After the Governor of Wisconsin signed a bill that will restrict collective bargaining rights for most public workers, around 100,000 people protested in Madison against the bill. The Democratic Senators who had fled in an attempt to stop the bill said that they were glad to be home, and that they would keep fighting for workers. The Republicans said that the bill was necessary to balance the budget, but many criticized the measure as anti-union, especially after Republicans stripped all budget measures from the bill in order to pass it without the Democrats. Similar bills are also being considered in states like Ohio, Iowa, Michigan and Florida.
See "Up to 100,000 protest Wisconsin law curbing unions", James B. Kelleher, Reuters, March 13, 2011