Within an hour and a
 half of the vote, the protesters had seized the
building's lower floors, creating an ear-splitting free-for-all of
pounding drums, screaming chants, horns and whistles. Police gave up
guarding the building entrances and retreated to the third floor.
The state Department of Administration, which operates the building,
estimated the crowd at about 7,000 people. There were no reports of
violence as of late Wednesday evening, and DOA spokesman Tim Donovan
said no one had been arrested as of late Wednesday evening. By
midnight dozens of protesters had bedded down in the building's
corridors and alcoves. Some slept in front of the office of Assembly
Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon.
Donovan said officials decided not to try to clear the building
because they want to avoid confrontation.
"The more talking we can do, the less this devolves into
something unpleasant," he said.
The bill would require public-sector workers to contribute more
to their pensions and health care, in what would amount to an 8
percent pay cut for the workers, on average. It also would prohibit
most of them from collectively bargaining for their working
conditions.
Republican Gov. Scott Walker, the plan's chief author, says the
bill will help fill the state's current $137 million shortfall and a
$3.6 billion hole in the state's upcoming two-year budget. He said
limiting collective bargaining rights for public workers will give
local governments more flexibility to handle deep cuts in state aid.
Democrats and unions say the attack on collective bargaining is
purely political and that Republicans are simply trying to
financially cripple the labor movement, a pillar of Democratic Party
strength.
The Capitol has been a flashpoint for demonstrations since the
bill was introduced about three weeks ago. Senate Democrats were so
outraged at the proposal they fled the state to block a vote in that
chamber. They haven't been seen in Madison for weeks.
Tens of thousands of people spent days jamming the area around
the building, setting up a makeshift village inside, complete with a
day care center and signs plastered on the walls. Hundreds slept
overnight on the floor for about two weeks.
Police imposed tighter access restrictions last week, closing
down entrances. They persuaded the last overnighters to leave on the
evening of March 3. The protests had been confined to the ground
floor and the lawns until Wednesday evening, when frustrated Senate
Republicans used a procedural maneuver to pass the bill without the
minority Democrats.
As word spread that the vote was coming, hundreds of protesters
moved into the building before its official 6 p.m. closing time and
jammed the corridors in front of the Senate chamber, chanting
"shame."
Protester Damon Terrell, 19, called Senate vote a "despicable
travesty."
"They know what they're doing is wrong," he said. "Which child
hides what they were doing: the one doing their homework or the one
that was messing around?"
Police held their positions at the Capitol for a time after the
vote, but more and more protesters found a way in. Police believe
some climbed through windows, Donovan said. He initially said
protesters broke windows and door handles, but he later backed off
that statement, saying he wasn't sure that was true.
[to top of second column] |
Finally police commanders decided to pull officers off guard duty
at all the ground floor entrances, he said.
"The efforts to secure them weren't working," Donovan said. "It
would be safer for everybody (if officers withdrew)."
Police addressed protesters repeatedly over the building's public
address system, warning them the building had been closed for hours
and they had no right to remain inside. No one could hear the
warnings over the din as protesters banged buckets, blew whistles
and shouted: "This is what democracy looks like!" and "Who's house?
Our house!"
The state Assembly was scheduled to vote on the bill this
morning, the last step before it would go to Walker for his
signature.
A group of about 150 protesters jammed the Assembly foyer on
Wednesday evening, debating whether they should occupy the space
indefinitely.
They had written the phone number for the American Civil
Liberties Union's local chapter on their arms, ensuring they could
call a lawyer if they were arrested.
Later in the evening police again came over the building's
loudspeakers, this time warning people to get off the second-floor
skywalks that link the building's wings because they could collapse.
No one listened.
Donovan said police had about an hour's notice that the Senate
was preparing to vote. Commanders tried to put together a reaction
plan, but "it turned out to be not enough," Donovan said.
Asked about the police's plan, Donovan said officers just hoped
to make sure no one got hurt. He didn't know how many police were
still on the scene late Wednesday but said more were on their way.
"The priority is to keep everybody safe," Donovan said. "We'll
figure out what went wrong another day."
[Associated Press]
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