Posts Tagged 'Wisconsin Anti-Union Bill'
Wisconsin Judge Rules Union Law Not In Effect
Posted in Scott Walker, Unions, Wisconsin, tagged Scott Walker, Wisconsin Anti-Union Bill, Wisconsin Anti-Union Law, Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Law, Wisconsin Collective Bargaining Restrictions, Wisconsin protests, Wisconsin Union Bill, Wisconsin Union Law, Wisconsin Union Law Court Ruling, Wisconsin Union Law Decision, Wisconsin Union Law Ruling on March 31, 2011| 1 Comment »
Wisconsin Judge Declares Union Law Not In Effect
TODD RICHMOND and SCOTT BAUER 03/31/11 11:33 AM ET via: HuffPost
MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin judge ruled Thursday the state's divisive new collective bargaining law had not taken effect, and officials in Republican Gov. Scott Walker's administration say he plans to comply with the ruling and to halt preparations to begin deducting money from public workers' paychecks.
Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued her declaration a day after Walker's aides said they believed the law was processed correctly and that they would continue efforts to enact it, despite the judge's warning to halt such efforts.
Two Walker administration officials who spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the governor hadn't publicly announced his plans said he would announce later Thursday that he would comply with Sumi's ruling.
The law would require most public sector workers to contribute more to their health care and pensions, changes that amount to an average 8 percent pay cut. The measure also strips them of their right to collectively bargain any work conditions except wages.
Walker signed the proposal into law earlier this month after weeks of large pro-union protests in and around the state Capitol, prompting Democrats to file several lawsuits challenging its legitimacy.
Newly Released Wisconsin Emails Show GOP Considered Ways To Punish Democrats
Posted in Wisconsin, Wisconsin Protests, tagged Citizens-For-Responsibility-And-Ethics, Collective Bargaining, CREW, Governor Scott Walker, labor unions, Public Employee Unions, Public Employees, Scott Fitzgerald, Wisconsin Anti-Union Bill, Wisconsin protests, Wisconsin Unions on March 24, 2011| 2 Comments »
By SCOTT BAUER 03/23/11 06:22 PM via: HuffPost
MADISON, Wis. — Everything from taking away computers to denying a year of service in the state retirement system was considered to punish the 14 Wisconsin Democrats who fled to Illinois for three weeks to block passage of a bill taking away union bargaining rights, newly released emails show.
Members of Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's staff bounced ideas off one another and the Legislature's attorneys for days about how to penalize the Senate Democrats for leaving and pressure them to return, according to records released Wednesday by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
The watchdog group obtained the emails from Fitzgerald's office under Wisconsin's open records law.
The emails show Fitzgerald's staff members were as worried about the public relations campaign as they were actually figuring out a way to get the Democrats to come back.
"I would just be somewhat cautious in whatever we do so that it doesn't end up creating sympathy for the Dems," Tad Ottman, a Fitzgerald aide, wrote to his chief of staff John Hogan on Feb. 20. "The more directly we can tie whatever action we take to what they are doing the better it will be."
Democrats left the state on Feb. 17 to deny quorum in the Senate and block passage of Gov. Scott Walker's bill that took away all collective bargaining rights, except over salary, for Wisconsin's public employees.
Their departure helped fuel protests in opposition to the bill that grew to more than 75,000 people. Senate Republicans finally used a maneuver to pass the bill without the Democrats present on March 9, a move now being challenged in court. Democrats returned after the bill passed.