Dane County Circuit Court Judge William Faust today struck down Wisconsin’s Right-to-Work law, saying it is unconstitutional. The judge ruled that unions’ mandatory dues payments was property, and that under the Right-to-Work law the property was taken for a public purpose but without fair compensation.
Full text of the decision can be found here.
In response, the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation released a statement that read, in part: “Right-to-work laws have been passed by 26 states and have been repeatedly upheld in state and federal court. However, that didn’t stop a lone Dane County Circuit Court judge from ruling against Wisconsin’s Right-to-Work law on extremely questionable grounds. According to the Court’s dubious reasoning, the State of Wisconsin cannot protect employees from union bosses who threaten to have them fired for refusing to pay dues or fees to a union they don’t support.”
A January U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report showed Wisconsin’s union membership has been declining rapidly over the past several years.
State Senate Democratic Leader Jennifer Shilling (D-La Crosse) had a different reaction to the court ruling. “Everyone knew that ‘right-to-work’ laws would drive down family wages and interfere in private business contracts. Now we also know that this special interest attack on working families and locally-owned businesses is unconstitutional. This ruling is a major victory for hardworking Wisconsin families. Rather than wasting taxpayer dollars to defend the wishes of out-of-state special interest groups, the Department of Justice should side with Wisconsin families and allow this ruling to stand.”
“We are extremely disappointed that the Dane County Circuit Court struck down Wisconsin’s Right-to-Work law, but we are confident the law will be upheld on appeal,” said Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel in a statement.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) reacted to today’s decision as well: “Once again, a liberal Dane County judge is trying to legislate from the bench. No one should be forced to join a union or pay union dues as a condition of employment. I’m confident that this decision will be reversed in a higher court and worker freedom will prevail.”
Scott Manley, senior vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, also released a statement on the decision, which said in part: “Unfortunately, this isn’t the first instance where a Dane County judge has placed his own personal beliefs above the rule of law and the will of duly elected lawmakers. The flawed legal arguments upheld by Judge Foust have been rejected by state and federal courts across the country, and will be rejected again when judges who actually apply the law and uphold the Constitution have an opportunity to review the case.”
Wisconsin became the 25th state in the country to approve private sector right-to-work legislation when Gov. Scott Walker signed the legislation about a year ago.  The law prohibits businesses and unions from reaching labor agreements that require workers to pay union dues. Supporters said it allowed for worker freedom and made the state more attractive to business. Opponents argued the bill would destroy labor unions, lead to lower wages and endanger workplace safety.
A survey by WMC in June showed the majority of Wisconsin business owners supported the law.
