Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules

The Wisconsin State Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of Governor Scott Walker's controversial plan to end most collective bargaining for tens of thousands of public workers.  The court found that a committee of lawmakers was not subject to the state's open meetings law.

"The Supreme Court's ruling provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again," Governor Walker said in a one-sentence statement.

The changes on collective bargaining will take effect once Secretary of State Doug La Follette arranges for official publication of the stalled bill, and the high court said there was now nothing to preclude him from doing that. La Follette has not said when the law would be published.

The court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi's ruling, which had held up implementation of the collective bargaining law, was in the void ab initio, Latin for invalid from the outset.  The court concluded that Sumi exceeded her jurisdiction, "invaded" the Legislature's constitutional powers and erred in halting the publication and implementation of the collective bargaining law.

The legal fight over Walker's plan will continue on other fronts. Two other lawsuits are already pending, and "numerous" others are expected, according to Madison attorney Lester Pines, who represented Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller (D-Monona) in the case the Supreme Court decided Tuesday. The other cases challenge the law on other grounds, rather than on open meetings violations.

The reforms Governor Scott Walker pushed through in Wisconsin:

He limited collective bargaining by public unions to issues of wages and benefits.• 

He opened the door to paying teachers based on merit not seniority.• 

He made it possible to fire bad teachers despite tenure.     • 

If layoffs are necessary, he made it possible to do them based on merit not seniority.• 

And he gave parents the right to choose which school was right for their children.

The state legislature not unions should set work rules, etc.  Public employee unions have run roughshod over too many cities, counties, and states for too long.  The Wisconsin Supreme Court put the people who should be in charge back in charge.

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