First, a reminder:
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This update comes from USAToday:
Union organizers are hoping to top last Saturday's protest that drew 70,000 to the Capitol Square. That rally shut the downtown area as parading protesters filled the streets.
"There hasn't been anything like this since the '60s and the early '70s," said Elizabeth Beck of Wilton, Wis. "At the time, I was just a tot but my mother was involved in the anti-Vietnam War rallies. I remember as a child watching workers and students and gays struggle to make a difference so I'm proud to be a part of this.
"I'm not in a union, but this bill is just awful," Beck said. "There's no reason for it."
At the Capitol, the crowd in the rotunda began growing midmorning, and the space was reverberating with the ever-popular chant, "This is what democracy looks like." A parade of state corrections officers entered the building and joined the fray of at least several hundred people.
Protesters who have been camping out in the Capitol are hoping for the best, preparing for the worst for when police clear the building Sunday. The building will close at 4 p.m., and demonstrators say the building will be cleared of people at 5 p.m.
People have three options. 1. Walk out willingly when asked. 2. Make it clear that they don't want to leave but walk out, possibly in handcuffs. 3. Passively resist and be carried out. The second option could result in a municipal citation of $150 to $500. The third option could result in a misdemeanor charge.
Demonstrators have written the phone number of the American Civil Liberties Union on their arms with a marker. One demonstrator called it a badge of honor.
"We've been brainstorming a lot, but our main focus now is making today run smoothly," said Dan Fransee of Madison, who has slept in the Capitol for 11 days.
Reuters posted this report at 2:26 pm ET.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators converged on Wisconsin's state Capitol on Saturday in frigid weather to protest a Republican plan to curb the power of public sector unions.
The rotunda of the Capitol was choked with protesters hours before a planned union-backed rally scheduled to start at 3 p.m. local time, and a lengthy line snaked around outside a single open building entrance.
Note: Google, a well-known member of a subversive Communist conspiracy, puts reports about Madison, Iowa, and other rallying points for labor in the category of news about "collective bargaining," not "budget cutting" or "unrest." Nope. The issue is rights, not bucks.
