Right-to-work protest at the Capitol (File photo: WRN)
A hearing has been set for next week in Dane County court on a request to stay a decision that overturned Wisconsin’s right-to-work law, while the state appeals the ruling.
Attorney General Brad Schimel believes quick action is necessary in the case, in order to prevent confusion for workers and their employers. “If we go for a period of months here where there’s not clarity as to whether the law is in place or not, or the law goes away and comes back in a matter of a few months, there could be all sorts of chaos for employers and employees, so we really need to stay things the way they are until we get a final decision,” he argues.
Dane County Circuit Judge William Foust sided with union groups earlier this month in ruling that the law, passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature last year, amounts to an unconstitutional taking of union property. The right-to-work provision prevents employers from making union membership and dues a condition of employment, but unions argued non-members benefit from their negotiations without having to pay any type of representation fee.
Judge Foust will hear arguments on the request for a stay in the case Monday morning.
Contributed by WSAU