Protestors outside of Wisconsin's Capitol. (Creative Commons)

With no Democrats present, Wisconsin's Senate unaminously honored Tuesday the Green Bay Packers on their Super Bowl Championship.

But the backdrop to some basic resolutions and routine legislation being voted on as the Senate returned to work was thousands of protestors around the Wisconsin Capitol urging Republicans to abandon a budget bill that would undercut the political power of public employee unions.

Senate Democrats left Wisconsin for Illinois on Thursday, so that the chamber could not take any action on the budget bill. They have agreed to other parts of the bill such as forcing unions to contribute more to their pension and health car accounts. But the Democrats have said they won't come back until a section that weakens public sector unions is stricken.

The protestors--teachers, iron workers, lawyers and other union supporters from around the country--roared when a group of state prison officers walked through the Capitol. While police officers and firefighters would be exempt from the anti-union legislation, correctional officers would not be.

The provision of gravest concern to the Democrats is one that would prohibit public employees from collectively bargaining anything besides salaries, require union members to affirm the union's existence annually and limit the ability of unions to collect dues.

In the State Assembly, Democrats planned to offer more than 100 amendments to the budget bill. Debate on the legislation was expected to begin Tuesday afternoon.

Wisconsin's eight days of protests have drawn national attention because the proposed curtailment of union power is the most significant in decades. Though union membership in the private sector is sagging, public sector unions are thriving. They have often accept lower pay in the present for guarantee of solid pension benefits in the future. But with state and local governments struggling to pay their bills, Republicans have targeted the unions as one factor to blame.

Indiana and Ohio, both considering similar legislation, are bracing for thousands of protestors at their respective capitals throughout this week. Solidarity rallies are planned throughout the country all week long.

Republican Senators in Wisconsin hope to draw back their Democrat counterparts later this week by bringing up other legislation they would strongly oppose but would not require any Democratic presence to pass.