Dayton: Minn. managing public employees better than Wis.

DFL Gov. Mark Dayton says he thinks Minnesota is taking a more reasonable approach to public employees than Wisconsin, as both states grapple with major budget deficits.

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a Republican, has proposed changes that would take away bargaining power from public employee unions. He's also calling for rolling back employee benefits.

Dayton says drastic changes here have been sidelined for now -- such as one proposal to make Minnesota a right-to-work state. Dayton said he hoped the dispute in Wisconsin would return to the legislative process.

"I want to be respectful of the situation there and not say anything inflammatory," Dayton said. "But people's lives need to be very carefully considered. The effects of all these decisions on people's lives need to be very carefully considered, and the people that are going to be effected by them need a chance to be heard in a respectful, civilized forum, like a legislative hearing."

Work at the Wisconsin state Capitol has been brought to a standstill over the matter, as Democratic senators have apparently fled the state to block the Republican majority.