Thursday, April 25, 2013
A lawsuit filed by unions representing Madison teachers and city of Milwaukee employees over the state's collective bargaining law may be headed to the State Supreme Court.
A state appeals court is urging the Wisconsin State Supreme Court to take on an Act 10 lawsuit filed by two unions, which challenged the constitutionality of the collective bargaining limitations Gov. Scot Walker imposed on almost all public unions in 2010. The Supreme Court could take the case without waiting for an Appeals Court decision, but whether is does so is at the high court's discretion. If the Supreme Court doesn’t take the case, then the Appeals Court would need to take it. A certification filed by a panel of three judges from the 4th District Court of Appeals, asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case because “a number of public unions have filed suits against municipalities over Act 10 provisions, which have left …
Monday, September 17, 2012
As the village and school district prepare to finalize budgets, they say all they can do is wait and see what happens after the state's collective bargaining law was ruled unconstitutional on Friday.
Municipal and school district leaders are left pondering, "What's next?" after Friday's ruling that the state’s collective bargaining law is unconstitutional. Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas' ruling on Act 10 came out of the blue and at a time when municipalities and school districts are in the middle of budget planning for the next fiscal year, or putting the finishing touches on budgets. School District Superintendent Martin Lexmond said like many school district across the state, Shorewood is in "wait and see mode." "We’re paying attention to any new information about how to respond," Lexmond added. The teacher's union has been in contract negotiations with the district, and Lexmond said he hasn't been approached by rank-and-file …
Friday, September 14, 2012
A Dane County judge has declared Act 10 — the budget repair bill — as unconstitutional at both the state and federal levels.
The law that ended most collective bargaining rights for public employees was struck down Friday by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas. 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 US Constitutions. Specifically, the law violates the guarantee of freedom of speech and citizens' freedom of association. Colas' 27-page decision is summarized in The Capital Times, quoting the judge's primary reason for his decision as " (Act 10) single(s) out and encumber(s) the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and …
Friday, June 1, 2012
Veteran flimmaker Aime Williams details the day-to-day unfolding of public outcry in the weeks after Gov. Scott Walker introduced his highly controversial budget repair bill.
In the first weeks after Gov. Scott Walker introduced Act 10, thousands upon thousands filled the steps of the Wisconsin State Capitol, spilling political dander onto the streets of Madison. Filmmaker Aime Williams — a Milwaukee native and Shorewood High School graduate — is bringing the historic, prodigious, prolonged labor protests to the big screen in her full-length documentary “We Are Wisconsin: This is what democracy looks like.” Williams says the film details the "day-to-day unfolding of public outcry against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s controversial budget-repair bill, focusing on the human story behind a remarkable popular uprising forged on the floor of the Madison Capitol," according to the film's website. The legislation …
Friday, March 30, 2012
A federal judge today said automatic collection of dues and requiring annual re-certification violate unions' First Amendment rights.
Two components of Act 10 - the budget repair bill - were deemed unconstitutional today, according to a federal judge's ruling. Specifically, unions challenged whether or not dues can be automatically deducted from public employee paychecks and that unions must certify with an absolute majority. The lawsuit was filed by a coalition of unions shortly after Act 10 was passed last year. Saying those provisions violate union members' First Amendment rights because public safety employee unions are not subject to the same restrictions, US District Judge William M. Conley issued his opinion Friday. He rejected assertions that the law violates any equal protection under the law clauses, but he ordered that automatic dues withdrawals be reinstated …
Wednesday, January 11, 2012
Concerns raised after Whitefish Bay Middle School teacher wore a "Recall Walker" pin at school.
With teacher pay and benefits coming to the forefront in a heated political climate, the effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker has found its way into one Whitefish Bay classroom. Conservative talk radio host Charlie Sykes reported Tuesday that a Whitefish Bay Middle School teacher wore a "Recall Walker" pin in the classroom — a cause for concern for some of the students' parents. "I would like the school to be a political-free zone," said one parent, who asked not to be named. "If a teacher was wearing a pro-Walker pin, an anti-Walker pin or any other political pin, it's inappropriate. I think it is provocative and unnecessary. What we really want is kids coming home talking about the core curriculum, not that the teacher is wearing a …
Friday, December 23, 2011
A month-by-month look back at the top stories of 2011.
As the year comes to a close, we all tend to look back at what exactly we've accomplished over the past 365 days. Though Shorewood Patch has always been devoted to covering local news, we headed to Madison to cover the historic events surrounding Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's 2011-2013 budget bill and Act 10 in March. Here’s a recap of the headlines from Shorewood Patch during the budget battle, in no particular order, followed by some of the top local stories from March. Madison Shocker: Senate Passes Bill Limiting Collective Bargaining Judge Orders State Capitol to Remain Open to Public Walker's Budget Address Culminates Another Crazy Day at State Capitol Darling: Districts That Acted Quickly on Contracts Now Dealing with a 'Big Mess' …
Thursday, December 22, 2011
A month-by-month look back at the top stories of 2011.
As the year comes to a close, we all tend to look back at what exactly we've accomplished over the past 365 days. We were still newbies in Shorewood, but Patch heeded the call in Shorewood in the month of February, as the village and the state erupted over the proposal of the budget repair bill or Act 10. Here’s a recap of the news that made headlines in February. After Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker introduced Assembly Bill 11, known as Act 10 or the budget repair bill on Feb. 15, which curtailed most collective bargaining rights for public workers, it triggered a massive reaction in the state. Shorewood was not unique in that fact, as residents and teachers took to the streets to demonstrate and local officials drafted responses to the bill…
Friday, December 9, 2011
Teachers vote in favor of representation; union president calls new rules a clear attempt to weaken unions.
The Shorewood teachers union, like most of its counterparts in the Milwaukee area, voted Thursday to recertify and keep its union status. The recertification was necessary as a result of the new collective-bargaining law, which requires unions vote to recertify every year. The move allows the union to continue negotiating wages. Teachers and many others in public unions are restricted from bargaining for anything else under the changes passed in Act 10. Shorewood Education Association President Michael Halloran said he's gratified that teachers locally continue to stick together, but called the new rules, which requires 51 percent of the union's total membership — not just voting members — to vote in favor of recertification, a high …
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
While politicians on both sides craft talking points, Wisconsin residents speak out on the reforms that have passed in Walker's first year in office.
For years, Tom Scheer has stood on the political sidelines, but all that changed this year after Republican Gov. Scott Walker took office and introduced controversial limitations to collective bargaining, a bill allowing the concealed carry of weapons and a voter identification bill. Scheer was one of hundreds of people across the state who signed petitions to recall Walker Tuesday. He said Walker never talked about collective bargaining restrictions in his campaign, which to Scheer is representative of a larger silencing of the voice of people in Wisconsin. "Virtually everything he's done when he's been in office has been something that was not talked about during his campaign, and what the people have wanted since he was elected has been…
Ed Holladay
8:47 pm on Friday, April 26, 2013
$$, lol. No, I am not receiving any entitlements. I take it you disagree about putting the pension to use for venture capital. You may have a good point though. Maybe we should take a third of SSI and use that as seed money for new industry. We have to do something to save capitalism. more ›