Wisconsin Judge Overturns State’s Anti-Union Law Due to Open Meetings Violation
A judge has overturned the Wisconsin law curbing collective bargaining rights for most state and local workers, citing a violation of open meetings law.
Judge Maryann Sumi of Dane County said the state Senate’s vote on the law was taken without the required two-hour minimum notice, report the New York Times and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Sumi’s opinion (PDF) begins with a civics lesson. She cites Marbury v. Madison and the need for courts as a co-equal branch of government to interpret and apply the rule of law. “A court cannot avoid its responsibility to apply the rule of law out of fear that its action will be controversial or unpopular,” she wrote.
Sumi permanently enjoined the union law, which bars most public-sector workers from bargaining over health benefits and pensions, the Times explains. Bargaining over wages is allowed, but in any event pay raises can’t exceed the inflation rate unless voters approve the salary hike in a referendum.
The state supreme court will hear oral arguments on whether to take the case on June 6. Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked the court to take jurisdiction after a prior ruling by Sumi that granted a temporary injunction to prevent the law from taking effect.
