Lawsuit to work

Unions file lawsuit to stop Wisconsin's right-to-work law

By Jessie Opoien

A group of Wisconsin unions is seeking a temporary injunction to prevent Wisconsin's right-to-work law from being enforced.

Machinists Local Lodge 1061, United Steelworkers District 2 and the Wisconsin AFL-CIO filed a lawsuit against the state of Wisconsin on Tuesday, the day after Gov. Scott Walker signed the contentious bill into law.

The unions argue that the law results in an unconstitutional taking of their property without just compensation and that enforcing the law would cause them irreparable harm.

A hearing is scheduled for March 19 before Dane County Circuit Judge C. William Foust. Unions are also asking the court to permanently prevent the implementation of the law.

The unions' argument hinges on a concept called "duty of fair representation." Under federal labor law, if a union is the exclusive bargaining representative of workers in a particular group, it is required to represent all employees in a workplace, whether or not they belong to the union.

Under state statutes, employers may not bargain with a minority union, meaning that all legal collective bargaining in the state must be done with a union that represents a majority of employees as an exclusive representative.

Right-to-work laws prevent businesses from entering into contracts with unions requiring all workers to pay union fees. Without right-to-work, in addition to the dues paid by members, nonmembers are charged a "fair share" fee for the benefits they may reap from union representation.

Unions say that creates a "free rider" problem, while right-to-work proponents say it gives workers the freedom to work somewhere without being subjected to payments or pressured to join a union.

"These sums are the primary source of income for these organizations, without which they would be unable to fulfill their purposes of collective bargaining and the representation of employees, including nonmembers employees," the lawsuit argues.

The unions argue that the right-to-work law violates the takings clause of the state Constitution: "The property of no person shall be taken for public use without just compensation therefor."

Their argument is that the law transfers property from unions to nonmembers to a degree that will cause irreparable injury to the organizations.

The argument is similar to one made by unions suing against Indiana's right-to-work law a few years ago. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled against that argument, upholding the law. Indiana's law was also upheld by a U.S. Appeals Court.

Local Lodge 1061 represents a little more than 100 employees in Milwaukee and has a collective bargaining agreement with DRS Power and Control Technologies, Inc. It's an affiliate of the International Association of Machinists District 10, which represents just shy of 10,000 employees in Wisconsin. According to the lawsuit, there are about 130 employees in District 10 affiliates who currently pay fair share fees rather than join the union, 12 of whom are represented by Lodge 1061. Those workers pay 74.5 percent of the standard dues amount, according to an affidavit written by Alex Hoekstra, business representative with IAM District 10.

United Steelworkers District 2 represents more than 25,000 employees throughout the state and has 54 "fair share" payers represented by its local unions, according to the complaint. Those workers pay 78.5 percent of the standard dues amount, according to an affidavit written by Ross Winklbauer, sub-district director for USW District 2.

"Wisconsin (right-to-work) law deprives the unions of all methods of charging nonmembers for the services that they receive from the unions," the complaint states. "In other words, it requires that unions either provide free services to nonmembers or go out of business entirely."

Walker signed the bill, passed almost entirely on party lines, on Monday at Badger Meter in Brown Deer — just a little more than two weeks after it was introduced.

The law took effect immediately with the governor's signature, making Wisconsin the country's 25th right-to-work state.

Opponents say right-to-work legislation drives down wages and weakens workers' rights, while supporters say it would bolster the state's economy, attract jobs to Wisconsin and strengthen workplace freedom.

The bill's passage overturns more than 50 years of Wisconsin labor law. Republicans say it ends a reign of oppression by labor, while Democrats say it undoes the state's history of labor peace.

"This legislation puts power back in the hands of Wisconsin workers, by allowing the freedom to choose whether they want to join a union and pay union dues," Walker said in a statement. "This also gives Wisconsin one more tool to encourage job creators, like those here at Badger Meter, to continue investing and expanding in our state. Freedom to Work, along with our investments in worker training, and our work to lower the tax burden, will lead to more freedom and prosperity for all of Wisconsin."