A Dane County judge today struck down the controversial budget repair bill that eliminated most collective bargaining for most public employees.
Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi released a 33-page decision Thursday nullifying Act 10, which prompted thousands of protestors to crowd the state Capitol for weeks.
But the decision, posted on The Wheeler Report, will not end the litigation. The state Supreme Court has been asked to consider the case, and state legislators are preparing to re-insert the collective bargaining changes in the state's 2011-13 budget.
At least one legislator — Independent Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer of Manitowoc — is trying to add police, fire and other public safety workers to the collective bargaining changes. They were exempted from the bill proposed by Gov. Scott Walker and approved by Republican senators while their Democratic colleagues fled to Illinois to stall action on the bill.
JSOnline.com has this report on Sumi's decision.
Sumi ruled that state lawmakers violated the state's Open Meetings laws by failing to properly notice the March 9 vote in the Capitol.
She noted she was not ruling on the merits of the bill. "It is not this court's business to determine whether 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 is good public policy or bad public policy; that is the business of the Legislature.
"It is the court's responsibility, however, to apply the rules of law to the facts before it," Sumi wrote.
Opponents argued they were not obligated to follow laws that meetings and votes must have a minimum of two hours public notice.
WisPolitics.com quotes Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald and state Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch as saying they would continue to push for the reforms and were confident they will be implemented.
"We will continue to pursue legal action with the Supreme Court in an effort to protect middle class jobs and middle class taxpayers,” Huebsch said in a statement.
WEAC President Mary Bell praised Sumi's ruling and urged lawmakers not to re-vote on the changes, which limited union negotiations to only wages capped by the consumer price index.
"It is not in the best interest of students, schools or Wisconsin’s future to take the voices of educators out of our classrooms," Bell said. "We’ve seen how this issue has polarized our state.”
You have an extreme case of victim mentality, but convinced yourself otherwise and back it up by constantly talking in circles.
When auto workers make around $40 an hour to tighten bolts on assembly lines, is that really a FAIR wage? Or if there are people who slack all day while others bust their butt but they don't care because they feel untouchable, is that a concept of seniority? But when managers belittle you or make you work obscene hours with no gratitude, what can be done other than quit? Lyle it pains me that I agreed with you. I've worked with people who came from union jobs previously and they have a terrible opinion on honest work ethics. They would be much happier if they were told to sit rather than stand and do nothing all day.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/articles/fat-city_567621.html?page=1
What have you got, except maybe listening to a lot of Mark Belling?
How do we fix that?
I've never had a colonoscopy, so I wouldn't know if anything has changed. Whenever my doctor suggests one I grin and say that being uninsured has caused me many sacrifices but this is one I don't regret. Does a healthy adult with no risk factors really need one? I've often wondered why forty years ago a week in the hospital didn't bankrupt you, but now it does. It isn't all lining the pockets of the administrators, although I suspect an awful lot of the increase is to make up for bad debt -- those who don't pay at all and insurance plans that remunerate at a low level. Another factor would be the purchase of expensive technology that gets passed on to the cost of a hospital bed. But seriously, I think a lot of it is going to excess administrative costs and profit in the insurance industry. Take that away -- single payer and universal coverage -- and you save money.
Yes, I've tried to get an idea of the costs involved with a procedure. Almost 20 years ago and uninsured, I needed some elective surgery. The surgeon's fee was reasonable, I thought, and so was the assistant's. The hospitals were a different matter. The lowest quote I got for a three day stay was $20,000 -- and this was two decades ago. Needless to say, if you're working a low wage job with no insurance benefits, you don't have money like that. I'm happy to be an informed consumer and to manage costs myself, but I need the tools to do it.
Consider the amount of time it takes to get a claim paid; and how much you still have to pay. I pay $500/month for insurance with a $9,000 family deductible. I broke my leg; insurance paid nothing and I struggle to pay the bills because I'm paying $500/month for insurance. That's a cracked up system and pure profit for the ins. co. Meanwhile the doctor waits to be paid. It's classic. The middle man always has his paw out, and in this case, the insurance industry has grown so much in the past 15 years that it's squeezing the life out of suppliers and receivers. People talked about Obama "death panels," but insurance companies are far worse. Someone with a GED and 3 month's training deciding how much chemo or what kind of pain meds you should have. Consider how businesses could hire more people if they weren't responsible for paying a large portion of employees' health insurance! And everyone would get equal care.