Judge Strikes Down Wisconsin Labor Law

By Chuck Sudo in News on May 26, 2011 7:20PM

A Wisconsin circuit court judge struck down Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill that strips labor unions of their bargaining rights, but the fight is far from over.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has scheduled a June 6 hearing for arguments in the case. Meanwhile, Walker and the Republicans in the legislature could try to pass the law again, only this time without the violations to Wisconsin Open Meetings law that was the reason for striking down the law.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that Republican lawmakers violated the open meetings law in their efforts to pass the bill. Sumi said it was a violation of the public trust.

"The court must consider the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government if the Legislature is not held to the same rules of transparency that it has created for other governmental bodies," Sumi wrote in her decision. "Our form of government depends on citizens' trust and confidence in the process by which our elected officials make laws, at all levels of government."