Droves of frustrated citizens turned out to give the Joint Finance Committee a piece of their mind Tuesday.
The committee held a public hearing beginning at 10 a.m. Tuesday to discuss Gov. Scott Walker's controversial budget repair bill. As of press time the hearing was still ongoing.
Before citizens gave testimony, lawmakers were given the chance to question members of the Legislative Fiscal Bureau as well as Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch about the bill.
Huebsch repeatedly insisted this bill is necessary to solve the $3.6 billion state deficit. However, the hundreds of speakers that followed for the next 15-plus hours pleaded with the committee to reconsider the bill, condemning it as an assault on workers' rights.
UW-Madison graduate students and teaching assistants voiced their concerns over the bill, and many came forward to say they were worried about how they will continue their graduate work if their already low wages are cut.
Kevin Gibbons, Co-President of the Teaching Assistant Association, said the bill ""makes a mockery of the democratic process in this state.""
Gibbons implored the committee to vote against the bill, saying it does not actually solve the budget and ""unravels decades of social progress.""
UW-Madison sociology professor Chad Goldberg said he was worried about what this bill could mean for his department.
""Taking away collective bargaining rights and forcing low wages and high health-care costs for graduate employees will make it almost impossible for me, as director of graduate studies, to recruit competitive graduate students,"" Goldberg said.
One local special needs teacher was distraught over what the bill would mean for her family, which will see $20,000 less a year if it goes forward.
""I have a governor who doesn't care about my rights as a worker,"" she told the committee. ""Shame on you people.""
Assistant Attorney General Christian Eichenlaub noted how disproportionate the ratio of dissenters to supporters was at the Tuesday hearing. However, there were a few exceptions.
Speaker Steve Decker voiced his support for the bill, calling the unionization movement ""one of the worst coups ever perpetrated.""
However, students, teachers and public workers streamed into the Joint Finance Committee conference room through the early hours of the morning to protest the bill using their two-minute speaking limit.
Even those not yet old enough to vote spoke to the committee in support of their teachers and education.
Twelve-year-old middle school student Laura Anderson said she aspires to attend UW-Madison to become a pediatric oncologist, but said she now feels that may not be a possibility.
""I don't claim to know all the details,"" Anderson said, but insisted that this legislation is ""totally disrespecting our teachers.""
Students like Laura will not have school Wednesday as the Madison school district will shut down for the day.
