McCollum says workers under attack by 'union-busting' GOP and its 'corporate sponsors'

Rep. Betty McCollum (D-Minn.) on Monday said she is standing with state workers in Wisconsin and Ohio who are protesting proposals to reduce their benefit packages and end their collective bargaining rights, and blamed Republican governors for pursuing these proposals.

"In Wisconsin and Ohio and here in Congress, workers' rights are under attack by union-busting politicians," she said shortly after the House gaveled in at 2 p.m. "It's time to stand up and fight against the attacks launched by union-busting Republican governors and their corporate sponsors."

McCollum said there should be "no doubt that there's a war going on right now against workers and unions, and middle-class Americans who want more jobs."

"It's time for Americans to stand up and fight for the rights of workers to organize and negotiate for safe working conditions," she said.

Democrats, including President Obama and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), have said they support the protests against Republican plans to cut back the benefits of state workers. Republicans, in contrast, have said they are proposing modifications to state workers' benefits that are still far more generous than those found in the private sector, and are criticizing Democratic lawmakers in Wisconsin for fleeing the statehouse and preventing a vote on the proposal.