MADISON, Wisconsin |
MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker unveiled a budget that makes deep cuts in spending on Tuesday, and he said the cuts could be even worse if Democrats continue to block his plan to curb the power of public sector unions.
Walker, whose proposal to restrict collective bargaining sparked huge protests and a nationwide debate, said his budget would reduce state spending by 6.7 percent and slash more than 21,000 state jobs.
He said the cuts would reduce the state's structural budget deficit by 90 percent to $250 million by the end of fiscal 2013, the lowest in recent history.
The reception Walker received from lawmakers was welcoming despite the rancorous debate raging in the Capitol for the last two weeks. Protesters were not allowed in the chamber.
Democratic state senators fled Wisconsin nearly two weeks ago to avoid voting on the measure to curtail collective bargaining for most government workers. The Democratic gambit has stalled the proposal but not killed it.
Representatives for the 14 Democratic senators who decamped to neighboring Illinois met with Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald in Kenosha, Wisconsin, on Monday but they did not return for the budget address.
"If the 14 Senate Democrats do not come home, their local communities will be forced to manage these reductions in aid without the benefit of the tools provided in the repair bill," Walker told a joint session of the legislature.
But one of those boycotting Democrats, Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, blasted the governor, saying the cuts would be devastating.
"The Governor's budget bill is quite simply balancing the budget on the backs of the middle class and working families; seniors, people with disabilities, children and small businesses," he said.
What began as a dispute in Wisconsin between a Republican governor and state labor unions has grown into what could be the biggest confrontation with organized labor since President Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981.
President Barack Obama weighed in on behalf of the unions and Republican leaders have told him to butt out. Unions have been reliable supporters of Democrats for decades.
While only seven percent of private sector workers are unionized in the United States, more than a third of the public sector is unionized and nearly half in Wisconsin.
Outside the Capitol, protesters chanted "Hey, Hey, ho, ho, Scott Walker has got to go" during the speech, and this could be heard inside the chamber, although it did not drown out the governor's speech.
One fear of unions is that if Wisconsin approves restrictions, other states will follow and deal a serious blow to remaining union power.
In Ohio, the Republican-dominated legislature on Tuesday considered a bill like the one in Wisconsin to curtail some collective bargaining rights for public sector workers and eliminate their right to strike.
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