Wisconsin Readies Its Vote

UPDATE: SEE MY NEW POST: REPUBLICANS HAVE VOTED TO STRIP PUBLIC WORKERS OF THEIR COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS! IT’S OVER AND DONE, SO THE REPUBLICANS THINK. NOW WE MUST MOBILIZE TO CLAIM OUR RIGHTS AS WORKERS, BUT AS CITIZENS IN A FREE DEMOCRACY. PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD TO YOUR FRIENDS AND CO-WORKERS.

MSNBC: Potentially big news in Wisconsin just now. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Republican Senators have moved Governor Walker’s budget-repair bill to a joint committee. That committee can then rework the bill and send it back to the House and Senate for a vote.

From the Journal-Sentinel:

What changes would be made remains unclear, but Democrats said they had not been consulted on them. They raised concerns that Republicans would take out all the spending in the bill and leave only the changes to collective bargaining.

To pass spending measures, 20 senators must be present, but Republicans hold just 19 seats. But Republicans would not need any Democrats to be present to pass the collective bargaining changes as a standalone bill.

That squares with what we’re hearing, too — that Republicans are splitting Governor Walker’s bill into two parts. They can vote by themselves, without a budget quorum, on anything that’s not fiscally related. Since the union-busting is not about the budget (as we’ve been saying throughout the standoff), they could vote on that without the Democrats present.

Potentially big news in Wisconsin just now. The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports that Republican Senators have moved Governor Walker’s budget-repair bill to a joint committee. That committee can then rework the bill and send it back to the House and Senate for a vote. From the Journal-Sentinel:

What changes would be made remains unclear, but Democrats said they had not been consulted on them. They raised concerns that Republicans would take out all the spending in the bill and leave only the changes to collective bargaining.

To pass spending measures, 20 senators must be present, but Republicans hold just 19 seats. But Republicans would not need any Democrats to be present to pass the collective bargaining changes as a standalone bill.

That squares with what we’re hearing, too — that Republicans are splitting Governor Walker’s bill into two parts. They can vote by themselves, without a budget quorum, on anything that’s not fiscally related. Since the union-busting is not about the budget (as we’ve been saying throughout the standoff), they could vote on that without the Democrats present.