Marc LeClair, of Wausau, Wis., center with sign, marches during a rally against a "right-to-work" pr...

1. Smaller crowds protest Wisconsin right-to-work plan than
against 2011 anti-union measures
Marc LeClair, of Wausau, Wis., center with sign, marches during a rally against a "right-to-work"
proposal, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Madison, Wis. Thousands of Wisconsin union workers
rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a "right-to-work" proposal that would outlaw the mandatory
payment of union dues, but the crowd was much smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott
Walker's law stripping public sector unions of much of their power. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State
Journal, Steve Apps) (The Associated Press)

2. Wisconsin AFL-CIO president Phil Neuenfeldt speaks during a rally against a "right-to-work
proposal, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Madison, Wis. Thousands of Wisconsin union workers
rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a "right-to-work" proposal that would outlaw the mandatory
payment of union dues, but the crowd was much smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott
Walker's law stripping public sector unions of much of their power. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State
Journal, Steve Apps) (The Associated Press)
Protesters march up State Street before the start of a rally, on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2015, in Madison,
Wis. Thousands of Wisconsin union workers rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a "right-t-
-work" proposal that would outlaw the mandatory payment of union dues, but the crowd was much

3. smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker's law stripping public sector unions of much of
their power. (AP Photo/Wisconsin State Journal, Steve Apps) (The Associated Press)
MADISON, Wis. - Thousands of Wisconsin union workers rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a
"right-to-work" proposal that would outlaw the mandatory payment of union dues, but the crowd was
much smaller than those in 2011 against Gov. Scott Walker's law stripping public sector unions of
much of their power.
Speakers at the event jeered Walker's comment Thursday that fighting against protesters during the
2011 debates prepared him to battle terrorists as president. Walker has not yet announced his
presidential campaign, but is expected to do so later this year.
"What we are doing here today is the heart and soul of democracy, not terrorism," said Phil
Neuenfeldt, president of Wisconsin AFL-CIO.
Protesters held signs that said "This union grandma is not the same as ISIS" and "We are mad as
h(asterisk)(asterisk)(asterisk) but we are peaceful."
Bretta Schmidt, a nurse at Meriter Hospital in Madison held a sign that said "I'm a nurse, not a
terrorist." Schmidt said she protested Act 10 in 2011 and crowds Saturday could not compare.
"We feel defeated," she said. "We know this is going to pass."
A spokesman for the Department of Administration, Cullen Werwie, said between 2,500 and 3,000
people gathered at the Capitol Saturday. There were about 2,000 there for rallies Tuesday and
Wednesday. The numbers pale in comparison to protests during the Act 10 debates in 2011 when an
estimated 100,000 people turned out to protest at the Capitol.
Protesters wore construction helmets and Teamster jackets Saturday as they rallied against a right-
to-work bill that was rapidly passed by the Wisconsin Senate last week and is expected to pass the
Republican-dominated Assembly. Walker has said he will sign in it into law, which would make
Wisconsin the 25th right-to-work state.
Colin Millard a union representative from Horicon, 55 miles northwest of Milwaukee, said the
Republican legislators' effort to push the bill through quickly prevented unions from getting large
crowds gathered Saturday.
"We don't have as many people as we had four years ago, but we only had a week," Millard said.
"With the speed (at which) they did this we weren't able to get people rallied together."
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