Wisconsin: Walker Rejects Workers' Offer to Take Cuts to Save Unions

Members of CWA Local 4630 in Madison outside the Wisconsin statehouse, where the nation's firestorm of workers' protests began nearly two weeks ago.

Below: CWA District 4 Vice President Seth Rosen addresses thousands of protesters Thursday in the Wisconsin capitol building.

Proving that Gov. Scott Walker is using budget concerns as a cover for union-busting, leaders of state employee unions said they would accept the governor's demands for pension and health care cuts as long as he stops trying to kill collective bargaining rights.

Walker flatly refused, showing no respect for the offer or the tens of thousands of people continuing to demonstrate outside the state capitol and in cities throughout Wisconsin.

He's now threatening to start sending layoff notices to state employees next week if Senate Democrats don’t return to Madison so his bill can become law. The 14 Democrats fled Wisconsin last week in order to prevent a quorum and a vote.

Despite the best efforts of sleep-deprived Democrats in the state Assembly, Republicans there passed the bill Thursday after a continuous three-day session. GOP leaders left the roll call open for only a matter of seconds, and just 13 of 38 Democrats were able to vote in time.

Walker continues to claim that the state is in a budget crisis, even though Wisconsin was set to have a budget surplus before he handed out $140 million in tax breaks to corporations and the rich during his first two months in office.

"We'd love to come back today," Democratic state Sen. Jon Erpenbach said, quoted in Wednesday’s Wisconsin State Journal. "We could be up there this afternoon and pass this if he would agree to removing the (collective bargaining) language that has absolutely nothing to do with balancing the budget."

Walker has been touring the state trying to sell his union-busting plan and was supposed to speak this week at a Milwaukee food bank. He didn't show up "but our members did and brought 200 pounds of donated food at a 'can the bill' rally," CWA Local 4630 Steward Mark Frey said.