Lacking the votes to stop the bill, Wisconsin’s Democratic senators fled to Illinois to stop it. They returned last Saturday, after Walker — further proving it was never really about the budget — removed fiscal parts of the bill, allowing its passage without Senate Democrats.

Wisconsin’s battle is pivotal on the national stage. Ohio and Indiana have introduced union-busting bills of their own, and other states are expected to follow.

With only 7 percent of private-sector employees now unionized (down from more than a third in 1955), labor already is on death’s door.

So why does any of this matter? You probably remember the “Gilded Age” from U.S. history class: a time when child labor was rampant, the length of the workday was unlimited, there was no minimum wage law and two-day weekends almost were unheard of.

American laborers living in company towns were practically serfs, spending what little they made on the costs of living.

Workers, often at the risk of their lives, had to struggle for things we take for granted today. It doesn’t take a degree in history to acknowledge these well-accepted facts, although right-wing revisionist historians would say otherwise.

In the end, changing these practices led to the prosperity of the middle class as well as the country. But for the past 30 years — beginning with the union-busting of President Ronald Reagan — unions have been getting crushed.

The results? The gap between the rich and poor has expanded dramatically. Debt is becoming a reality of Americans’ economic life, the effects of which were apparent in the economic disaster of 2009.

It’s clear Walker — who has a cozy relationship with the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch — doesn’t have Wisconsin’s best interests in mind.

For example, a clause in his bill would allow Wisconsin to sell state utilities to private corporations without any bidding, or even public notification. As an energy conglomerate, one can see how Koch Industries Inc. would benefit.

The Wisconsin protests have been largely peaceful and courteous — so much so, in fact, they’ve earned praise from the city of Madison’s law enforcement, who refused to kick protesters out of the capitol building on Feb. 27.

For his part, Walker said — in a prank call sting by Buffalo Beast blogger Ian Murphy, who pretended to be David Koch — he had considered planting “troublemakers” among the protesters.

Meanwhile, here in Michigan, Republican Gov. Rick Snyder is set to sign a bill that would allow him to appoint “emergency managers” to any town or city deemed to be in a “financial crisis.”

A drastic modification of 1990’s Public Act 72, Snyder’s bill would give emergency managers unilateral power to dismiss elected officials and slash collective bargaining agreements.

Coupled with the governor’s budget, which slashes aid to municipalities, it’s a clear assault on democracy in Michigan.

The goal of Walker, Snyder and conservatives in general is clear; it has been for years: plutocracy, or rule by the wealthy.

The poor and desperate, who make for cheap and disposable labor, are forced to spend every ounce of time they have just to feed their families.

People living paycheck to paycheck can’t afford to protest or learn about the issues. Survival takes precedent over their democratic duties. Ultimately, the assault on unions is an effort to swell the ranks of this disempowered class.

We can’t allow this assault to succeed. Protests are planned for this Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at the Capitol in Lansing, beginning each day at noon.

Joel Reinstein is a State News guest columnist and a Residential College in the Arts and Humanities senior. Reach him at reinste5@msu.edu