5 repercussions of court's union law ruling--in Wisconsin
Many are saddened here--even as we knew the outcome most likely would not be in favor of unions given the bagger Supreme Court makeup.
http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com/story/news/politics/2014/08/01/repercussions-court-union-law-ruling/13452397/
5 repercussions of court's union law ruling
Scott Bauer 7:02 a.m. CDT August 1, 2014
MADISON – The Wisconsin Supreme Court's decision Thursday upholding the 2011 law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most state workers likely spells the end of the three-year legal fight over Gov. Scott Walker's signature initiative. Here are five repercussions of the ruling:
Legal fight over
The state Supreme Court's decision likely spells the end of the three-year legal fight against the 2011 law, those on both sides of the issue agreed. The law had been upheld by two federal appeals courts, and a fourth case that's pending in state courts raises much of the same issues in those that the Supreme Court rejected Thursday. The Supreme Court upheld the law on a 5-2 decision, with the two most liberal justices dissenting. The majority determined that public workers do not have a constitutional right to collectively bargain............
Questions remain
While the Supreme Court upheld the law in its entirety, the opinion did not address what happens to unions that entered into new collective bargaining agreements while the case was pending. The Madison teachers union, which brought the lawsuit, negotiated a contract with the school district earlier this year that extends through 2016. Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said he didn't know if contracts like that one were valid and he didn't think anyone knew. Van Hollen said he expects lawsuits to be filed over that issue, but the fight over the law itself being constitutional is done.