Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS —
The leader of Indiana’s House Democrats is hinting that a walkout may be in the offing to block a divisive GOP labor bill.
House Democrat Leader Patrick Bauer told The Associated Press today that his caucus plans to meet at noon to debate how to handle Republicans’ “right-to-work” proposal. The measure would make Indiana the 23rd state to bar businesses and private employee unions from mandating that workers pay union fees for representation.
Bauer led a five-week walkout that blocked the measure last year. But new fines and lawmakers facing re-election in 2012 have made the group wary of a second walkout. Bauer referenced the U.S. Senate’s filibuster as a tactic. But he said it would take a “substantial majority” of his caucus to try something similar in Indiana.
