Indiana Democrats flee to halt labor bill

INDIANAPOLIS, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Democrats in the Indiana House camped out at an Illinois hotel Wednesday morning in a move to stall Republican bills on labor and education.

Following the lead of fellow Democrats in Wisconsin, the legislators issued a statement Tuesday night saying they had decamped to Urbana "for the immediate future" to examine the anti-union "right-to-work" bill, The Indianapolis Star reported.

"By staying here, we will be giving the people of Indiana a chance to find out more about this radical agenda and speak out against it," they said.

Blocking a quorum, the Democrats said they would not return until Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels and House Speaker Brian Bosma promise to table the labor bill and one funneling tax dollars to private-school vouchers.

Bosma dismissed the demand as "ludicrous" and said the Democrats should resign if they won't work. Daniels has called for holding off on the labor bill.

"For reasons I've explained more than once, I thought there was a better time and place to have this very important and legitimate issue raised," he said.