Democratic Party of Wisconsin Statement on Right to Work ruling
"Today’s ruling confirms what families across the state have known for over a year now - that the so-called “Right to Work” legislation is an unlawful attack on wages and workplace rights.'
MADISON – The following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Director, Kory Kozloski, on today’s court ruling striking down Wisconsin’s “Right to Work” legislation passed by Gov. Walker and legislative Republicans:
“Today’s ruling confirms what families across the state have known for over a year now – that the so-called “Right to Work” legislation is an unlawful attack on wages and workplace rights. We applaud the decision by Wisconsin’s judicial system and urge Governor Walker and his administration to avoid wasting taxpayer dollars on protracted legal battles and appeals. “Right to Work” laws have been shown again and again to drive down wages and harm economic growth – all to benefit CEO’s and out-of-state special interests. It’s time for Scott Walker and his GOP allies in the legislature to abandon their unconstitutional attacks on Wisconsin workers once and for all.
“Today’s ruling made it clear just how critical it is to elect new leadership in Wisconsin. Democrats believe that hard work should always be rewarded – not only with good wages, but also with respect, strong workplace protections, and the right to organize. We applaud the court’s decision and look forward to helping to elect leaders who will respect the rule of law and side with hard-working Wisconsin families over greedy special interests.”
Read the release on WisDems.org
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.
Mentioned in This Press Release
Recent Press Releases by Democratic Party of Wisconsin
Unlawful? What’s unlawful about getting a job and having a choice if you want to join a union or not and pay anything? How much does someone have to work to pay those dues and get nothing from them? What’s unlawful is taking money from a worker without their consent which you’ve been doing for years. Protecting sluff offs at the work place just to keep their money coming in. You should be ashamed of yourselves for backing union thugs.
Wisconsin has a rich labor history as well as a rich progressive history. Not surprisingly, according to a 1998 study, the degree to which there is union presence and strength in a state directly affects progressivism and policy liberalism more than any other single factor, including political party of the state leaders. Darryl Holter, Ph.D., pre-eminent union historian credits workers’ “sweat and toil, combined with their courage and willingness to engage in collective action … [who] made Wisconsin both a great economic power and a pioneer in social reform.” Workers and Unions in Wisconsin: A Labor History Anthology, edited by Darryl Holter, Wisconsin Historical Society Press, 1999. Early in the twentieth century, Wisconsin led the nation in social and political reform. We can thank unions for rights and benefits that we take for granted today. Weekends without work*, all breaks at work including lunch, paid vacation, family & medical leave, sick leave, social security, minimum wage, Civil Rights Act / Title VII, 8-hour work day, overtime pay, child labor laws, Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSHA), 40-hour work week, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, pensions, collective bargaining rights for employees*, wrongful termination laws, Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA), whistle blower protection laws, Employee Polygraph Protection Act (EPPA) – prohibits employers from using a lie detector test on an employee, Veteran’s Employment and Training Services (VETS), pay raises, sexual harassment laws, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA), holiday pay, dental, life, and vision insurance, privacy rights, pregnancy and parental leave, military leave, the right to strike, public education for children*, Equal Pay Acts*, and laws ending sweatshops in the United States are some of the rights that labor unions have fought for and, in too many cases, died for in the process. Those rights marked with an asterisk have already been repealed by Scott Walker. The rest are on his chopping block.