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TUCSON - Union workers who say their voices weren't being heard by lawmakers on proposed changes to how labor unions negotiate, took matters into their own hands.

They agree about four bills but the main one is Senate Bill 1485, which is on the fast track, at our state capitol.

Sponsors said eliminating collective bargaining would save taxpayers $550 million over 7 years. If passed, the unions would likely want it on the 2012 ballot.

Union workers said a lot of them weren't allowed to speak to law makers up in Phoenix, so they decided to have a forum here in Tucson and bring the law makers to them. When they got the chance to speak, they didn't hesitate to let them know how they really felt.

Supporters of the bill said it all comes down to money. They were talking hundreds of millions of dollars. One lawmaker who supports the bill said, "This is why collective bargaining laws threaten the very foundation of our republic."

However, workers at Friday's meeting said it was a direct attack on them. Union worker Leon Sierra said, "In the end, its union busting 100%."

Sen. Paula Aboud of District 28 said, "The unions are our working families. They're the middle class. Why would we want to do anything to hurt our people during a recession? What's the point?"

Opponents said keeping groups like firefighters and teachers from talking with the city council or school board doesn't just affect them, it affects everyone.

Sierra said, "We need to be able to sit down with anybody that has the ability to hire, fire, and give us our living wages, benefits. It's the fundamentals."

Rebekah Friend is a union representative. She said, "It is overall public good. It's the community's good. It's not just the workers, it's the community's safety, health, and education of the children we're concerned about."

The angry workers were sort of preaching to the choir, that being those seven Democrats who all opposed the bill.

However, they said the meeting wasn't a waste, it just gave them that much more fuel for when they go back to Phoenix.

Aboud said, "We're taking notes and we're going to take the stories back and we do have some support from some republicans to try and stop some of these bills so we can only hope."

The bill still has to go through both the House and Senate, so this battle is far from over.