Wisconsin’s right to work law was struck down Friday as violating the state constitution. The law was championed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker as he was mounting his run for president. Republican Attorney General Brad Schimel promised to appeal.
by Leslie Castle
(Examiner) - The signature issue, that led Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker to win his re-election bid for the governorship, was having a right to work law for the state. In 2015, a coalition of business leaders and legislators teamed up to craft the law which was found today to be unconstitutional by Dane County Judge William Foust. Foust ruled in favor of International Association of Machinists, United Steelworkers and the AFL-CIO, which filed a lawsuit against the state, arguing the law passed in 2015 by Republican lawmakers violates the state constitution.
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Before the right-to-work law was passed in Wisconsin, workers who did not want to become a member of a union at their workplace were still charged a fee to cover collective bargaining, contract administration and other services. The law prohibits these fees and, as a result, allows the “taking of the plaintiff’s property without just compensation in violation” of the state constitution, Foust wrote in his decision.
“Today, the courts put a needed check on Scott Walker‘s attacks on working families by ruling that Wisconsin’s right-to-work law is in violation of our state constitution,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of Wisconsin AFL-CIO, in a statement given to the media. Wisconsin State Attorney General Brad Schimel explained in a statement that he will be appealing the court’s decision.
Walker received great praise from conservatives across the nation in 2011 when he managed to pass legislation which curtailed the powers of most public-sector unions in Wisconsin while huge protests were erupting at the state capitol in Madison. Today’s court decision rolled back what conservatives had called “progress and reform” to improve Wisconsin labor law.
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