Wisconsin became the 25th state to adopt a ‘right-to-work’ law Monday morning, capping the state’s swift move in four years from union stronghold to one strictly limiting the power of organized labor.
Gov. Scott Walker signed the legislation Monday morning, which forbids union contracts with private sector employers that force all workers to either belong to the union or support it financially, commonly called a “closed shop” rule. Prior to the law, Badger State employees had no choice if they wanted to keep their job at a unionized workplace.
“This sends a powerful message across the country and across the world. ‘Wisconsin is Open For Business’ now is more than just a slogan. It’s a way of doing business,” Walker said, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Walker, who is widely seen as a top candidate for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016,signed the bill at an invitation-only ceremony at Badger Meter, north of Milwaukee. Present at the ceremony were Republican lawmakers who pushed for the legislation, including Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald. Fitzgerald tweeted that he was “thrilled.”
Conservative activists applauded the governor. “For decades, Wisconsin workers have been forced to join labor unions and pay dues — often two percent of their paycheck or $1,000 for a person earning $50,000 — with no choice,” said Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform. “The ability to say ‘no thank you’ to union control and union dues is a basic civil right that is restored today to the people of Wisconsin.”
Organized labor adamantly opposes right-to-work, which is associated with declines in union membership and power due to workers opting out. Wisconsin unions slammed Walker, saying he had hurt state workers by weakening their unions.
“The truth is by standing against hard-working families, Gov. Scott Walker should be ashamed, but we know he is not. He has chosen to pursue a radical agenda that willingly ignores that this law will devastate countless workers and their families. Make no mistake, this law gives irresponsible corporations, let alone politicians, the right to exploit and mistreat countless men and women all across Wisconsin,” saidMarc Perrone, president of the 1.3 million member United Food and Commercial Workers International Union.
The adoption of the law does not mean that workers will be able to immediately take advantage of it. Existing union contracts with closed shop rules will still be in effect. When new contracts are negotiated, unions will not be able to insist on the rule.
Right-to-work was first allowed under a 1947 amendment to National Labor Relations Act.As recently as 2011, only 22 states, mostly southern and rural ones without strong union traditions, had versions of the law. But Wisconsin is the third midwestern state to adopt a version in the last three years. And like the others, Michigan and Indiana, it has long been heavily unionized.
Wisconsin’s adoption of the law means that for the first time in the nation’s history, closed shop rules are no longer the norm in a majority of states.
Walker foreshadowed the adoption of the law in 2011, when he got the state legislature to change the public sector union rules, sharply limiting collective bargaining and effectively giving state and local government employees right-to-work rights. The controversial move sparked weeks of protests at the state capitol, with thousands occupying the building.
He did not pursue right-to-work for the rest of the state though, usually telling reporters that it attempting to pass it would distract from the rest of his agenda. Last month, after it became apparent that the legislation would pass through the Republican-majority statehouse, he announced he would sign the bill.
