Federal appeals court upholds Wis. union limits
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s contentious law stripping most public workers of nearly all of their collective bargaining rights, a victory for Republicans and a decision that runs contrary to one issued last year in state court.
The 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago found the law is constitutional and its ban on the automatic deduction of union dues is acceptable. In September, a state circuit court judge said the law was unconstitutional as it applied to school and local government workers.
Republican supporters of the law, including Walker, praised the federal court decision and said it should lead to an end to other pending litigation.
“While there are no guarantees, it is my hope that this decision will pave the way for resolving any remaining challenges in a manner that supports the legislative decisions made by our elected officials,” Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said in a statement.
Walker and Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who fought for passage of the bill even as all 14 Wisconsin Democrats fled to Illinois to hold up a Senate vote, called the ruling a victory for Wisconsin taxpayers.
“As we’ve said all along, Act 10 is constitutional,” Walker said in a statement, referring to the official name of the law.
Seven public unions, including the state’s largest teachers’ union and the largest statewide public sector union, challenged the law’s constitutionality in 2011. U.S. District Judge William Conley in March overturned a part of the law requiring unions to hold elections each year for members to decide whether the unions should continue to exist. The judge also said the law illegally halted the automatic withdrawal of union dues.
The appeals court reversed that ruling and declared the law in its entirety constitutional.
Van Hollen, who handled the appeal on behalf of the state, said the ruling confirms “what I have stated from the beginning. (The law) is constitutional.”
The union attorney who argued the case, Leon Dayan, did not immediately return a message seeking comment.
Democratic Assembly Leader Peter Barca said the court upheld the law on “narrow legal grounds.”
“The court did acknowledge that Act 10 appears to be an act of favoritism for ‘friends’ and punishing enemies,” Barca said. “... Given the recent focus on bipartisanship, now would be a good opportunity to move away from positions the court acknowledges are likely favoritism and punishment.”
The decision drew praise from the Wisconsin state director of Americans for Prosperity, the conservative advocacy group that led the successful push for right to work legislation in Michigan last month.
The law has been an “unmitigated success for Wisconsin,” AFP state director Luke Hilgemann said.
“While Washington is arguing about how much to raise the debt ceiling, Wisconsin is showing the rest of the nation what responsible budgeting looks like,” Hilgemann said.
In a separate case, a Dane County circuit judge in September ruled that the law violated constitutional rights of free speech, free association and equal representation. That ruling blocked the law from being applied to school and local government workers, but it remains in effect for state workers and employees of the University of Wisconsin System.
That case was brought by Madison Teachers Inc. and Public Employees Local 61. The state has appealed.
A second federal lawsuit, brought by a Madison chapter of the AFL-CIO and a Dane County chapter of AFSCME, alleged that the law violated their constitutional rights to freely assemble, free speech and equal protection.
That case is pending.
In November, a law enforcement union filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court challenged the law as a violation of constitutional rights of free speech, association and equal protection. That lawsuit challenged the law as it pertains to law enforcement officers who had been represented for collective bargaining purposes by the Wisconsin Law Enforcement Association.
A status conference on that case is set for Tuesday.
Jan 19, 2013 at 5:15 a.m.
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916 you're dreammmmming if you expect the left fringe to be consistent.
Jan 18, 2013 at 7:22 p.m.
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Dtb.....do you have a current source which breaks down the numbers? If you're critical of walker over a $3 billion deficit, then you must be furious over Obama and his trillion plus deficits.......no??
Jan 18, 2013 at 7:04 p.m.
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"The state's finances are in great shape"
Except for that nasty $3 billion deficit.
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:45 p.m.
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As of last week, there were about 34 thousand jobs on the Wisconsin Job site. If you can't find a job, maybe you are being too picky, or you need to find some other training to prepare you for a different career. Otherwise, if your situation is fine, quit whining. There are programs in place that have been helping people (I have no issues with helping people), but there does come a point when people need to exert a little more effort.
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:23 p.m.
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Get over it already.
Move on...
Jan 18, 2013 at 6:13 p.m.
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Funny Wislady how when it is a national unemployment rate going down, you tell us all the reasons why it is just a fake number because of all the people no longer eligible for unemployment. BUT when it deals with your beloved Governor, it is factual data. As you sit at home and not at work this weekend, thank a union member for getting that 40 hour work week for ya.....
Jan 18, 2013 at 6 p.m.
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"Wislady What is your IQ?"
Really? You can't even figure out that the state's unemployment is arrived at by adding all the counties together.
Go read the post at 5:26 pm today, maybe you can learn something from that comment.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
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And what party is represented by this supreme Court 2014 will show a whole new face. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Just Another crooked Walker puppet. Puke face had to have a court outside of Wis. To decide for People of Wisconsin Walker Doe 2014 cannot come soon enough. Wislady What is your IQ? The unemployment rate is still high and because a majority no longer get UE that lost their Jobs there is no real numbers other then Walkers figures and most know they never add up.Rock 7.7%, Menominee 13.5, These were as of Nov 2012 But many were laid off after Christmas.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:43 p.m.
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And what party is represented by this supreme Court 2014 will show a whole new face. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen Just Another crooked Walker puppet. Puke face had to have a court outside of Wis. To decide for People of Wisconsin Walker Doe 2014 cannot come soon enough. Wislady What is your IQ? The unemployment rate is still high and because a majority no longer get UE that lost their Jobs there is no real numbers other then Walkers figures and most know they never add up.Rock 7.7%, Menominee 13.5, These were as of Nov 2012 But many were laid off after Christmas.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:37 p.m.
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Non-liberal bias media first paragraph:
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s very popular law allowing most public workers to decide if they'd like to join a union or not, a victory for Republicans and liberty.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:28 p.m.
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I would think it is ignorant to think that just the big three auto plant workers drink & smoke pot,all work places & people do the same thing,just not as much advertised is all!
Toyota workers drink just as much,and what makes a person an expert on the subject if they don't work in these factories?? Like that commercial about the girl that believes everything she sees on the internet,because the internet says everything is true on the net,some people should know the facts before they open pie hole...
And for your information,the UNION does not protect people doing drugs on company property,it's called the umpires decision and they are fired on the spot getting caught doing drugs,smart guy,sarcasm!!
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:26 p.m.
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Fordfan.....the unemployment rate in Wisconsin is far below the national average. If you need a better job in order to dig yourself out of some of the poor financial decisions you made, get online or get in one of your "investment" vehicles and start making the rounds. The jobs are not going to come knocking at your door. I only knew of one person who was recently unemployed--she was picked up by a great company though a temp service and was hired on full time over a year ago. Ironically, she is very much anti-Walker:) All in all, Walker is doing his job well. The state's finances are in great shape--there are many other states that would love to be in the position that Wisconsin is regarding their finances--some of them directly bordering us.
Basically what some need to do is let go of the hate. Wisconsin is on the right track and led by a governor that the voters of the state put in office twice.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:22 p.m.
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ninja, this case is in Federal Court. The other one is in state court.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5:18 p.m.
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Physics, This case will not be sent the supreme court. the other case the Madison Judge challenged will go to the appeals court and then possibly on to supreme Court. The Supreme Court has already upheld Act 10 once already so if it goes that far They should rule the same way.
Forward, Thank you Gov. Scott Walker.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5 p.m.
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the one bad thing about unions is it protects dead beats, as in where workers at auto plant are allowed to drink beer and smoke pot while at work and cant be fired. that is the very reason i wont buy a american car or truck that and toyota is far better then any american made.
Jan 18, 2013 at 5 p.m.
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Wages will fall & those in power will still fill their pockets
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:54 p.m.
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Are they going to take this to supreme court now?
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.
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On to the SCOTUS!!!!
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:45 p.m.
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Wrong lawsuit wis.
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:29 p.m.
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fordfan...when all else fails, diversionary tactics are your MO.
Jan 18, 2013 at 4:24 p.m.
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how far are we toward the 250K jobs that Walker again promised this week?
Where are we ranked in job creation in the MW and the US as a whole?
What happened to the millions of dollars that Chairman Walker's WEDC seems to have misplaced?
WEDC ore Values
INTEGRITY. We will hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards.
HONESTY. We will tell the truth without qualification.
ACCOUNTABILITY. We will honor our commitments to ourselves, our partners, and our investors.
RESULTS-FOCUS. We will add value in every action.
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC. We will put the needs of the customer first.
Jan 18, 2013 at 3:27 p.m.
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"What we’ve seen in this case is that a liberal Dane County judge made a political, not a legal, decision."
Speaker Vos
Jan 18, 2013 at 3:13 p.m.
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What is the unemployment rate in Wisconsin?
Jan 18, 2013 at 3:10 p.m.
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Amazing how 'open for business' hasn't translated into any actual jobs. We are at the bottom of the country in terms of job growth since he took office, and we had virtually none last year. After two years, Walker is still 212,489 away from his promise of 250,000.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/128099318.h...
This is what failure looks like.
Jan 18, 2013 at 3:06 p.m.
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Where are all the Walker haters? Where are you yada, mousie, panama red, et al?
Jan 18, 2013 at 2:54 p.m.
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Now, let's move FORWARD.
Jan 18, 2013 at 2:47 p.m.
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Thank you Governor Scott Walker for (legally) making Wisconsin 'open for business'.
Jan 18, 2013 at 2:46 p.m.
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Well son of a gun...
Jan 18, 2013 at 2:41 p.m.
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So many lawsuits, I guess that's what democracy looks like.
Jan 18, 2013 at 1:23 p.m.
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Dumb and Dumber !
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