09-17-2012, 07:23 PM
Judge blocks Wisconsin union collective bargaining law
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A county judge in Wisconsin today issued a temporary restraining order against Wisconsin's controversial anti-union bill, giving liberal opponents of the bill more time to organize resistance to the measure before it can officially become law.
Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued the temporary order today after hearing opening arguments in a suit against the law, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. A Dane County official filed suit against the measure, charging that Republican politicians broke the law when they passed the bill without giving 24 hours notice before the vote.
The measure, which would scale back most public workers' collective bargaining rights, was backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It engendered intense opposition from Democrats, unions and union supporters. Massive protests took place in Wisconsin for weeks as the legislature considered the bill, and all of the Wisconsin state senators fled the state in February to stall a vote on the measure.
State Senate Republicans, however, tweaked the bill so that they could pass it without Democrats present, and the state Assembly quickly passed the new version.
Walker signed the bill last week, and until today's restraining order went into place, it was slated to officially become law on March 25.
Republicans deny they violated the state's open meetings law, which requires 24 hours' public notice of meetings or two hours' notice in the case of emergencies, but the Dane County official who filed the suit says the legislative committee in charge of the bill did not give two hours' notice. Judget Sumi said today the case against the state was likely to win, the Journal Sentinel reports.
"It seems to me the public policy behind effective enforcement of the open meeting law is so strong that it does outweigh the interest, at least at this time, which may exist in favor of sustaining the validity of the (law)," she said.
Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for the governor, said said in a statement that Walker is "confident the provisions of the budget repair bill will become law in the near future."
Assistant Attorney General Steven Means suggested the state may appeal the ruling, according to the Journal Sentinel, but also pointed out that the legislature could try to just re-enact the bill.
As the conflict over union rights continues, lawmakers in Wisconsin are struggling to repair relations and move on with other business. It seems unlikely, however, that the acrimony will die down. Not only is the lawsuit against Walker's bill still pending, but several recall efforts against state lawmakers from both parties are also underway.
The union-busting law that pushed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker into the national spotlight last year has been declared unconstitutional by a state judge, pushing the controversy over the law one step closer to a Supreme Court climax.
Circuit Judge Juan Colas, of Dane County, where the state’s capital, Madison, is located, ruled that the law was null and void as it violated both the state and US Constitution.
RT News The union-busting law that pushed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker into the national spotlight last year has been declared unconstitutional by a state judge, pushing the controversy over the law one step closer to a Supreme Court climax.
Circuit Judge Juan Colas, of Dane County, where the state’s capital, Madison, is located, ruled that the law was null and void as it violated both the state and US Constitution.
Collective bargaining rights had been effectively eliminated for most of the state’s public employees after the law’s passage as part of something called the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill in March 2011. The law, passed in the Wisconsin Legislature, pitched savings on the backs of public employees by upping their health care costs, retooling pensions and doing away with their right to bargain over wages (with the exception of state troopers).
The law caused protests across the state, and its unpopularity was a driving force behind the recall election for Governor of Wisconsin this June, in which Walker received just enough votes to remain in his post.
Colas’ decision follows a lawsuit brought by the Madison teachers union and a union representing municipal employees of Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
Legal observers are not sure whether the ruling means the law will be immediately suspended, with Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel reporting that for now, it will remain in force for employees of the State of Wisconsin, despite a federal judge having struck down that part of the law as unconstitutional earlier this year. City, county and school district employees, meanwhile, will have their right to collective bargaining returned to its status prior to the passage of Walker’s law.
The decision raises myriad new questions regarding pay, benefits and other work-related rules that came into effect after the law killed collective bargaining for Wisconsin’s public employees.
And unless the decision is overturned on appeal, municipal authorities and school districts will once again have to sit down with their employees to bargain over working conditions.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162- ... ontentBody (http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20044731-503544.html?tag=contentMain;contentBody)
A county judge in Wisconsin today issued a temporary restraining order against Wisconsin's controversial anti-union bill, giving liberal opponents of the bill more time to organize resistance to the measure before it can officially become law.
Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued the temporary order today after hearing opening arguments in a suit against the law, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports. A Dane County official filed suit against the measure, charging that Republican politicians broke the law when they passed the bill without giving 24 hours notice before the vote.
The measure, which would scale back most public workers' collective bargaining rights, was backed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It engendered intense opposition from Democrats, unions and union supporters. Massive protests took place in Wisconsin for weeks as the legislature considered the bill, and all of the Wisconsin state senators fled the state in February to stall a vote on the measure.
State Senate Republicans, however, tweaked the bill so that they could pass it without Democrats present, and the state Assembly quickly passed the new version.
Walker signed the bill last week, and until today's restraining order went into place, it was slated to officially become law on March 25.
Republicans deny they violated the state's open meetings law, which requires 24 hours' public notice of meetings or two hours' notice in the case of emergencies, but the Dane County official who filed the suit says the legislative committee in charge of the bill did not give two hours' notice. Judget Sumi said today the case against the state was likely to win, the Journal Sentinel reports.
"It seems to me the public policy behind effective enforcement of the open meeting law is so strong that it does outweigh the interest, at least at this time, which may exist in favor of sustaining the validity of the (law)," she said.
Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for the governor, said said in a statement that Walker is "confident the provisions of the budget repair bill will become law in the near future."
Assistant Attorney General Steven Means suggested the state may appeal the ruling, according to the Journal Sentinel, but also pointed out that the legislature could try to just re-enact the bill.
As the conflict over union rights continues, lawmakers in Wisconsin are struggling to repair relations and move on with other business. It seems unlikely, however, that the acrimony will die down. Not only is the lawsuit against Walker's bill still pending, but several recall efforts against state lawmakers from both parties are also underway.
The union-busting law that pushed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker into the national spotlight last year has been declared unconstitutional by a state judge, pushing the controversy over the law one step closer to a Supreme Court climax.
Circuit Judge Juan Colas, of Dane County, where the state’s capital, Madison, is located, ruled that the law was null and void as it violated both the state and US Constitution.
RT News The union-busting law that pushed Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker into the national spotlight last year has been declared unconstitutional by a state judge, pushing the controversy over the law one step closer to a Supreme Court climax.
Circuit Judge Juan Colas, of Dane County, where the state’s capital, Madison, is located, ruled that the law was null and void as it violated both the state and US Constitution.
Collective bargaining rights had been effectively eliminated for most of the state’s public employees after the law’s passage as part of something called the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill in March 2011. The law, passed in the Wisconsin Legislature, pitched savings on the backs of public employees by upping their health care costs, retooling pensions and doing away with their right to bargain over wages (with the exception of state troopers).
The law caused protests across the state, and its unpopularity was a driving force behind the recall election for Governor of Wisconsin this June, in which Walker received just enough votes to remain in his post.
Colas’ decision follows a lawsuit brought by the Madison teachers union and a union representing municipal employees of Milwaukee, the state’s largest city.
Legal observers are not sure whether the ruling means the law will be immediately suspended, with Milwaukee’s Journal Sentinel reporting that for now, it will remain in force for employees of the State of Wisconsin, despite a federal judge having struck down that part of the law as unconstitutional earlier this year. City, county and school district employees, meanwhile, will have their right to collective bargaining returned to its status prior to the passage of Walker’s law.
The decision raises myriad new questions regarding pay, benefits and other work-related rules that came into effect after the law killed collective bargaining for Wisconsin’s public employees.
And unless the decision is overturned on appeal, municipal authorities and school districts will once again have to sit down with their employees to bargain over working conditions.