The Wisconsin state Supreme Court came through for Governor Scott Walker yesterday - ruling that his union law that strips collective bargaining rights and forces public workers to pay more for their healthcare and pensions can now go into effect. Reacting to the court's decision - Walker said, "the Supreme Court's ruling provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again."
On the flip side - President of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO called the ruling an "affront to our democracy." With a 4-3 ruling - the judges overturned a previous decision by a county circuit judge who ruled that the procedure in which the law was passed out of the state legislature violated the state's open meeting laws - requiring proper notification of the public before any new laws are passed - this voiding the law. The deciding judge on the high court was Justice David Prosser who recently won a controversial re-election to the court earlier this year after 12,000 votes mysteriously showed up in Waukesha County to put him over the top. Many on the left have questioned the results of that election since.
Governor Walker's union law has triggered a polarizing debate in the state - and a number of protests by labor organization outside the capitol building in Madison. And now that the law will finally take effect - expect even more lawsuits to come down the pike.
-Thom
(What do you think democrats should do now? Tell us here.)
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