April 8, 2016
WISC3 Madison (CBS Affiliate)
[Madison, Wisc…] A Dane County Circuit Court judge struck down Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, according to a news release.
Judge William Foust issued the ruling Friday in a lawsuit filed by local unions. Foust wrote in the order that Wisconsin’s year-old right-to-work law created a “free-rider problem,” which is “the ability of non-members to refuse to pay for services unions are compelled to provide by law.”
The Wisconsin AFL-CIO, Machinists Local Lodge 1061 in Milwaukee and United Steelworkers District 2 in Menasha filed the lawsuit last year.
The groups argued that the law was an unconstitutional seizure of union property because it required unions to extend benefits to workers who don’t pay dues.
In the order, Foust agreed with unions that forcing them to represent people who weren’t paying dues was taking their property, in part because lawmakers who passed the law said they were doing so to make “the business climate in the state more favorable by eliminating the power of labor organizations.”
In a news release, Attorney General Brad Schimel said he was disappointed with the decision and promised to appeal the order, saying: “We are confident the law will be upheld on appeal.”
Nick Novak, spokesman for ABC of Wisconsin, agreed with Schimel and said all workers deserve the freedom to choose whether or not they join a union and pay union dues.
Read more and watch the news clip at channel3000.com.