By KRIS MAHER and AMY MERRICK
The leader of the 14 Wisconsin Senate Democrats who left the state last month to block legislation that would curb public-employee union rights said the senators plan to return "in the relatively near future," because negotiations with the governor have failed.
Democratic Sen. Mark Miller said the Democrats intend to let the full Senate vote and potentially pass Gov. Scott Walker's "budget-repair" bill, which would also limit public unions' collective bargaining rights. The Democrats believe that the measure lacks voter support based on recent polls and that passage could hurt Republicans politically, Mr. Miller said.
Union solidarity rallies continue outside the Wisconsin Capitol as filmmaker Michael Moore tells the crowd that America is not broke, but that the elite controls the money. Video courtesy of NewsCore.
He said the Democrats, who fled to Illinois on Feb. 17, also want to fight Mr. Walker's recently announced two-year budget plan, which cuts spending by $4.2 billion, or 6.7%, including $1.25 billion less in state aid to schools and local governments.
"We are now looking at returning to the state capitol and requiring the senators to take a vote and have them declare who they're with -- the workers or the governor," Mr. Miller said Sunday. He said he thinks recent polls have been "disastrous" for Mr. Walker and give Democrats more leverage to seek budget changes.
Chris Schrimpf, a spokesman for the governor, said, "If the governor made his decisions based on polling, he would still be in the general assembly. The voters elected people to make the difficult decisions to balance the budget and create an environment where 250,000 jobs can be created by the private sector."
Mr. Schrimpf added that Mr. Walker has been "keeping the lines of communication open with Senate Democrats trying to give them a path home."
As the standoff in Wisconsin has dragged on, several polls show majorities of Wisconsin voters disapproving of Mr. Walker's plan to strip public employees of bargaining rights.
At the same time, the governor maintains strong support among Republicans. He also has significant backing from voters for his plan to have union members pay more out of their salaries toward their pensions and health care.
Write to Kris Maher at kris.maher@wsj.com and Amy Merrick at amy.merrick@wsj.com
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