ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Minnesota Republican senators got a taste Monday of the fight over labor rights that gripped other Midwestern statehouses in the last year, with a committee narrowly passing legislation to curb union power even as hundreds of demonstrators chanted and yelled just feet away.

The Senate Judiciary Committee approved a constitutional amendment that would let voters statewide decide if Minnesota should be a right-to-work state, with voluntary union membership. The vote was 7-6, with one Republican joining the committee's five Democrats to vote no.

Union members flooded the hallways outside the hearing room, waving signs. Protesters were loud enough that people testifying on the bill were drowned out by chants of "kill the bill" every time someone entered or left the room.

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