Wisconsin 'war on workers' spreads to two more states

The showdown over union rights that has paralysed politics in Wisconsin is spreading to other states.

It threatens a national "workers war" of a kind not seen since President Ronald Reagan fired striking air-traffic controllers en masse in 1981.

The State Capitol in Madison was overflowing for the 10th day yesterday by protesters infuriated by legislation being pushed by newly elected Governor Scott Walker which would strip most collective-bargaining rights from state workers, including teachers and librarians.

Walker says he will begin mass layoffs next week unless Democrats who have fled the state to avoid voting on the law return soon.

Similar legislation has surfaced in at least two other states - Indiana and Ohio - and strong support for Walker has been expressed elsewhere, including by Chris Christie, the popular Governor of New Jersey.

A number of Indiana Democrats have now fled across state lines in hopes of sabotaging attempts to pass laws they also deem as anti-union, while in Ohio's capital, Columbus, there have been huge pro-union protests.

The challenge to union rights that have endured since the New Deal era comes in the wake of significant advances by Republicans at the state level in last November's elections.

Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio all saw their statehouses switch to Republican control, and the party captured governorships in Wisconsin and Ohio.

Walker and his allies insist budget deficits have left states with no option but to tackle the entitlements public-service unions have won over the decades for their members.

Opponents claim the budget crisis is being used as a cover from an all-out assault to cripple the unions - and President Barack Obama and his Democrats in seeking re-election next year because they rely so heavily on union money and organising.

Opponents of Walker were taking some solace from a Gallup/USA Today poll showing that nationally 61 per cent would oppose similar laws if proposed in their own state.

Republicans like former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who may run for president next year, are speaking up for Walker. But others in the party were tackling the issue more gingerly.

The new Republican Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, offered support for collective bargaining.

In Indiana, Governor Mitch Daniels, a possible presidential candidate, surprised conservatives by asking that state Republicans postpone pushing any law to crimp union powers.

The law in question would end the ability of public workers to negotiate collectively for anything except salaries.

- Independent