(Reuters circulated the following on February 17, 2011.)
MADISON, Wisc. — Wisconsin state Senate Democrats boycotting a vote on a plan to curb the union rights of public employees left the state on Thursday in an attempt to force majority Republicans to negotiate a compromise, an online political news service said.
Democrat Sen. Jon Erpenbach told WisPolitics that he believed all 14 Senate Democrats were out of the state by early Thursday afternoon. There are 19 Senate Republicans, and a quorum of 20 is needed to vote on the issue.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker has proposed sharply curbing the bargaining rights of public unions in order to make budget savings. The proposal was to be debated and possibly come to a vote in the state Senate on Thursday. Republicans hold a majority of both the Senate and the state House of Representatives.
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