Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules 4-3 Against Workers' Rights

by Seth Johnson  |  June 15, 2011

On Tuesday, Wisconsin’s Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision with Justice David Prosser writing the majority opinion, ordered the implementation of Gov. Scott Walker’s union busting "budget repair" bill. Prosser won an extremely narrow victory in April's Supreme Court election only after several thousand votes were "found" and a lengthy recount maintained the 1-seat conservative majority on the court. The court’s action spared the state legislators who voted for the bill in March from having to take a second, unpopular vote on Walker’s scheme to strip collective bargaining rights from most public employees.

Wisconsin Secretary of State Doug La Follette said earlier today that he plans to publish the bill on June 28, "thus making the new law effective on June 29." Meanwhile, the Wisconsin AFL-CIO and a broad coalition of workers' rights organizations have filed a lawsuit to block Gov. Walker's "budget repair" bill. The suit contends that the bill violates the 1st and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution by stripping away basic rights to bargain, organize and associate for the purpose of engaging in union activity. Once the bill is published, further legal challenges are expected.

AFSCME members and our allies in Wisconsin will be holding a rally tomorrow at the State Capitol in Madison to show that the pro-worker movement will not be stopped by this court ruling, and the campaign to recall six state senators who ducked public scrutiny to cast their votes for this blatant power grab back in March continues with renewed energy.