The Republican leader of the Wisconsin state Senate says he met secretly Monday with some of the 14 Senate Democrats who left the state to avoid voting on a bill taking away public employee collective bargaining rights.
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says some of the Senators are ready to return home to vote on the bill.
Fitzgerald wouldn't say who he met with or how many Senators were there. He says there was no discussion about the substance of the bill that instead they talked about how to arrange for a relatively smooth transition back to business as usual in the capitol. No date was set for the Senators return. But Fitzgerald says he expects talks to continue, and says there appears to be a split in the Senator's ranks about how long to continue delaying the bill. But Democratic Senator Chris Larson says it's Republicans who are feeling the pressure because of recent polls.
