MADISON, Wisconsin (PNN) - February 27, 2011 - A crowd estimated at more than 70,000 people on Saturday waved Amerikan flags, sang the national anthem and called for the defeat of a Wisconsin plan to curb public sector unions that has galvanized opposition from the Amerikan labor movement.
In one of the biggest rallies at the state Capitol since the Vietnam War, union members and their supporters braved frigid temperatures and a light snowfall to show their displeasure.
The mood was upbeat despite the setback their cause suffered earlier this week, when the state Assembly approved the Republican-backed restrictions on union collective bargaining rights over fierce Democrat objections.
"I'm deeply honored to be here with you," said Peter Yarrow, a veteran of many social protests during his 50-year folk music career and a founding member of the group Peter, Paul and Mary. "If you persist, you will prevail."
What began two weeks ago as a Republican effort in one small U.S. state to balance the budget has turned into a confrontation with unions that could be the biggest since then President Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers nearly 30 years ago.
Republicans still must push the measure through the state Senate, which has been unable to muster a quorum for a vote because of a Democrat boycott.
