A county judge struck a blow against Governor Walker when he ruled that Wisconsin’s controversial 2011 collective bargaining law violates the state and U.S. constitutional guarantees of free speech and freedom of association.
Ruling in a lawsuit brought by Madison Teachers Inc. and a union representing public workers in Milwaukee, Circuit Judge Juan B. Colas said in a 27-page decision that sections of the law “single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and association.”
There seems little doubt that more of the Koch Brothers’ money will come into play as soon as Gov. Walker can appeal this ruling, but it is, at least, a beginning. Wisconsin, normally a state heavily supportive of unions, has been rocked back on its heels by the repeated blows dealt to it by Gov. Walker’s anti-union legislation. This is something that the population brought on itself when it voted a Republican majority into the state legislative branch in retaliation against the previous Democratic majority. Now that they are waking up and fighting back, the tide is beginning to turn.
Sources: Newser, Wisconsin State Journal
You don’t seriously think they feel beholden to a Hispanic judge appointed by a Democratic governor, do you?
Nope — that’s why it won’t take long to over-rule him. But still, it’s a beginning…