Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Denies “Union Busting” On GMA

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America Monday morning, telling George Stephanopoulos he’s absolutely not “union busting” in his efforts to deal with his state’s huge budget shortfall. “We’re broke,” he said. “We’ve got a massive deficit.”

Union leaders and protesters have surrounded the Wisconsin statehouse for six days, accusing the governor of union busting over his intentions to take away collective bargaining rights. Monday, Walker told GMA the concessions are nothing but a “red herring,” and that he’s not union busting.

A group of Democratic Wisconsin lawmakers left the state in an effort to stop the governor’s plans from moving forward, which Walker described as an effort to “hide out in a different state.” Walker said he’d be willing to negotiate with the state senators, if they’re willing to come back to Wisconsin to talk.

Walker, who was a county official before being elected governor, said he knows how the unions operate. “Every time I tried to do something sensible to balance our budget without laying people off, the unions said no.”

Watch it here, from ABC News:

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