2011 Wisconsin protests

2011 Wisconsin protests
2011 Wisconsin protests
Part of 2011 United States public employee protests and the impact of the Arab Spring
	Thousands gather inside Madison Wisconsin's Capitol rotunda to protest Governor Walker's proposed bill.
Date	February 14, 2011 – June 16, 2011
Location	Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.; 43°04′30″N 89°23′08″W / 43.0749°N 89.3856°W
Caused by	Opposition to certain provisions in legislation (Budget Repair Bill) proposed by Governor Scott Walker to limit public employee collective bargaining and address a state budget shortfall.
Methods	Protests, sit-ins, demonstrations, recall elections, quorum-busting
Status	Active protests ended by late June 2011; several pending lawsuits
Concessions	None; Budget Repair Bill passed; 2 Republican State Senators recalled from office (8/9/2011); 2 Democratic State Senators win recall elections on 8/16/11; failed recall attempt of Governor Scott Walker.
Parties
Political organizations: Democratic Party of Wisconsin; Organizing for America; Unions: SEIU; IWW; WEAC (NEA affiliate);	Republican Party of Wisconsin; Anti-tax activists, many affiliated with the Tea Party movement;
Lead figures
	Non-centralized leadership Wisconsin Democratic Legislature figures: Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller; Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca; Wisconsin Senate 14 Tim Carpenter; Spencer Coggs; Tim Cullen; Jon Erpenbach; Dave Hansen; Jim Holperin; Robert Jauch; Chris Larson; Julie Lassa; Mark Miller; Fred Risser; Lena Taylor; Kathleen Vinehout; Robert Wirch; Governor Scott Walker Wisconsin Republican Legislature figures: Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald; President of the Senate Michael Ellis; Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald; Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder;
Number
Protesters: 100,000+	Counter protesters: Several thousand
Casualties and losses
Arrests: 10+;

From February to June 2011 in the US state of Wisconsin, as many as 100,000 protesters demonstrated their opposition to 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, also called the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill. The bill proposed significantly limiting the compensation and rights, including collective bargaining, of public employees in the state.

Protests against the bill centered on the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, with satellite protests also occurring at other municipalities throughout the state. Demonstrations also took place at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. After the bill was upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court on June 14, the number of protesters declined to about 1,000 within a couple of days.

The protests were a major driving force for recall elections of state senators in 2011 and 2012, the failed recall of Governor Scott Walker in 2012 and a contentious Wisconsin Supreme Court election in 2011.