Indiana House Democrats Win Concessions for Workers, Return Home

Indiana CWAers helped welcome returning Democrats home with "Thank You" signs Monday night at the state capitol.

The 39 Indiana House Democrats who left the state Feb. 22 to prevent Republicans from ramming through their anti-worker agenda are returning this week after the GOP agreed to drop its "right-to-work" bill and made other concessions.

Among them, Republicans agreed not to pursue a law that would make permanent Gov. Mitch Daniel's 2005 executive order banning collective bargaining for state workers.

Rep. Patrick Bauer, leader of the House Democrats, said while the deal isn't perfect, it was worth the sacrifice that his caucus made, including thousands of dollars each in fines imposed by the Republicans.

CWAers, who turned out in force for demonstrations at the capitol over the last five weeks, were among hundreds of union members who gathered with "Thank You" signs to cheer the Democrats as they returned to work Monday afternoon.