9 arrested in third day of Wis. labor protests

Nine people have been arrested in the third day of widespread protests at the Wisconsin Capitol.

The state Department of Administration estimated 20,000 people attended protests outside the state Capitol, while 5,000 protesters filled the rotunda and hallways.

Labor supporters and activists have been protesting Republican Gov. Scott Walker's proposal to strip most public employees of all collective bargaining rights, except for limited negotiations on salary. Walker has said the bill is necessary to close a budget shortfall of $137 million and a looming $3.6 billion deficit in the next two-year budget.

The arrests come after two days of incident-free rallies and demonstrations, as protesters have remained mostly peaceful. State officials did not immediately return calls asking for details on the nine arrests.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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