The Indiana legislature is grinding to a halt this week, as Democrats work to stall the Republican majority from passing a law restricting the power of private-sector labor unions.
The “right-to-work” law would go beyond the current crackdowns on public-sector unions, by forbidding private-sector companies and unions from negotiating a contract that would require the collection of partial union dues from non-members.
Starting Wednesday, and continuing into Thursday, the Indianapolis Star reports, the state House has been unable to gavel into a session — and protesters have once again descended upon the building.
Here is a video of protesters outside the building on Wednesday, via the Star:
The state constitution requires a two-thirds majority on the floor in order to form a quorum. The Democrats, who are outnumbered 60-40, have been holding caucus meetings in the state Capitol, a form of official business. However, not enough have been going to the floor to allow a quorum.
As the Associated Press reported on Wednesday, some of the Dems have been showing up on the floor — just not all at once:
Some Democrats broke ranks throughout the day and joined Republicans in the House. Up to six Democrats could return to their seats and there would still not be enough lawmakers to conduct business.
Instead the vast majority of Democrats holed up inside a conference room just steps from the House chamber and spent more than three hours debating tactics on the first day of the 2012 session.
Last week, shortly before New Year’s, the State Police handed down a new set of security restrictions on public access to the Capitol, which would limit the number of people inside the building to 3,000 (including the 1,700 officials and employees who work there). Democrats and labor leaders accused Republicans of seeking to limit protest against their policies and the right-to-work proposal. On Wednesday, Gov. Mitch Daniels (R) rescinded the new rules.
Right-to-work laws are very common in the South and the West, totaling 22 states that have such statutes. But as the New York Times has pointed out, this would make Indiana the first state to adopt the law in the traditional manufacturing belt, which stretches from the Midwest up through New England.
Indiana Democratic House leader Pat Bauer told TPM the plan is the drag things out.
“This is the most controversial bill in decades. And instead of doing hearings around the state, or doing it over a two or three week period, they scheduled a hearing for it this Friday…It’ll be done the middle of next week.”
“So we decided to have them deliberate that. And have the process slow down so people know what right to work is.”
Despite new rules from the Republicans in control of the state government, designed to make it harder for Democrats to shut down the session like they did the last time, Bauer sounded confident that he can slow the process down long enough to have an impact.
“I think it’s a possibility,” he said when TPM asked if the session will end with a vote on the right to work law. But each passing day, Bauer says, exposes what he says is a basic lack of understanding about how the labor laws actually function. Workers can’t be forced to join a union, despite Republican ads to the contrary running in Indiana since the summer, Bauer said. Current law only forces them to pay a fee to cover the union benefits they receive if their shop goes union around them.
As voters learn the truth thanks to amped up discussion of the topic coming from the Democratic delays, Bauer said the GOP may be forced to stand down. But he recognized the Republicans are on to him this time, as opposed to last session when he seemed to surprise his rivals by skipping town.
“We have two and a half months in the session,” Bauer said. “[Right to work] shouldn’t be over in the first 5-7 days.”
Last year, the state House Dems fled the state in order to block the two-thirds quorum on a variety of legislation, including the right-to-work. They returned to the state after securing a number of concessions, including an end to the right-to-work push by the Republican majority. (When the Dems fled, the same tactic was just being used, though ultimately without success, by Wisconsin Democrats against an anti-public employee union measure.)
Afterwards, an “anti-bolting” law was passed, imposing a fine of $1,000 per day if legislators ever again fled in order to block a quorum.
