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Union unrest is spreading through the mid-western US, as labour activists in at least three states protest against pending anti-union legislation.

Thousands of protesters were expected to gather in Ohio and Indiana and, for the second week in a row, Wisconsin.

Republican-led governments there have argued the moves are needed to balance state budgets wracked by deficits.

But Democratic-leaning unions say fiscal woes are being used as an excuse to erode collective bargaining rights.
'Anti-worker agenda'

In Indiana, local media reported that House Democrats were leaving the state to block votes on labour bills.

The Indiana House came into session on Tuesday morning with only two of the 40 Democrats present, depriving the chamber of a quorum to do business, the Indianapolis Star newspaper reported.

The Republican-led Indiana state government has vowed to push a bill that would curtail private-sector unions by forbidding employers from requiring workers to pay union dues, a standard provision of union labour contracts.

In Ohio, between 4,000 and 20,000 labour union activists and supporters were expected to rally in the state capital of Columbus on Tuesday.

They will protest against legislation backed by Republican Governor John Kasich that would restrict public employees' collective bargaining rights.

"This isn't just public-service workers," Andy Richardson, a spokesman in Ohio for labour union AFL-CIO, told the Columbus Dispatch newspaper.

"It's students, community leaders, faith leaders, your neighbours and others who are concerned about this bill and the general anti-worker agenda of Kasich and his allies."
Budget deficit

In Wisconsin, Republican Governor Scott Walker on Tuesday threatened to begin involuntary redundancies of state workers as early as next week if the legislature did not soon approve a bill stripping them of most collective bargaining rights.

He has said he will not back down in the face of tens of thousands of union workers and their supporters who have massed in the capital since last week.

The bill Governor Walker and the Republican legislative majority back would also require state workers to contribute more to pension and healthcare coverage.

It had been expected to pass the legislature last week, but in a move intended to stall the bill's passage and force its backers to negotiate, Senate opposition Democrats left the capitol, denying the Senate a quorum needed for a vote.

They have fled to neighbouring Illinois and have said they will not return until Mr Walker agrees to talks.

Wisconsin faces a $3.6bn (£2.23bn) budget deficit in the coming two-year period. The public employee bill is expected to save $300m in that period.

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller has dismissed a deputy, Jeff Cox, for posting inappropriate comments online critical of the labor union protesters in Wisconsin.

Cox sent out a message on his Twitter account saying that police should "use live ammunition" against the protesters.

A staffer for the political news site Mother Jones sent a message back to the person, who was then only known by his online account name. Cox messaged back that the demonstrators were "political enemies" and "thugs."

"You're darned right I advocate deadly force," Cox wrote to the Mother Jones staffer.

Earlier today, the attorney general's office said it was investigating whether Cox had sent the tweet and said it was a serious matter.

This afternoon, the office issued a statement saying Cox was no longer employed there. The office said it had conducted "a thorough and expeditious review" after it learned of the Mother Jones article.

"Civility and courtesy toward all members of the public are very important to the Indiana Attorney General's office. We respect individual's First Amendment right to express their personal views on private online forums, but as public servants we are held by the public to a higher standard, and we should strive for civility," the office said in a statement.