Brothers and Sisters,

It’s a sad day for labor. Right to Work has passed out of both Chambers and is now headed to the Governor’s desk who is likely to sign it on Monday. The most appalling thing is how this state legislature has treated its citizens during this process (not that we didn’t see this behavior in 2011). Yesterday just minutes after debate began on the House floor, Speaker Robin Vos ordered the chambers cleared, kicking out hundreds of citizens from around the state who had come to witness the debate. We saw similar actions in the State Senate.

I’m not sure how this is constitutional, but unless people do something about it, this trend will continue- not just in Wisconsin, but in governing bodies all over the country. This is a blatant example of how corporations and wealthy interests like the Koch brothers are buying elected officials, leaving Americans feeling like they have no power within the structures that govern them.

We have a lot of work to do.

Wisconsin lawmakers voted along party lines Friday to make their state the 25th to enact right-to-work legislation, pushing a fast-tracked bill through the Assembly after an overnight debate and sending it on to Gov. Scott Walker for his promised signature.

Still stinging from Walker’s signature 2011 law that stripped most public workers of nearly all their union rights, Democrats railed against the bill through the night. One after another, they delivered rambling speeches in which they tried to persuade Republicans to send the bill back to a committee for revision.

The Republican governor, a likely 2016 presidential candidate who rose to national prominence by taking on public-sector unions four years ago, plans to sign it Monday. Walker planned to be in Iowa for an agriculture summit on Saturday that’s attracting other likely Republican presidential candidates.

The Assembly passed the bill 62-35 after a marathon session that included about 20 hours of debate. It was a straight party-line vote, with no Democrats backing the measure.

“Today is the day we have solidified the regressive era in Wisconsin,” Democratic Rep. Terese Berceau, of Madison, said minutes before the vote.

The vote came after Walker said in September, during his re-election campaign, that right-to-work was not a priority and wouldn’t come up this session. Walker called it a distraction and feared that protests would grow as large as those in 2011 when he effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. Legislative leaders, including Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, also said right-to-work would not be debated.

But two weeks ago, when Senate Republicans said they were going forward with it, Walker said he would sign it and the Assembly fell in line.

The protests were not nearly as large as four years ago, growing only as large as about 3,000 people compared with 100,000 in 2011.

Democrats accused Republicans of pressing the issue to help Walker’s likely presidential campaign.

“It’s the workers in this state that are suffering through the politics of our governor’s ambitions,” said Democratic Rep. Cory Mason, of Racine.

Vos accused Democrats of having “Walker derangement syndrome,” and said the bill was about giving workers the freedom to choose whether to pay union dues.

Protesters march around the Capitol after participating in a rally against a “right-to-work” proposal in Madison, Wis. Thousands of Wisconsin union workers rallied at the Capitol Saturday to protest a “right-to-work” proposal that would outlaw the mandatory payment of union dues.

“I’m not going to apologize about using the word freedom,” said Republican Rep. Jeremy Thiesfeldt, of Fond du Lac. “I’m going to use it over and over again because that’s what this is about.”

Rep. LaTonya Johnson, D-Milwaukee, and a member of AFSCME, said she cares about people more than freedom.

“It just angers me to know that we come here and we pass bills that affect people’s everyday lives and we don’t have a clue as to how those everyday people live or how they survive,” Johnson said. “This bill is a bunch of crap.”

What is right-to-work?

It’s a term you’ve heard a lot but may not fully understand: Right-to-work laws make it illegal for a private-sector business to enter into an agreement with unions that require all workers to pay union dues. Twenty-four other states have such laws, and several other states are considering them this year. Unions oppose the measure, saying it will weaken their power to negotiate salary, benefits and working conditions.

The Wisconsin proposal would make it a crime punishable by up to nine months in jail to require private-sector workers who aren’t in a union to pay dues.

Supporters say the measure is about worker freedom and that a right-to-work law would make Wisconsin more attractive to businesses looking to move in or expand. But opponents say the goal is to destroy unions, which tend to vote Democrat, and a right-to-work law would depress wage and create more dangerous workplaces, in turn hurting the economy.

A coalition of more than 400 Wisconsin businesses is also against it, saying the government shouldn’t intrude on a system that’s working. But Republican backers say workers should be given the freedom to decide whether to pay union dues, and they believe the law will attract businesses that may otherwise set up shop elsewhere.

Twenty-four other states have right-to-work laws. Michigan and Indiana were the two most recent states to enact it, both in 2012.

The spin room

“Today’s a great day for individual liberty,” said Republican Rep. Dan Knodl, of Germanton, at a news conference just prior to debate starting.

Vos argued during debate that right to work will make unions stronger because they will have to be more responsive to members to make them feel like it’s worth it to pay their dues.
Democratic opponents said the true goal was to weaken private-sector unions, much like public unions were targeted four years ago when nearly all collective bargaining rights were eliminated.

“Our fight is for the state and soul of our country,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, secretary-treasurer for the Wisconsin state AFL-CIO, during a rally attended by an estimated 300 people outside the Capitol before debate began.

Democrats accused Republicans of pressing the issue to help Walker’s likely presidential campaign.

“It’s the workers in this state that are suffering through the politics of our governor’s ambitions,” Democratic Rep. Cory Mason, of Racine, said during debate.

Just minutes after debate began in earnest, Vos ordered all spectators removed from the Assembly galleries after protesters interrupted his speech with chants of “Right to work is wrong for Wisconsin!” Debate stopped for about 10 minutes as police escorted dozens of people out as they continued yelling, some of them exhorting Vos to allow them to stay.

Article plucked from: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-wisconsin-right-to-work-20150306-story.html