Committee votes to send “Right-to-Work” legislation to full Senate for debate (Wisconsin)
Source: AP and WITI Fox affiliate in Milwaukee
MADISON (WITI/AP) — Republicans abruptly ended a hearing on so-called “Right-to-Work” legislation on Tuesday evening, February 24th — but not before lawmakers voted to send the bill to the full Senate for debate on Wednesday. It was a surprising end to a marathon day of emotional testimony.
On Tuesday morning, lawmakers entered into an “extraordinary session” at the Capitol in Madison, as the Senate Labor Committee heard testimony on Right-to-Work legislation. Testifiers disagreed as to whether making Wisconsin a Right-to-Work state will improve the economy, create jobs and help workers. Public testimony was supposed to go until 7:00 p.m., after beginning at 10:00 a.m. Tuesday — but just before 6:30 p.m., Stephen Nass (R-Whitewater) cited a “credible threat” that union workers planned to disrupt a vote, and he cleared the room.
In the chaos, Senator Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) was unable to cast a vote, so the bill advanced to the full Senate by a 3-1 margin.“What you saw tonight was a disgrace to democracy, was a disgrace to the public who had waited the entire day, in some cases traveling four, five hours to get here at the chance of having their voices heard,” Senator Larson said.
Republican senators were led out of the room by armed officers. This, as protesters expressed their disappointment outside the hearing room.
Read more: http://fox6now.com/2015/02/24/state-sen-fitzgerald-defends-right-to-work-bill-as-being-about-worker-freedom/
The Fox story linked above is somewhat biased, but the video in the story linked above is very worth watching, if disturbing. You can see Sen. Nass saying there is a "credible threat" (a little after one minute mark), shutting down the meeting, and being led out of the room under armed guard.
Here is a more complete and less biased report on the events surrounding the Right to Work events at the Capitol in Madison from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (LINK):
"There was no threat," Colburn said. "We wanted to ensure that people had a right to speak."
"They used it as a straw man to get out of a very uncomfortable position," McCamish added. "It's an act of political cowardice."
Union supporters reacted with disbelief and anger to the sudden vote, shouting, "Shame! Shame! Shame!" as police escorted Republican lawmakers from the hearing room.
= new reply since forum marked as read
Prove it, Prove there was threat, instead of using the "capital police" as vehicle to supposedly justify shutting the hearings off, why weren't the democrats also escorted out of the conference, if there was credible threat in ones safety
