Skip to content Skip to footer

Wisconsin Republicans Bypass Democrats With Union-Busting Bill

Senate Republicans in Wisconsin used a surprise legislative maneuver to advance a bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from most public sector workers — a move accomplished without the presence of 14 Democratic senators who had fled the state to stall the measure. Republicans voted 18-1 Wednesday night to pass the nonfiscal provisions of the budget-repair bill — including those that would eliminate or severely limit collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

Senate Republicans in Wisconsin used a surprise legislative maneuver to advance a bill that would strip collective bargaining rights from most public sector workers — a move accomplished without the presence of 14 Democratic senators who had fled the state to stall the measure.

Republicans voted 18-1 Wednesday night to pass the nonfiscal provisions of the budget-repair bill — including those that would eliminate or severely limit collective bargaining rights for most public employees.

By removing the nonfinancial provisions, Republicans were able to bypass a requirement that a quorum be present to vote on fiscal bills. When 14 Democratic state senators fled to Illinois on Feb. 17, they denied the Republican majority a quorum and stymied action on the initiative.

The fight over the legislation in Madison, the state capital, has drawn national attention, with unions calling it an attack on all organized labor and some GOP lawmakers and governors calling it a necessary step to control state spending.

The amended bill will go back to the Republican-controlled state Assembly for a vote Thursday morning. The Assembly had already passed the bill prior to the changes.

Click here to sign up for Truthout’s FREE daily email updates.

Senate Republicans assembled a conference committee Wednesday to address the changes in the budget-repair bill and then quickly moved on to a vote of the Senate. With no Democrats present, Republican Sen. Dale Schultz cast the only dissenting vote.

In a statement, Schultz said he had spent the past four weeks working for compromise.

“Ultimately, I voted my conscience which I feel reflects the core beliefs of the majority of voters who sent me here to represent them,” he said.

Rep. Donna Seidel, assistant minority leader in the Assembly, said the move caught Democrats “totally and completely off guard.” “In 30 minutes, the 18 Republican senators stripped away 50 years of worker rights,” she said.

The measure is almost guaranteed to pass the Republican-majority Assembly, but Democrats were not ready to give up the fight, and Seidel said Democrats intend to take the fight to the courts.

Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca decried the hastily convened conference session as a violation of the state’s open meetings law, which generally requires 24 hours’ notice, and a minimum of two hours, for meetings.

A spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald did not respond to a request for comment.

At the brief and contentious conference session where Barca was the only Democrat present, he told Fitzgerald, “Mr. Chairman, this is a violation of law! This is not just a rule — this is the law.”

Gov. Scott Walker issued a statement praising the Republicans’ action.

“The Senate Democrats have had three weeks to debate this bill and were offered repeated opportunities to come home, which they refused,” the governor said.

Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One

Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.

Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.

Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.

As journalists, we have a responsibility to look at hard realities and communicate them to you. We hope that you, like us, can use this information to prepare for what’s to come.

And if you feel uncertain about what to do in the face of a second Trump administration, we invite you to be an indispensable part of Truthout’s preparations.

In addition to covering the widespread onslaught of draconian policy, we’re shoring up our resources for what might come next for progressive media: bad-faith lawsuits from far-right ghouls, legislation that seeks to strip us of our ability to receive tax-deductible donations, and further throttling of our reach on social media platforms owned by Trump’s sycophants.

We’re preparing right now for Trump’s Day One: building a brave coalition of movement media; reaching out to the activists, academics, and thinkers we trust to shine a light on the inner workings of authoritarianism; and planning to use journalism as a tool to equip movements to protect the people, lands, and principles most vulnerable to Trump’s destruction.

We urgently need your help to prepare. As you know, our December fundraiser is our most important of the year and will determine the scale of work we’ll be able to do in 2025. We’ve set two goals: to raise $100,000 in one-time donations and to add 1300 new monthly donors by midnight on December 31.

Today, we’re asking all of our readers to start a monthly donation or make a one-time donation – as a commitment to stand with us on day one of Trump’s presidency, and every day after that, as we produce journalism that combats authoritarianism, censorship, injustice, and misinformation. You’re an essential part of our future – please join the movement by making a tax-deductible donation today.

If you have the means to make a substantial gift, please dig deep during this critical time!

With gratitude and resolve,

Maya, Negin, Saima, and Ziggy