”

See also

• 2011 United States public employee protests
• 2010–2011 Middle East and North Africa protests, frequently cited as an inspiration for the protests.
• 2011 anti-cuts protest in London

External links

• Text of SB11
• Text of Special Session Assembly Bill 11 which is intended to bypass the need for a quorum by removing budget changes
• PolitiFact Wisconsin

Media coverage

• Gov. Walker's budget and protests collected coverage at The Cap Times
• Budget repair bill collected coverage at Capital Newspapers
• Budget Battle collected coverage at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
• Recall Election Information, from the State of Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, includes dates of recall committee registrations
• Recall politics: Which state senators are vulnerable based on district makeup, Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, March 3, 2011