Wisconsin 14 Leader Proposes Border Meeting, Compromise with Gov. Walker

By IBTimes Staff Reporter | March 07 2011 2:00 PM

Sen. Mark Miller, the leader of 14 Wisconsin Democrats who fled to Illinois to delay a bill that would weaken public unions, has proposed an in-person meeting with Gov. Scott Walker and the lead Republican in the state Senate, Scott Fitzgerald.

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A man marches with a "don't tread on me" flag outside the State Capitol building in Madison, Wisconsin on February 28, 2011.

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In a letter addressed to the two officials on Monday, he requested the meeting as soon as possible to resume negotiations on how to reach an agreement on a proposed bill, which Walker says is necessary to let local officials cut costs more easily.

Miller said he and the other Democrats are ready and willing to find a reasonable compromise.

He said the meeting would take place somewhere near the Wisconsin-Illinois border.

The people of Wisconsin are overwhelmingly supportive of us reaching a bipartisan, negotiated compromise, Miller said. Senate Democrats stand ready to do just that, we ask that you do the same.

Miller said in the letter that public workers had already offered economic concessions and Democrats have offered a number of proposals.

While Democrats have been willing to require that state union workers pay a higher percentage of their wages toward health and pension benefits, they have not been willing to concede on Republican requests that collective bargaining rights be reduced, which would necessarily exclude those two areas.