It’s a Fleebagger Festival!
Indiana democrats joined thier Wisconsin counterparts in Illinois today.
The Hoosier dems, upset over a proposed right-to-work bill, hit the road this morning to join the Wisconsin AWOL democrats in Illinois.
Union members chanted “no right to work” as Republicans passed that right-to-work bill today in committee.
They’re congregating in Chicago.
The Politico reported:
In a move straight out of the Wisconsin playbook, Indiana Democratic lawmakers fled the state today in a bid to kill a proposed right-to-work bill ahead of a vote.
Citing a source, the Indianapolis Star reported that Democrats “are headed to Illinois, though it was possible some also might go to Kentucky.” Wisconsin’s Democratic senators have been in Illinois for days, depriving Republicans the quorum needed to vote on Gov. Scott Walker’s legislation to roll back collectively bargaining rights for state workers.
It’s a major escalation in a brewing labor battle with Mitch Daniels, the governor who’s considering a presidential run.
As the newspaper noted, Indiana’s Democrats will want to head to a state with a Democratic governor “to avoid being taken into police custody and returned to Indiana.”
Labor unions watched and cheered on the stoppage from the gallery, the newspaper reported, as the Republicans’ push for the bill, which would curtail collective bargaining by making non-union members pay buy-in fees for representation, was stymied.
The Democrats have “taken a page out of the Wisconsin Senate playbook apparently,” said Republican state House Speaker Brian Bosma. “They are shirking the job that they were hired to do.”
Just two of the 40 Democrats showed up — the number needed to be present just to make sure that Republicans aren’t moving ahead without a quorum present.
