MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker warned on Thursday that unless the state legislature approves a plan to reduce the power of public sector unions he will soon begin preparing layoff notices to state workers.

Speaking to reporters during a tour of the state, Walker stepped up the pressure on 14 Wisconsin Senate Democrats who have left the state to prevent a vote quorum for the union measure.

"If we fail to have the Senate Democrats come back and we fail to achieve those savings, we have to start preparing (layoff) notices by the end of this week," Walker said.

The notices could affect some 1,500 workers who would be let go in order to achieve savings to balance the budget in fiscal 2011, Walker has said.

Walker's statement increased the stakes in a bitter battle between Wisconsin Republicans, and Democrats supported by organized labor.

Walker's proposal -- to strip public sector unions of most collective bargaining rights and force them to take a vote of membership every year to continue to exist -- has sparked mass protests and a national debate on labor relations.

His proposal was approved by the state Assembly but remains stalled by the Democratic exodus from the Senate.

Labor unions and their supporters fear the anti-union measures could be adopted in other states, dealing the biggest blow to the labor movement since then-president Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981.

Ohio on Wednesday advanced a proposal to curtail unions and several other states are considering similar measures.

Absent Senate Democrats in Wisconsin said they are in talks with the majority Republicans about possible compromises to end a stalemate over a bill, but no deal has been reached.

Republicans on Thursday passed a resolution in the Senate that would compel the Democrats' return to Madison, and authorizes the missing senators be taken into custody if they are found in the state.

Republicans admit they have no way of enforcing the resolution.

They have also agreed to levy a $100-a-day fine on absent senators.

One of the boycotting Senate Democrats told Reuters in an interview on Thursday he remains hopeful a compromise will be reached.

"We are dealing with a matter of principle here, a matter of people's rights, and so we remain hopeful that as a consequence of our talks with Senate Republicans that there is some middle ground," state Senator Jim Holperin said.

(Reporting by Jeff Mayers and David Bailey; Writing by Andrew Stern; Editing by Greg McCune)

PHOENIX (Reuters) – Lawyers for Tucson shooting rampage suspect Jared Lee Loughner are seeking to block federal prison officials from furnishing psychological records and information about his behavior to the FBI and prosecutors while he remains in custody.

Defense attorneys filed a request for a court order against the federal Bureau of Prisons late on Wednesday, accusing the agency of violating its own guidelines through release of such information. They also say the bureau may have breached Loughner's constitutional rights to due process and protection from self-incrimination.

Loughner, a college dropout described by investigators as having a history of mental problems, is accused of opening fire at a meet-and-greet event for Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords outside a supermarket in Tucson on January 8.

Six people were killed, and 13 others, Giffords among them, were wounded. Authorities say Giffords was Loughner's primary target. She remains hospitalized at a rehabilitation center in Houston, recovering from a bullet wound to the head.

Loughner, who pleaded not guilty to the charges against him, has been in federal custody without bail since January 10.

During that time, federal prison officials have gathered and recorded "a significant amount of information" about him every day, including "privileged medical and psychological data," his legal team said in its filing.

According to their motion, Loughner has been questioned numerous times by prison staff, including psychologists, who have prepared reports containing his "verbal and nonverbal responses to their questions."

"The reports also detail his behavior, demeanor, affect, sleeping patterns, eating habits, facial expressions and other visual observations of him recorded at 15-minute increments 24 hours a day," the defense filing states.

Moreover, prison staff have "carefully memorialized visits with Mr. Loughner by his attorneys and defense team members, to include observations of what took place during some of those visits," they wrote.

The defense motion says "much of this information already has been shared by (prison officials) with FBI agents" investigating the case. His attorneys have asked the court to bar any further such disclosures and to order all materials so far provided to law enforcement by the prisons bureau to be sealed.

Robbie Sherwood, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Phoenix, said prosecutors "would provide a response in due time."

U.S. District Judge Larry Burns has not yet ruled on the defense request.

(Editing by Steve Gorman and Greg McCune)

TRENTON, New Jersey (Reuters) – New Jersey Governor Chris Christie on Thursday recommended teachers be rated on the basis of student performance, adding to the debate over job evaluations as states look to layoffs to address budget gaps.

The release of the Christie administration's blueprint for schools, relying heavily on teacher evaluations based on student achievement, comes on the heels of his proposed fiscal 2012 budget seeking increased pension and health-care contributions from state employees.

New Jersey faces a deficit projected at $10.5 billion.

The question of how teachers are evaluated -- helping determine who is in line to be laid off -- has grown acute as states grapple with the costs of unionized public employees.

"You walk into a school, and everybody knows who the good teachers are and who the bad teachers are," Christie said at a news conference at the statehouse.

In New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg advocates a system of laying off teachers based on performance rather than the more traditional basis of seniority.

Christie, a rising star in the Republican Party, has been at odds with the state's unions, including the teachers' New Jersey Education Association. Union leaders say they are open to higher payments but say Christie has demonized them.

"Their charge is to protect the worst teachers," Christie said on Thursday.

As Christie spoke, shouts from a rally outside of police officers and firefighters could be heard, voicing concern over Christie's proposed budget.

Asked by reporters what impact the demonstration had on him, Christie replied: "Zero."

Christie said he is not against collective bargaining -- a hot-button issue in other states struggling to close budget gaps -- but he said he preferred state-wide contracts rather that contracts with each of the state's municipalities.

In Wisconsin, which has been leading the charge in the battle over public sector unions, Gov. Scott Walker is proposing to strip them of most collective bargaining powers.

(Additional reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)