Thursday, June 16, 2011

The Fight For Freedom Continues - Without Koch Interference

The unions, and by that I mean just about every union in the state, has filed a federal lawsuit against the unconstitutional, freedom-stripping Budget Disrepair Bill, just like I had said they would.

There are two key things to note about this action.

One, the unions were smart enough to file it directly in federal court.  With the way the Koch Court worded their ruling, it was obviously a threat to any Wisconsin judge against ordering an injunction, despite the legality or appropriateness of doing so.  By taking it to the federal level, they are able to avoid and eliminate the Koch Court's interference of justice.

Secondly, the lawsuit only seeks to restore the freedoms that Scott Walker and WISGOP would take away from the citizens, especially the working families of Wisconsin and has nothing to do with the money, as pointed out in the SEIU press release regarding the lawuit:
It is a violation of the U.S. Constitution for a legislature to discriminate among classes of public employees, much less to reward political allies, while punishing political opponents. Scott Walker’s actions are purely political and it is distressing that the Wisconsin Supreme Court would allow public employees to be used as sacrificial lambs.

The lawsuit seeks to enjoin some, but not all, of the provisions of the Budget Repair Bill.

“Working and middle class families in Wisconsin have long been on the record accepting substantial economic cuts. In fact, we are not seeking to enjoin the significant pension and health insurance contribution requirements imposed by the Budget Repair Bill. However, we will not tolerate continued attacks on basic rights. We are committed to preserving our rights to bargain and freely associate,” Palmer concluded.
The AFL-CIO emphasizes the same point on their blog.

This, of course, blows the hell out of the argument the right wing has been trying to fool people with, claiming that the unions are only after their "entitlements" or that the public sector workers were unwilling to "make a reasonable contribution" to their benefits.

If it weren't for the seriousness of the issue, where the unions have been forced to fight not just for the rights of their workers, but even for the rights of those who are constantly attacking them for doing so, I would be having great amusement watching the right wing's collective heads exploding as they realize that they stand a very real chance of having expended all their political clout for nothing.

Finally, since the unions have shown the savvy to file in federal court, one hopes that they will also build their case on another federal case in which they have already shown that it is illegal to take away the right of collective bargaining.

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