Breaking News: Judge Blocks Collective Bargaining Bill in Wisconsin

“Judge Sumi confirmed today what we knew all along – that the bill stripping hundreds of thousands of hard working Wisconsinites of their voice on the job was rammed through illegally in the dark of the night,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

“Today justice prevailed,” explained Stephanie Bloomingdale, Secretary-Treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “In Wisconsin and in America, we have a democratic process for passing legislation. Judge Sumi has ruled that Scott Walker’s underhanded attempts to harm Wisconsin’s middle class will not stand.”

Judge Sumi ruled preliminarily that the bill was pushed through in an illegal manner. Conference Committee meetings must be called with advance notice of 24 hours unless there is an emergency. The Conference Committee in which the bill was passed was called with less than two hours notice. No emergency could be proven. Judge’s Sumi’s ruling delays implementation until at least the March 29 full hearing on the injunction request, unless her ruling is overturned on appeal. The ultimate determination of whether the state’s Open Records Law was violated will occur at the end of the lawsuit. Recall petitions and other legal actions must continue, as the best result in this case would send the bill back to the Legislature.

“State employees believe that nobody is above the law. We are gratified to see some of our so-called ‘leaders’ finally held accountable for their illegal actions. They may think they can get away with ignoring the vast majority of Wisconsin citizens by attacking worker freedoms, but they simply cannot continue ignoring the law if we want to continue calling our state a democracy,” said Marty Beil, executive director of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, AFSCME Council 24.

Judge Sumi was appointed by former Republican Governor Tommy Thompson.