THS Students Stage Walkout in Support of Wisconsin Public Workers

students staged a peaceful walkout Friday afternoon to show support for public employee unions in Wisconsin, who this week were stripped of most of their collective bargaining rights.

Wisconsin's Republican Gov. Scott Walker signed the bill -- which included the provision on bargaining rights -- into law Friday morning, CBSNews.com reported. Walker has touted the bill as a way to save jobs and contain costs, while Democrats and labor leaders have called it an assault on workers' rights. 

At 2 p.m., THS students emptied out of the front exits of the high school and headed toward the track in protest of the anti-union bill.

Junior Yona McGraw heard about the walkout from her father, who told her that it was a nationwide event that was mentioned on MSNBC's The Rachel Maddow Show.

"We're doing this mostly because we need to take a stand and really show [Gov. Walker] what unity is," said McGraw. "We are a country, and we have to act as one, and we are totally in support of the people who can't speak for themselves right now. And we have to show them that we really do care." 

Student Sean O'Reilly said he heard about the walkout during third period.

"I found out about all the horrible things that are happening to teachers in Wisconsin, and I'm actually very appalled, and I really don't want that to happen to the teachers that I care about in my school system," O'Reilly said. "Whether or not it's successful, I just want people to know that people in New Jersey actually care about what's happening  in Wisconsin. And whether or not we actually are successful with this protest -- we need to show that we still have a voice and that we still should be heard."

Hundreds of high school students in Wisconsin also held walkouts Thursday and Friday, local media reported.

School officials could not be immediately reached for comment.  There were no reports of any disturbances from the orderly walkout.