Wisconsin Assembly Passes Bill to Strip Union Rights

The flashpoint legislation will now go to the state Senate, from which Democrats have gone AWOL to avoid a vote.

Republicans broke a 60-hour Democratic filibuster early Friday by opening and closing the roll in seconds. Republican legislators quickly shouted their votes and the bill that would eliminate public sector unions’ collective bargaining rights was passed. The bill has sparked massive protests in Wisconsin, with thousands of union supporters occupying the state legislature on a daily basis, but Governor Scott Walker says the state needs to cut back on union benefits in order to balance the budget. In a desperate move to avoid a vote on the legislation, Democratic senators have fled to hotels across the state line in Illinois and say they will not return until Walker agrees to compromise.