Wisconsin public employees have crowded into the state capitol to protest the government's plan to curtail their right to collective bargaining.
Teachers, prison guards and others say a Republican-sponsored bill would severely cut into their incomes.
The legislation was expected to pass the Wisconsin state house on Thursday.
Republicans in Washington DC and state capitals have moved to cut government spending this year, including on public worker pay, to try to curb deficits.
'Scariest thing ever'
In Madison, the capital city of the mid-western state, the Republican-led legislature on Thursday was set to pass a bill pushed by Republican Governor Scott Walker that has been described by commentators as the most aggressive anti-union law in the nation.
The bill would eliminate most public workers' collective bargaining rights and dramatically increase the amount they must contribute to their pensions and health insurance coverage.
"This is the scariest thing I've ever seen," physics teacher Betsy Barnard told the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper of Mr Walker's bill. "This is going to change Wisconsin forever."
With teachers - and some students - massing in Madison to protest, dozens of schools were shut on Wednesday and Thursday.
Hundreds of protesters spent Wednesday night in the rotunda of the state capitol building.
Police officers stood guard outside Mr Walker's office as angry protesters stood outside shouting for his recall from office.
Angry workers also surrounded Mr Walker's family home this week, the New York Times reported.
'Point of crisis'
Police in Madison, Wisconsin, estimated that 20,000 people rallied at the capital on Wednesday.
But Republicans, who were handed election victories in November in Wisconsin, say they have a mandate to cut government spending.
They say that despite the protests, voters approve of the cuts, which the Republicans say are needed to balance the state budget and avoid job losses.
"We're at a point of crisis," Mr Walker said.
The state 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
source ; bbc.co.uk
