Reporting from Madison, Wis. Fourteen wayward Democratic state senators who fled Wisconsin last month to try to derail legislation stripping...
The returning Democrats began marching around the Capitol at about 2:30 p.m. CST (12:30 p.m. PST), greeted by deafening cheers and chants of "thank you, thank you!"
After marching around the Capitol, the Democratic senators addressed the crowd from a stage, their voices booming through speakers set up around the building.
"It is so good to be here, Wisconsin!" said Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller, the first senator to address the crowd.
"Welcome home! Welcome home!" the crowd chanted in response.
Miller told the crowd that their message had been heard. An estimated 68,000 people had gathered outside the Capitol by 3 p.m. CST (1 p.m. PST), according to Capitol police.
"Your fight to protect workers' rights has become a fight to protect all our rights," Miller told the protesters, many of whom were standing in mud or on top of filthy piles of snow. "It is a fight to take back our democracy. It is a fight to have those elected by the people listen to the people."
Earlier Saturday, the senators spoke during a news conference in a convention center just blocks from the Capitol.
Democratic Sen. Kathleen Vinehout said fleeing to Illinois was the only option for her and her colleagues.
"When we left, we gave everyone a chance to see what was in that bill," she said. "It was the only chance we had, and sometimes to not vote is more powerful than to vote."
The Republican-controlled Legislature this week passed the bill after finding a parliamentary way to get around the boycott, and Gov. Scott Walker signed it into law Friday.
Sens. Lena Taylor and Jon Erpenbach said the Democrats haven't lost, but they acknowledged the state's toxic political environment.
"In the state of Wisconsin, we're at each other's throats right now," Erpenbach said.
That was evident in the comments Saturday of Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. The Republican blasted the Democratic senators, issuing a statement in which he called them "the most shameful 14 people in the state of Wisconsin."
The Democratic senators "are going to pat themselves on the back and smile for the cameras. They're going to pretend they're heroes for taking a three-week vacation," Fitzgerald said. "It is an absolute insult to the hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who are struggling to find a job, much less one they can run away from and go down to Illinois -- with pay."
The fight over the legislation has resulted in a month of protests and demonstrations by unionists and their Democratic allies. Democrats have said they will fight the law in the courts and have begun circulating recall petitions.
Opponents of the law vow that the fight is not over.
"I'm here because I think it's important that not only the governor but other people need to understand that this is not simply a union issue," said Bridget Stafford, 43, a teacher and union member from Stevens Point, Wis., who was watching other protesters from a balcony in the Capitol. "It's about people's rights."
Stafford said she was especially angry over the legislation because she felt Walker didn't propose it during his campaign.
"He's been lying from the get-go," she said.
The cold, breezy day started quietly, with a few dozen people gathered in clusters outside the Capitol. Groups of police officers also huddled outside the building.
As the morning went on, however, more people streamed toward the Capitol, including a few farmers driving tractors around the building.
By late morning, tens of thousands of protesters were marching around the Capitol, cheering as dozens of farmers driving tractors joined in the procession.
Chants of "This is what democracy looks like!" echoed off the buildings surrounding the Capitol's square.
Mark Oles, an information technology worker from Madison, said Saturday's protests are meant to show that opponents of the law aren't going to back down.
"It's the only way that I know how to participate in my state government at this point," said Oles, warming up in a packed coffee shop across from the Capitol. "I don't feel like I have any voice except for the one I bring out here."
Under the new law, unions will not be able to bargain for health and pension benefits, will be limited in what they can seek in pay raises and have such other provisions as automatic dues payment modified.
After signing the bill Friday, Walker canceled layoff warning notices issued during the standoff.
"The Legislature helped us save 1,500 middle-class jobs by moving forward this week with the budget repair," Walker said in a prepared statement. "The state will now be able to realize $30 million in savings to balance the budget and allow 1,500 state employees to keep their jobs. The reforms contained in this legislation, which require modest healthcare and pension contributions from all public employees, will help put Wisconsin on a path to fiscal sustainability."
Public employee unions have already said they were prepared to pay more money for health insurance and pension benefits, but they have balked at having their collective-bargain rights restrained. The measure affects public employee unions except for police and fire.
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