Sunday, April 3, 2011

Is The Battle Over The Budget Disrepair Bill Moot?

Could it be true? Is all the grandstanding and the overreaching and the power-grabbing my Scott Walker and his GOP cronies be all for naught? I certainly hope so:
In a ruling that has far-reaching implications for Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Maine, Indiana, Iowa, and Missouri, a federal judge threw out labor law reforms at Chicago’s McCormick Place that the Illinois state legislature enacted in 2010 following supplication from the convention industry.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman affirms that collective bargaining rights cannot be overturned by governmental edict. Guzman told the Legislature “it had no business trying to interfere with collective bargaining” according to Marvin Gittler, an attorney representing Local 727 of the Teamsters.

Guzman held that the National Labor Relations Act preempts the Legislature from dictating terms for unions working at McCormick Place. This ruling is similar to the finding of The International Commission for Labor Rights, which has said, in part: The ICLR identified the right of "freedom of association" as a fundamental right and affirmed that the right to collective bargaining is an essential element of freedom of association. These rights, which have been recognized worldwide, provide a brake on unchecked corporate or state power.
Now, before anyone points out that the NLRA is for private sector unions, read on:
While the NLRA covered US employees in private employment, the law protecting collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors has developed since 1935 to cover all workers "without distinction."
If this ruling stands, it would be so very typical of Walker to be wasting all our time and tax payer money on something that is moot to begin with. Perhaps we can report Walker and the entire GOP caucus in each house to the state's waste and fraud task squad.

No comments:

Post a Comment