Wisconsin’s Battle

Will Wisconsin, a large Midwestern industrial state, be the starting point for union revolt in the United States, or will it mark, on the other hand, a weakening of the famous “unions” on the national level?

After three weeks of fierce battle — duly recounted in the Liberation on Feb. 28, in case I need to remind you — Republican Gov. Scott Walker has just won the first round. Following the state’s House of Representatives, the Wisconsin Senate likewise voted for the law supported by Walker, which will now deprive unions of their collective bargaining rights — and thus from collectively negotiating salary increases — while at the same time increasing workers’ union dues.

The standoff imposed by Walker, a new governor elected with support of the tea party, who justified his action in the name of budget reductions, gave rise to huge demonstrations in Madison, the state Capitol. Tens of thousands of people gathered to protest the bill. In a surreal development, the 14 Democratic state senators had even fled Wisconsin in order to prevent the vote. But Thursday, the Republicans found a legal loophole in order to pass the law.

Now, the state unions have announced that they are going to try to demand a new vote and condemn the procedure employed before the courts.

But could what’s happening in Wisconsin have a national impact? In Ohio and Indiana, for example, other elected Republicans are also attempting to impose new laws to reduce the power of unions — always in the name of deficit reduction.

Stay tuned, therefore, in this blog and in the daily paper.