Obama: Wisconsin budget fight seems like 'an assault on unions'
During an interview with TMJ4 of Milwaukee that aired Thursday, President Obama weighed in on the rapidly escalating brouhaha over Gov. Scott Walker's (R-Wis.) proposal to strip public-sector employees of collective-bargaining rights.
Obama said that while some measures, such as pay freezes for those employees, are "the right thing to do" to combat budget shortfalls, "some of what I've heard coming out of Wisconsin, where you're just making it harder for public employees to collectively bargain generally, seems like an assault on unions." He added that "it's important not to vilify" public workers.
Tens of thousands of state workers and their supporters have turned out at the Wisconsin State Capitol since Tuesday to protest the governor's proposal. Walker wants to help shore up the state's projected two-year, $3.6 billion budget shortfall by increasing public employees' costs for pensions and health-care coverage. Firefighters and police are exempt from the measure.
On Thursday, state Democratic senators left the Capitol to deny Republicans -- who control the state legislature -- a quorum to vote on the governor's bill. The bill is expected to pass.
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