Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Wisconsin Senate Votes To End Public Union Collective Bargaining
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 10, 2011
Modified Mar 10, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Gothamist
View all 5
By
John Del Signore
Published Mar 10, 2011
Modified Mar 10, 2011
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
As Michael Moore pointed out, yesterday marked the 78th anniversary of the start of the New Deal. Republican State Senators in Madison, Wisconsin marked the date by stripping public employees' unions of collective-bargaining rights. The Republicans invented a procedural maneuver to pass the measure without 14 Democratic senators who fled the state in an effort to block it.
Despite their prior insistence that the effort to kill collective-bargaining rights was strictly a budgetary issue necessitated by Wisconsin's fiscal crisis, senators removed all the budget-related items from what was the budget bill. By removing the appropriations items, the Republicans contended that they could get around a requirement that 20 senators be present for a vote. The vote to pass the amended bill was 18-1, with no Democratic senators present. Cries of "Cowards" from the spectators gallery echoed through the chamber as the vote was taken, the Wall Street Journal reports. The new bill, which curtails collective bargaining and also increases health care and pension costs, is expected to pass the State Assembly.
"Enough is enough," said Scott Fitzgerald, the Senate Republicans’ leader in a statement issued after the vote. "The people of Wisconsin elected us to do a job. They elected us to stand up to the broken status quo, stop the constant expansion of government, balance the budget, create jobs and improve the economy. The longer the Democrats keep up this childish stunt, the longer the majority can’t act on our agenda."
Minutes before the vote, the Republican senators called a conference committee meeting to inform leaders in the Senate and Assembly of their surprising intentions. WI Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) bitterly condemned the vote, declaring it "wrong" and a "violation of the open meeting law—not just a rule, it's the law!" The fit hits the shan around the 3:30 mark, when—as a crowd chants "shame!" outside the conference room—Fitzgerald interrupts Barca's speech:
"In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin,” Mark Miller, the leader of the Senate Democrats who fled to Illinois on Feb. 17th, tells the Times. “Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten." After the vote, protesters who had been locked out of the Capitol succeeded in getting a door open and flooded the Rotunda. "If they decide to kill the middle class, it's on them," said Sen. Chris Larson (D-Milwaukee) last night as he attempted to drive back from Illinois to Madison to get to the Capitol before Republicans passed the measure.
Similar efforts to end collective bargaining rights for public unions are underway in other states, where last night's vote will likely embolden Republicans elsewhere.
Tagged
Collective Bargaining
gallery
madison movement
unions
wi
wi senate
wisconsin
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Forest Hills Stadium can keep its concerts under deal with neighbors
Neighbors had complained of traffic and loud concerts for years.
By
Ryan Kost
Published Oct 22, 2026 at 2:49 p.m. ET
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
News
NYC Council to grill Mamdani officials on collapsed Hunts Point Produce Market deal
Council Speaker Julie Menin called the $650 million plan "mission critical."
By
Elizabeth Kim
NYPD arrests 17-year-old in fatal Midtown subway platform shooting
By
Charles Lane
Ex-Adams aide accused of pocketing kickbacks from community program funds
By
Samantha Max
MTA to begin 6-year project to upgrade signal tech on A and C lines in Brooklyn and Queens
By
Ramsey Khalifeh
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .