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      MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Clogging the Wisconsin Capitol grounds and
screaming angry chants, tens of thousands of undaunted pro-labor
protesters descended on Madison again Saturday and vowed to focus
on future elections now that contentious cuts to public worker
union rights have become law.

      Protests have rocked the Capitol almost every day since Gov.
Scott Walker proposed taking nearly all collective bargaining
rights away from public workers, but the largest came a day after
the governor signed the measure into law. Madison Police estimated
the crowd at 85,000 to 100,000 people - along with 50 tractors and
one donkey - by late afternoon. No one was arrested.


      Speakers delivered angry diatribes while the crowd carried signs
comparing Walker to dictators and yelled thunderous chants of
"this is what democracy looks like."


      "This is so not the end," said protester Judy Gump, a
45-year-old English teacher at Madison Memorial High School. "This
is what makes people more determined and makes them dig in."

      Walker's signature on the measure capped a week of political
maneuvering to end a bitter, month-long standoff that began when
the state's 14 Democratic senators fled to Illinois in an
ultimately futile attempt to block the legislation.


      Throngs of protesters gathered Saturday outside a convention
center where senators made their first public appearances in
Madison since ending their self-imposed exile. Demonstrators
treated the lawmakers like rock stars, yelling "Fab 14, our
heroes!" and giddily snapping pictures.


      All 14 Democrats later marched around the Capitol, trading
chants of "thank you" with protesters who ringed the sidewalks.
When the senators made their way to a stage, they promised to shift
their energies toward recall drives already under way against eight
of their GOP colleagues.


      "Now ... we trade in our rally signs for clipboards and we take
to the streets to recall the Republicans," Sen. Chris Larson of
Milwaukee told the cheering crowd, "and in one year we recall the
governor that refuses to listen."

      Walker is not eligible to be recalled until he completes his
first year in office in January 2012.


      Eight of the Democrats also face recall efforts. Senate Majority
Leader Scott Fitzgerald issued a statement Saturday calling them
the most shameful 14 people in the state.


      "(Fleeing to Illinois) 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," Fitzgerald said.


      Walker's plan has spurred a national debate over labor rights.
Its passage is a key victory for Republicans who have targeted
unions in efforts to cut government spending across the country.
Democrats see it as a blatant attempt to weaken organized labor,
one of their strongest campaign allies.

      Labor leaders have promised to use the setback to fire up
members and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the
ballot box in 2012.

      "We're never going to give up," said Marilyn Rolfsmeyer, 56,
who serves as the 300-student Argyle School District's only art
teacher. "What part of it don't they understand? There's hope
here. I feel it. You feel the energy, the intensity. Somebody's got
to be out there feeling it, too."

      Dozens of fist-pumping farmers drew cheers as they chugged
around the Capitol square in tractors bearing signs with messages
such as "planting the seeds for a big season of recalls."


      Tod Pulvermacher, 33, of Bear Valley, towed a manure spreader
carrying a sign that read, "Walker's bill belongs here."

      "Farmers are working-class Americans," he said as the crowd
cheered. "We work for a living as hard as anybody, and this is
about all of us."


      Walker has repeatedly argued that ending collective bargaining
gives local governments much-needed flexibility to confront cuts in
state aid necessary to fix Wisconsin's deficit, which is expected
to grow to $3.6 billion deficit over two years.

      The new law erases public workers' ability to collectively
bargain anything except wages up to the rate of inflation. It also
requires them to contribute more to their pensions and health care,
changes that amount to an 8 percent pay cut. Police and
firefighters are exempt.


      The Senate Democrats had fled to deny Republicans, who hold a
19-14 Senate majority, the 20-member quorum needed to vote on
measures that spend money. But GOP leaders worked around them
Wednesday, calling a special committee to take spending items out
of Walker's proposal.

      The Senate passed it 18-1 minutes later. Assembly Republicans
approved it the next day.


      Democratic Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has filed a
lawsuit seeking to block the secretary of state from publishing the
law, the last step before it takes effect. She argues the bill
still contained fiscal items and that the committee meeting
violated Wisconsin's open meeting law.


      Associated Press writer Dinesh Ramde contributed to this report.

Gallery

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Business and Economic News

Politics and Government News

Clogging the Wisconsin Capitol grounds and
screaming angry chants, tens of thousands of undaunted pro-labor
protesters descended on Madison again Saturday and vowed to focus
on future elections now that contentious cuts to public worker
union rights have become law.

Wis. labor protesters say next fight at the polls

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