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Court overturns WI union law
Sat Mar 3
Wisconsin's recall-facing Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his legislative allies received a stunning rebuke from a federal court on Friday that ruled the state's Act 10 that stripped most state employee unions of the collective bargaining rights and dues-collecting authority was an unconstitutional abuse of power.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge William Conley, which struck down those sections of the law, held that the Legislature had the right to deny union bargaining rights, so long as that policy was applied evenly across all state employee unions--not just the ones opposing the Governor's or his party's policies. In Act 10, Walker generally exempted state police and public safety unions from the bargaining and dues-collecting restrictions.
The Court also said that Walker and his GOP allies also went too far in trying to stop the collection of union dues for some state employee unions but not others, saying that restriction violated both equal protection and freedom of assembly rights.
The decision will have national implications--and not just because it was issued by a federal judge. Different right-wing governors elected in 2010 have taken the lead nationally in advancing different rightwing crusades, with Walker being the point man to undermine public sector unions. The campaign to recall Walker from office has prompted national conservative activists, such as David Koch, to donate huge sums to Walker's retention campaign as well as to state publicly that Walker's anti-union drive was one of the most important political fights of 2012.
Sat Mar 3
Wisconsin's recall-facing Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his legislative allies received a stunning rebuke from a federal court on Friday that ruled the state's Act 10 that stripped most state employee unions of the collective bargaining rights and dues-collecting authority was an unconstitutional abuse of power.
The ruling by U.S. District Court Judge William Conley, which struck down those sections of the law, held that the Legislature had the right to deny union bargaining rights, so long as that policy was applied evenly across all state employee unions--not just the ones opposing the Governor's or his party's policies. In Act 10, Walker generally exempted state police and public safety unions from the bargaining and dues-collecting restrictions.
The Court also said that Walker and his GOP allies also went too far in trying to stop the collection of union dues for some state employee unions but not others, saying that restriction violated both equal protection and freedom of assembly rights.
The decision will have national implications--and not just because it was issued by a federal judge. Different right-wing governors elected in 2010 have taken the lead nationally in advancing different rightwing crusades, with Walker being the point man to undermine public sector unions. The campaign to recall Walker from office has prompted national conservative activists, such as David Koch, to donate huge sums to Walker's retention campaign as well as to state publicly that Walker's anti-union drive was one of the most important political fights of 2012.
