Pro-Union Forces Gather On Beacon Hill

It was billed as a show of solidarity with public workers in Wisconsin, protesting a bill that would strip them of collective bargaining rights.

But organizers at a rally Saturday on Beacon Hill said it was also designed to send a message to lawmakers who would seek to do the same in Massachusetts.

Mac D'Alessandro is a political director for the Service Employees International Union. He said "anti-worker" sentiment is spreading.

"I think (what) the folks in Wisconsin have done is more of a service to us — these kinds of attacks are coming," he said. "Now we're seeing these things pop up in Ohio and Indiana and Maine."

The governor of Wisconsin wants public employees to give up collective bargaining rights to help balance the state's budget.

Organizers Saturday singled out a bill filed in Massachusetts that would also strip union bargaining rights. While the bill appears to have little support on Beacon Hill, organizers said they are concerned.