Union supporters protest bills at Arizona Capitol

PHOENIX - Hundreds of labor movement supporters are at the state Capitol in Phoenix to protest legislative bills targeting government employee unions.

Speakers told the gathering that attacks on government worker unions are just a precursor to broader efforts to cripple all unions and take advantage of the workers they represent.

Union members earlier visited legislative offices to urge lawmakers to oppose the measures, which they say will hurt public workers.

The Arizona Senate has approved one measure that generally bars using tax dollars to pay for workers' union activities. The Senate previously approved a bill prohibiting paycheck withholding for unions and other entities without annual reauthorizations by workers.

Two other bills are pending in the Senate. One would ban collective bargaining between unions and state and local governments in Arizona.