Questionable local court ruling threatens popular Right to Work law that protects Wisconsin employees from mandatory union dues
Dane County, WI (April 8, 2016) – Patrick Semmens, vice president of the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, issued the following statement regarding the Dane County Circuit Court’s ruling against Wisconsin’s recently-enacted Right to Work law:
“Right to Work laws have been passed by 26 states and have been repeatedly upheld in state and federal court. However, that didn’t stop a lone Dane County Circuit Court judge from ruling against Wisconsin’s Right to Work law on extremely questionable grounds. According to the Court’s dubious reasoning, the State of Wisconsin cannot protect employees from union bosses who threaten to have them fired for refusing to pay dues or fees to a union they don’t support.
“This isn’t the first time a Dane County Circuit Court judge has overreached. Another judge previously struck down Governor Scott Walker’s Act 10 public-sector union reforms, a decision that was decisively reversed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
“Contrary to the union’s misrepresentations which the judge disingenuously accepted, it is union bosses who choose to exercise monopoly control over all workers, including those who oppose the union and who feel they would be better off without union officials’ imposed ‘representation.’ Without Right to Work protections, the injustice that workers face by having an unwanted union imposed on them against their will is compounded by the injustice of being forced to pay a portion of their hard-earned paychecks to union officials they oppose.
“Fortunately for Wisconsin workers, this Dane County judge’s ruling is not the final word on the matter. An appeal of this decision is certain, and we are confident that Wisconsin’s Right to Work law will ultimately be upheld by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.”
Staff attorneys from the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation along with the Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty represented pro-Right to Work Wisconsin employees in the case by filing an amicus brief. In addition veteran Foundation staff attorney Milton Chappell participated in the oral argument for the employees seeking to defend the Right to Work law. Foundation staff attorneys are also representing Wisconsin employees in enforcing the law. Both the U.S. Court of Appeals and the Indiana Supreme Court recently rejected the same arguments made by the unions in this case.
Wisconsin employees seeking assistance in exercising their rights under Wisconsin’s Right to Work protections can contact the Foundation for free legal aid by calling 1-800-336-3600 or by going to www.nrtw.org.
The National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation is a nonprofit, charitable organization providing free legal aid to employees whose human or civil rights have been violated by compulsory unionism abuses. The Foundation, which can be contacted toll-free at 1-800-336-3600, assists thousands of employees in about 200 cases nationwide per year.
