Wisconsin court upholds anti-labor law

Wisconsin's Governor Scott Walker

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/184752.html

A divided Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld an anti-union law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature back in March despite a massive public outrage.

The controversial measure, which sparked weeks of protests when Wisconsin's Republican governor Scott Walker signed it, strips most public employees of their collective bargaining rights, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

Tens of thousands of demonstrators descended on the state capitol for weeks and Democratic senators fled the state to avert a vote last March.

On Tuesday, the State Supreme Court overturned a lower court's ruling that lawmakers violated Wisconsin's open meetings law when they passed the legislation in March.

However, the 68-page decision reflected the sharp divide in the high court as some dissidents opposed it.

The controversial law eliminates most collective bargaining rights for Wisconsin public workers and requires them to pay more for pensions and health coverage. The move has prompted a national debate over unions.

Walker welcomed Tuesday's judgment, saying the measure was needed to help the state fix its finances. It "provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again," he added.

While the governor might have won the battle for the time being, there is little doubt that the controversy has helped shift public focus to collective-bargaining rights and the economic health of the middle class.

Wisconsin unions threaten companies

Stephanie Greenberg, the Secretary-Treasurer for the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, addresses a labor protest in Waynesburg, Pennsylvania on April 1, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172798.html

Angry unions in the US state of Wisconsin threaten companies to oppose a bill restraining the collective-bargaining privileges of government workers.

The unions sent out letters promising boycotts and attacks against local businesses that refuse to publicly support their demands following failed attempts to force lawmakers with week-long protests and threats into overturning the legislation, the biweekly magazine The New American reported on Saturday.

"The undersigned would like your company to publicly oppose Governor Walker's efforts to virtually eliminate collective bargaining for public employees in Wisconsin," read one of the letters from a group of government-employee unions sent to companies in Wisconsin and obtained by the The New American.

The unions declared a week-long deadline for the company to respond, after which the letter informed the recipient that they "will assume" the firm stands with Republican Governor Scott Walker, who introduced the measure.

"In the event that you cannot support this effort to save collective bargaining, please be advised that the undersigned will publicly and formally boycott the goods and services provided by your company," they warned.

However, the unions said good things would happen if the firms joined them and promised to “publicly celebrate” the partnership.

In the letter, the union leaders also demanded that the companies disclose their contributions to political organizations, arguing that "the public has a right to know what kind of contributions or payments you make that impact the political process."

A similar letter reportedly circulated by the Wisconsin State Employees Union also threatened boycotts of businesses that do not support union demands, and fail to display pro-government-union signs in their windows.

"Failure to do so will leave us no choice but [to] do a public boycott of your business," the letter stated, noting "neutral means 'no' to those who work for the largest employer in the area and are union members."

The letters earned the unions some negative publicity and outraged some firms, which said the effort would backfire and criticized the threats against companies that would choose to stay neutral. US media have also engaged in citing state laws that could be interpreted as saying the boycott threats could mean potential felonies.

The union's move comes as the Republican budget-repair bill remains in a state of limbo after a county judge issued a temporary restraining order against its implementation.

A ruling by an appeals court on March 24 left the verdict on the matter to the state Supreme Court. This prompted Gov. Walker's administration, which had initially announced the law was in force, to postpone the implementation of the bill indefinitely until the issues are resolved in court.

The disputed legislation is hoped to remove a multi-billion dollar budget deficit by requiring most government employees to contribute slightly more to their pensions and health benefits. It would also make payment of union dues optional and limit the collective-bargaining privileges of most public-sector workers.

Wisconsin Judge halts anti-union law

Judge Maryann Sumi listens to arguments during a hearing in Dane County Curcuit Court in Madison, Wisconsin.

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/172527.html

A judge in the US state of Wisconsin has forced Governor Scott Walker to halt the implementation of a budget bill that would restrict the rights of unions.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Thursday against legislation that would curb public workers' collective bargaining rights and reduce their wages, Reuters reported.

The TRO could force the state government to change its budget plans for the current fiscal year due to the delay.

"Every day the judge's TRO stays in effect, it's going to screw up their accounting," said Mordecai Lee, a University of Wisconsin governmental affairs professor and former state lawmaker.

Sumi had previously issued a ruling in mid-March in an effort to block the implementation of the law, but Governor Walker ignored the court's decision and went ahead with enforcing the legislation.

She has now amended her order to clarify that the law cannot take effect until she has had a chance to review a challenge to its legitimacy by Democratic lawmakers.

Sumi wrote in the two-page Court Order that, “based on the briefs of counsel, the uncontroverted testimony, and the evidence received, [the bill] has not been published ... and is therefore not in effect.”

Walker now says he will comply with the court's order.

Efforts are currently underway to recall the election of Wisconsin Republican legislators in a move that could switch the balance of power back to the Democrats.

In the state of Ohio, Governor John Kasich signed a similar bill into law on Thursday.

Republicans in 37 states are pushing to limit the bargaining rights of public workers as well as the ability of unions to collect dues.

The recent passing of the controversial anti-union legislation has sparked large-scale protests in State of Wisconsin and nationwide.

In New Hampshire, thousands demonstrated at the State Capitol on Thursday to protest similar proposed legislation. If passed, the bill would likely be vetoed by the state's Democratic governor.

Thousands hold demos in Wisconsin

Protesters hold signs during a demonstration outside of the Wisconsin State Capitol on March 12

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/169818.html

Thousands of demonstrators have marched in the US state of Wisconsin in opposition to a Republican bill that restricts bargaining rights of public sector workers.

The fourteen Democrats who left Wisconsin's Capitol on 17 February in opposition to the controversial bill approved by the state's Governor Scott Walker, joined protesters on Saturday.

Demonstrators circulated the Capitol while hundreds more gathered in the building's rotunda, a Press TV correspondent reported.

The protesters chanted “This is what democracy looked like!”

Walker and his fellow Republicans passed the bill despite the absence of their 14 Democrat counterparts.

The Republican Governor insisted that the restrictions are needed to help the state's cash-strapped municipalities deal with a projected 1.27 billion dollar drop in state aid over the next two years.

The legislation strips most of the states' three-hundred-thousand public employees of their right to bargain over health coverage, pensions and other benefits.

On Thursday, 8,000 workers also gathered at the Indiana Statehouse to protest Walker's plan which they see as adversely impacting unions and public schools.

Protesters said the legislation is part of a larger effort by Republicans aiming to undermine unions which are a major source of financial support for Democrats.

WI governor signs anti-union bill

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/169443.html

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has signed into law a controversial bill that restricts the collective bargaining rights of public sector unions.

Despite national public rage, the Republican Walker signed the measure on Friday after it was approved in the Republican-controlled state Assembly on Thursday, The Washington Post reported on Friday.

The bargaining restrictions begin when current contracts expire. Walker recently moved to end contract extensions for 39,000 unionized state workers, effective on Sunday.

Walker insisted that the restrictions are needed to help the state's cash-strapped municipalities deal with a projected 1.27 billion dollar drop in state aid over the next two years.

His proposal sparked a major confrontation with organized labor and the largest protests in Wisconsin since the Vietnam War.

On Thursday, 8,000 workers also gathered at the Indiana Statehouse to protest Walker's plan which they see as adversely impacting unions and public schools.

Protesters said the legislation is part of a larger effort by Republicans aiming to undermine unions which are a major source of financial support for Democrats.

Massive rallies are also planned for Saturday.

'People ready to shut Wisconsin down'

A protester inside the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin, February 21, 2011

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/167447.html

Americans who oppose Republican Governor Scott Walker's plan to bust Wisconsin workers' unions are ready to shut the state down before he can take away their collective bargaining right, says an American expert.

“Every person I have spoken to, admittedly people who are supporting these demonstrations, has expressed to me and to many others that they are willing to shut the state down completely before letting Walker and his cronies and his big money supporters to take away the last of our rights as collective bargainers and as individuals in a democratic society,” Jennifer Loewenstein, a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Wisconsin, told Press TV on Sunday.

Protests against Governor Walker's plan to keep a tight rein on Wisconsin workers' unions have spilled into nearly all 50 states of America, including Washington, New York, California, and Nevada.

Tens of thousands of people staged rallies in cities across the United States on Saturday to express their solidarity with people in Wisconsin.

On February 25, Wisconsin's State Assembly passed a controversial bill, proposed by Walker, to curtail the state's labor unions as the ongoing political wrangling between organized workers and cash-strapped state governments spreads across the US.

About 100,000 people converged on Saturday in the Wisconsin State Capitol to air their grievances over the decision by the Republican governor.

In California, the Los Angeles City Hall turned into the focal point of anti-bill demonstrations, as more than 3,000 people attended the rallies, chanting slogans against what has been widely viewed as an "assault" on public sector unions.

Denver saw another demonstration in support of the Wisconsin workers with police estimating that crowd at more than 1,200 people. In Washington, protesters cheered on Saturday during a rally in support of Wisconsin workers, calling for the defeat of the plan.

Hundreds of Kansas labor union members and supporters rallied outside the Statehouse against what they see as political attacks on workers.

“I don't believe the momentum for these protests is anywhere near over. I don't think it has peaked yet,” Loewenstein said.