Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen had asked appeals court to stay a rule by a Dane County judge that said parts of the collective-bargaining law are unconstitutional.
A Wisconsin appeals court Tuesday refused to put a hold on a judge's decision repealing major parts of Act 10, the law that ended collective bargaining for most public workers. Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen in September had asked the 4th District Court of Appeals to stay the ruling by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas that portions of the law were unconsitutional. Van Hollen wanted to stay the decision while the case was being appealed. Colas refused in October to do so, and the state appeals court on Tuesday upheld that decision, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. The appeals court said it saw "no basis to set aside the circuit court's decision that a stay was not warranted," the State Journal reported. Today’s ruling likely …
Friday, January 18, 2013
Act 10, which essentially stripped public unions of their ability to bargain, was ruled constitutional on Friday in a federal appeals court.
The controversial state law that curtails collective bargaining for most public employees was upheld by a federal appeals court Friday. In ruling that Act 10 is constitutional, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said the state had a rational reason for rolling back collective bargaining rights, and rejected arguments from public employees unions that they violated First Amendment rights, WisPolitics.com reported. The court overturned a decision by a federal judge last year that struck down parts of the law dealing with prohibitions on government employers withholding union dues from workers' payrolls and a section requiring labor unions to vote to re-certify yearly, the Journal Sentinel reported. A separate case challenging the law remains …
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
But district is offering just half-percent raises as School Board attorney says negotiations are limited to base wages under the state's new collective bargaining law.
While School District of Waukesha officials are offering the teachers union a 0.5 percent base wage increase, the union is asking for a 1.64 percent salary increase for the 2011-12 school year. An agreement has not yet been reached as the initial proposal from the union was delivered to the School Board on Tuesday. The salary increase is based on the cost of living increase from the 2010-11 school year, said Cathy Atkinson, president of the Education Association of Waukesha. But the district won’t be able to negotiate under the union’s proposal, said Gary Ruesch, the attorney for the School Board, because the district can only negotiate for base wages under Act 10’s collective bargaining rules. Because salaries can include supplemental pay…
New report says the Elmbrook School District has seen a big reduction in pension and health care costs because of changes in state's collective bargaining law.
The controversial state law that eliminated most collective bargaining rights for school employees reduced benefit costs for the Elmbrook School District by about $5.3 million last school year, according to a report released Monday. That labor cost savings came close to offsetting the approximately $5.5 million in state cuts to Elmbrook's maximum allowable revenue for the 2011-12 school year, according to the report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance. Whether that trend of closing the gap will continue in future years is yet unknown, said Keith Brightman, Elmbrook's assistant superintendent for finance, operations and human resources. The pension savings will recur annually, but further cuts in revenue authority and aid to public school …
Monday, September 24, 2012
Barring major changes from a proposed $71.9 million tax levy that won advisory approval from a small audience Monday, the school portion of residents' tax bills should remain about the same as last year.
Residents who saw an unusual dip in their Elmbrook school taxes on last December's bills will see a much more stable number this year, under the district's 2012-13 budget to be finalized next month. An audience of less than 10 people on Monday night approved the proposed tax levy of about $71.9 million. The vote was advisory only; the School Board will vote on a final budget in about a month, with any adjustments from updated enrollment and revenue figures. Under the proposed budget: About $5 million of the levy would be to pay down debt for the high school rebuilding project and make the final payment in spring 2013 (three years earlier than originally projected) for the construction of Dixon and Brookfield Elementary Schools. Resident …
Union wants to review school district's financial figures before submitting its wage increase proposal.
The Waukesha School District is prepared to offer its teachers a 0.5 percent wage increase for the 2011-12 school year, but the union is not yet prepared to give a wage proposal as it moves forward with negotiations. The wage increases, if accepted by the union, would be paid to the teachers retroactively. After the 2011-12 contract is settled, school officials can begin work on the 2012-13 teaching contracts. The settling of the past school year’s contracts were delayed because of changes in the state’s Act 10 collective bargaining law that limits public unions from negotiations except for wages. The school district’s last contract expired in June 2011. Teachers had wages frozen for the 2009-10 school year and received a 1 percent wage …
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Gov. Scott Walker talks about the Dane County judge's ruling on the state's collective bargaining law during this week's radio address.
The state partnered with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association to produce and distribute brief radio address once a week. Audio files and a written transcript of this radio address can be accessed on http://www.wi-broadcasters.org and http://walker.wi.gov/Weekly-Radio-Addresses. To download an mp3 file, you can right click the radio address link and click “save link as.” Hi, this is Scott Walker. As you may have heard, recently, a Dane County judge in Madison issued a ruling that struck down key provisions of the budget reforms enacted late last year. We are confident this ruling will be overturned because Act 10 is constitutional. This would not be the first time a Dane County judge's decision on Act 10 was held to be wrong by a …
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
Organizers are angered with rulings on voter ID law, collective bargaining and more — and they want to send a message via a protest rally.
Area conservatives have planned a rally protesting recent decisions made by Dane County judges from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday at the state Capitol in Madison. The organizing group consists of Caledonia resident Eddie Willing, a member of Founders Intent; Paris Procopis, an activist affiliated with Founders Intent; Wisconsin state treasurer Kurt Schuller; the Tea Party Patriots; an unnamed former judge; and an unnamed state legislator. “We demand they respect the other two branches of government and allow our state to run by the consent of the people,” according to a statement released by the group. “Our state Constitution needs judges that apply the law the people write, not reinterpret it.” The purpose of the rally is to remind “judges they…
Monday, September 17, 2012
Brookfield Mayor Steve Ponto says he believes a Dane County circuit judge's ruling striking down parts of Act 10 will not upend the city's contracts with its five employee unions.
- GOVERNMENT
- Lisa Sink
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Monday, September 17, 2012
City officials said Monday they believe their existing union contracts will not be upended by a Dane County judge's ruling Friday reinstating some public employee collecting bargaining rights. Mayor Steve Ponto called the ruling "very unfortunate" and said it should have no impact on the city's 2013 budget. "The entire state has been through a lot in the last 18 months and this decision by a Dane County Circuit Judge is, I believe, very unfortunate," Ponto said. "I hope and trust the decision will be stayed pending appeal. "I also have confidence that our court system will ultimately uphold the Act 10 legislation which was passed by both houses of the Legislature, signed by the governor, and implicitly supported by the voters in subsequent…
Friday, September 14, 2012
As news of Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colas' decision to strike down the state's collective bargaining law spread, liberals marked the ruling a win while conservatives took issue with it.
Just hours after Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas decided that the state’s collective bargaining law was unconstitutional, reaction from liberals and conservatives erupted. According to our media partners at FOX 6 News, Colas ruled Act 10 — the budget repair bill — as null and void because the law violates both the state and U.S. constitutions. Specifically, the law violates the guarantee of freedom of speech and citizens' freedom of association. The news heated up Wisconsin liberals and conservatives on social media sites, caused outrage and praise from elected officials, and pleased top union officials. A event page titled We Aren’t Backing Down! Tell Wisconsin Union Judges NO! was posted by a group called Founders’ Intent and …
Fred Fischer
8:59 pm on Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Lots of emotions here. I would think there's more of an advantage to not collectively bargain. That way the best producers will be rewarded adequately and not be dragged down by the weak and/or lazy. Also, I don't think anyone should be forced to join a union. more ›