State Rep. Christine Sinicki
Press Release

Assembly Labor Committee Democrats Lay Out Their Expectations for “Right to Work” Public Hearing

Representatives Sinicki, Mason and Ohnstad Urge for Maximum Public Input on Incredibly Damaging Bill

By - Feb 26th, 2015 11:04 am

MADISON – Today the Democratic members of the Assembly Committee on Labor laid out their expectations and plans for the upcoming public hearing on Senate Bill 44 – the so-called “Right to Work” bill. Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee), Rep. Cory Mason (D-Racine) and Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D-Kenosha) joined together to share their concerns about the silencing of public input during the Senate hearing earlier this week and outline a plan to ensure every effort is made to allow for public input on this extremely damaging bill for Wisconsin working families.

“So-called ‘Right to Work’ will drive down wages, hurt job creation, harm our economy and further divide our state,” Rep. Sinicki said. “There is little doubt that Gov. Walker is using so-called ‘Right to Work’ as a smokescreen to distract the public from his disastrous budget while he runs around the country courting Republican primary voters. Assembly Democrats are not only voicing our strong opposition to this bill, but also working hard to ensure there is maximum public input on this extremely damaging bill that will hurt all Wisconsin working families.”

The Democratic committee members today sent a letter to Speaker Vos and the Chair of the Labor Committee detailing their concerns and expectations. A copy of that letter is attached here.

“Allowing for public input is not just about checking off a box – it is about carefully listening to the people of our state as we deliberate the merits of this bill and consider any potential changes,” Rep. Mason added. “This bill is incredibly divisive and damaging and at a very minimum we owe it to the citizens of Wisconsin to hear their voices.”

In the Senate hearing, opposition to the “Right to Work” bill was overwhelming – with people registered against the Right to Work Bill outnumbering those in favor by 70 to 1.

“Assembly Democrats are united in our opposition to this harmful bill and we hope to play an important role of protecting the role of Wisconsin citizens in our state government process,” Rep. Ohnstad added. “Given the suspicious timing, we also believe it’s important for the Governor to make clear to the people of Wisconsin why he changed his mind about RTW and the importance of private-sector unions to our state’s economic growth.”

Gov. Walker is trying to distract Wisconsin from his harmful budget by pushing Right to Work. SB 44 is an attack on the middle class and it takes freedom away from workers and private businesses, including 400 contractors and companies who have implored the governor not to force this issue on them.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

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39 thoughts on “Assembly Labor Committee Democrats Lay Out Their Expectations for “Right to Work” Public Hearing”

  1. Paul says:

    Has Ms. Sinicki ever returned the state mileage money she received while driving with a suspended license?

  2. PMD says:

    Is that related to this press release? Or are you just curious because that’s an issue that keeps you up at night?

  3. Paul says:

    Yes PMD government officials stealing from the taxpayers and ignoring the laws we must follow, does keep me up at night, as it should all of us

  4. PMD says:

    So it’s not related to the press release?

  5. Kyle says:

    “Given the suspicious timing, we also believe it’s important for the Governor to make clear to the people of Wisconsin why he changed his mind about RTW and the importance of private-sector unions to our state’s economic growth.”

    I’m not really a fan of RTW, but I’m not sure what there is for the Governor to explain. He said it wasn’t his priority, but Vos and Fitzgerald insisted that it was one of their priorities. When pressed for an answer, the Governor admitted he would sign his party’s legislation.’

    And speaking of suspicious timing, how DO you collect mileage from the State while your license is suspended?

  6. PMD says:

    Like most press releases this one is mostly hogwash and tomfoolery.

    Did Jim Steineke (R-Kaukana) reimburse taxpayers for collecting mileage reimbursements while driving with a suspended registration? Damn thief.

  7. Kyle says:

    We should probably give up the back and forth of calling politicians thieves. It could go on for a while. There are honest people and crooks, minor offenses and felonies, all across the ideological spectrum. Sometimes, those less-than-honest people make it into politics.

    I should also probably not worry about the exact wording of a politician’s press release. Spin and distortion might be the only things more likely to find in politics than crooks.

  8. AG says:

    “…concerns about the silencing of public input during the Senate hearing earlier this week…”

    By “silencing of public input” are they referencing that only 8 1/2 hours of public input was allowed instead of the scheduled 9, or are they instead referencing the fact that they weren’t able to usurp the hearing through loud protests to prevent a vote? I can’t quite tell.

  9. Kyle says:

    Given that their plan was to protest the fact that Republicans were cutting off the public input at 7 anyway (rather than letting everyone have their moment to speak), I doubt the text of this press release would have changed either way. Cutting short a session they had already planned to cut short is just icing on the cake.

  10. David says:

    Right to work means free loaders and cheapskates do not pay union dues and likely get the same benefits and wages. RTW states result in lower wages and benefits across the board.

    A sad day for all workers in Wisconsin, and our children and grandchildren will face continued corporate stooges and bought off politicians like Walker that implement corporate laws from ALEC. A 21st century version of fascism.

  11. Paul says:

    PMD…Jim Steineke, has two cars and was not driving the unregistered one at that time, nice try, play again.

  12. Observer says:

    Curious Paul if you are the huge Dr. Martin Luther King fan that Bob Dohnal claims to be. Dr. King had some strong views on “Right To Work”. Here’s an example. “In our glorious fight for civil rights, we must guard against being fooled by false slogans, such as ‘right to work.’ It is a law to rob us of our civil rights and job rights. Its purpose is to destroy labor unions and the freedom of collective bargaining by which unions have improved wages and working conditions of everyone…Wherever these laws have been passed, wages are lower, job opportunities are fewer and there are no civil rights. We do not intend to let them do this to us. We demand this fraud be stopped. Our weapon is our vote.” —Martin Luther King, speaking about right-to-work laws in 1961

  13. Paul says:

    Observer …We must guard against false slogans as , Planned Parenthood which was set up by a racist woman to keep the minority population down. Or how about Pro-Choice unless it means the choice to be forced into a union or not.

  14. Observer says:

    Thank you Paul. It may come as a shock to you that more than one in four U.S. presidents were slaveholders: 12 owned slaves at some point in their lives. Significantly, 8 presidents owned slaves while living in the Executive Mansion. Put another way, for 50 of the first 60 years of the new republic, the president was a slaveholder. I’ve struggled to not hold this against Barack Obama.

  15. Paul says:

    Observer.. What that has to do with this I don’t know, but at that time it was legal and common, thank God a republican president put an end to that.

  16. Observer says:

    I’m confused Paul. I should hate Planned Parenthood because of its founder’s racist beliefs; so shouldn’t I hate the Presidency because of the founders beliefs too?

  17. Paul says:

    Observer. .You are confused, the presidency changed their views and beliefs, Plan Parenthood is still committing genocide on minorities

  18. Paul says:

    I see no one has answered my original question. Has Ms. Sinicki ever returned the state mileage money she collected while driving with a suspended license. I wonder if she even has a license now

  19. Observer says:

    Genocide? Hyperbole

  20. Paul says:

    Observer …What do you call thousand of black lives lost?

  21. Observer says:

    The Middle Passage? Slavery? WWII? Vietnam?, Wars in Africa? We are talking “lives” right?

  22. Paul says:

    Observer. ..You can ignore it all you want, that doesn’t mean it’s not happening

  23. Observer says:

    Paul, even though JS is a very conservative paper I’d still think they would have major headlines documenting black genocide numbering in the thousands.

    Now I’m sure you will agree that my people really were victims of white genocide and by some accounts numbered over 114,000,000 dead. So don’t come pointing your Caucasian finger at me and claiming to be an expert. You sir are no expert on the word genocide.

    And I’m still waiting (and waiting) for your proof that Burke spent more than the flip flopper.

  24. Paul says:

    Observer. .You are totally clueless if you think JS is a conservative paper. Like I said you can ignore it all you want but it’s still happening. A couple black thugs killed by cops and the headlines proclaimed that the police are murdering blacks for no reason, yet thousands killed every year by PP and ..nothing

  25. Observer says:

    Black thugs?

  26. Paul says:

    Observer. ..What would you call someone that committed a strong armed robbery and then attacked a police officer, a gentle giant?

  27. PMD says:

    Genocide? A couple black thugs? Wow you really revealed your true colors Paul. And here I thought you might be a reasonable human being. I stand corrected. You and WCD are two peas in a pod.

  28. Paul says:

    PMD..And what would you call Michael Brown? Untill we call things what there are, we will never solve anything.

  29. PMD says:

    I had no idea you knew Michael Brown. I also didn’t know you witnessed his shooting death. How much time did you spend with him? How close were you when the officer shot him?

  30. Paul says:

    PMD…You can deflect all you want, all that does is prove that you’re afraid to answer the question?

  31. PMD says:

    I didn’t know Michael Brown. Yes he committed a crime, and stealing those cigars was wrong, but that one incident doesn’t automatically make him a thug. If stealing something makes a person a thug, then millions of people are thugs. You are so quick to pass judgment on people you didn’t know. I’m not sure what qualifies you to do that.

  32. Paul says:

    PMD…Open your eyes, read all the articles on Michaels criminal history, once again if you can’t acknowledge the problem it won’t be solved. You’re right one incident doesn’t make someone a thug, but look at his history.

  33. PMD says:

    You referenced a couple of black thugs. Who else was a thug in addition to Michael Brown? I am not aware of what else he did outside of stealing the cigars. What else did he do that makes him without a doubt a thug?

    If you can’t acknowledge that the police kill too many black males, if you won’t admit that’s a problem, it can’t be solved.

  34. Paul says:

    PMD…He also attacked a police officer, if he wouldn’t have done that he would have lived to see another day. In a area just a few miles from the Brown shooting, two young thugs tried to ambush an officer and one was shot and killed. And I do agree that the police are FORCED to shoot way too many people of all races. The problem starts in the way people are being raised, not with the police.

  35. PMD says:

    But you were not there Paul. You were not a witness. You have no idea what went down. So you have one example of why he is a thug, and it’s the theft. You said he had other criminal history but I guess you were making that up. If a single theft makes a person a thug, then half this country is made up of thugs, by your own definition. Did you ever steal something? If you did you are a thug.

    You are so quick to defend the police in all instances and declare other people thugs. You are narrow-minded, judgmental, and hateful. That’s an extremely unpleasant trio. The world needs less people like that.

  36. Paul says:

    PMD..Open your eyes, witness statements and all the evidence means nothing to you. And no I never commuted strong arm robbery or attacked an officer or even shoplifted. A no I don’t defend the police in all instances, just in the ones where they did nothing wrong. You seem like the one that is narrow minded.

  37. PMD says:

    You said he had a criminal record consisting of more than stealing cigars. What was it? You referenced additional “thugs” justifiably murdered by the police. Who are they?

    Can you name a case where the police shooting was unjustified?

  38. Paul says:

    PMD…Where did I ever say justifiable murdered by the police? I already sited another case a couple of answers back that the officer was within his rights to use deadly force.

  39. PMD says:

    Once again Paul, you said Michael Brown had a criminal history in addition to stealing the cigars the day he was killed. What was it?

    Can you think of a case where a police shooting was unjustified?

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