May 17, 2016

Wisconsin judge overturns state's right to work law

Occupy Democrats

A Dane County Judge ruled that Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s “right-to-work” law is unconstitutional. Union leaders argued that the law is an “unconstitutional seizure of their property” because it allows workers to enjoy union benefits without paying dues, stripping the labor organizations of important sources of funding, which is an undue burden on the organizations.

Judge Willam Foust ruled that the “plaintiffs will be obligated to spend treasury — their property — on services for which they cannot legally request compensation. This is enough to establish that unions do have a legally protectable property interest at stake…they are not isolated, and the impact of Act 1 over time is threatening to the unions’ very economic viability.”

Free-market acolytes attempt to sell right-to-work laws as beneficial for workers and for business, but the facts paint a very different picture. In America’s twenty-five right-to-work states, the average worker makes $5,971 (or 12.2%) less than in union-friendly states; median household income is $6,568 (or 11.8%) less. Right-to-work states have higher rates of uninsured workers, have higher rates of poverty, higher infant mortality rates. and have a 54% higher rate of workplace fatalities.

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