Work bill debate goes to late hours Democrats fight to delay Assembly union measure
Madison — Engaging in a marathon debate that began Thursday and continued into Friday, the Assembly was set to ban requiring workers to pay fees to labor unions and shift more than a half-century of practice in the state.
The outcome is certain — the bill will pass the Assembly and head to Gov. ScottWalker for his signature next week. But Democrats and demonstrators fought to delay it, vowing 24 hours of debate as Republicans cleared the public galleries of shouting protesters.
Summing up the views of his fellow Republicans, Rep. Dan Knodl of Germantown said Thursday that private-sector workers would benefit from the proposal by getting to decide whether to pay part of their wages to unions.
“For job growth, this is an excellent bill. For worker freedom, this is an excellent bill and for the future of Wisconsin, this is an excellent bill,” Knodl said.
But Rep. Amanda Stuck (DAppleton) sawthe bill as a loss in the security and good wages that her husband’s union job brings the couple and their four children.
“It’s insulting to us and the working people of Wisconsin,” Stuck said. “Clearly, there is nothing right about right-towork.”
Also Thursday, amanufacturer joined the debate over the bill
by saying passing so-called right-to-work legislation would lead to more jobs at his Milwaukee factory. Rich Meeusen, the president, chief executive and chairman of Badger Meter Inc., is the first business executive to counter the voices of hundreds of construction company officials who have argued against passing right-to-work.
He said passage would lead to a dozen more jobs in Milwaukee in the near term and potentially as many as 30 to 50 more later on without a cut in wages.
If the bill passes, “there’s no question that we’ll begin to increase the number of union jobs right here in Milwaukee, assuming the employees we hire want to join the union,” Meeusen saidi n an interview.
Democrats and Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca said that 440 road-building and construction businesses had publicly joined a coalition opposing the legislation because it interfered with their private contracts with their unions.
“They disregard that,” Barca said of Republicans. “They’re unmoved by the businesses. They’re unmoved by the testimony.”
The legislation prohibits the decades-old practice of contracts being signed between businesses and unions requiring private-sector workers to pay labor fees. The federal Taft-Hartley Act of 1947 allowed states to pass such legislation — one of the few areas where states can affect private-sector unions. So far, 24 other states have passed right-to-work.
Under federal law, unions are required to represent everyone in a work unit, even those who don’t belong to the union.
Supporters say workers should get to decide whether to pay their own money toward unions and argue having such a law in place would help lure businesses to Wisconsin. Opponents say unions and employers should be able to reach contracts as they see fit and that it’s reasonable to require all employees to pay their share of the cost of representing them.
“Right-to-work gives power to the individual,” said Rep. Michael Schraa (R-Oshkosh).
Democrats contended the measure would pit workers against their bosses and workers against each other.
“We are destroying labor peace in Wisconsin,” said Rep. Fred Kessler (D-Milwaukee).
The Assembly officially convened at 9 a.m. Thursday and under an agreement between the two parties could go a full 24 hours from then. Debate on the bill began about 1:40 p.m. and Democrats said they were committed to carrying the debate through the night.
As of 11 p.m. Thursday, Democrats were decrying the bill in a series of long speeches, with Republicans occasionally weighing in to promote the measure.
All-night sessions used to be common in the Assembly but were dramatically scaled back two years ago when Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (RRochester) began working out debate limits with Democrats.
Democrats pushed for the longer-than-usual debate time in this case because they see the legislation as a blow to workers.
Union power and membership in Wisconsin has waned along with the state’s manufacturing workforce.
The state Senate last week passed the measure, 17-15, with all but one Republican in support of it and all Democrats opposed. Republicans control the Assembly, 63-36.
The labor fight comes four years after Walker — now a likely candidate for president — advanced and signed a measure that all but ended collective bargaining for most public workers. The law, known as Act 10, prompted 61 hours of continuous debate in the Assembly and a wave of recall elections, making Walker the first governor in U.S. history to survive one in 2012.
On Thursday night, a small crowd of protesters milled outside the Assembly chamber holding signs and occasionally singing and chanting. Earlier, two people were arrested for shouting profanities and refusing to stop, according to a spokesman for the Capitol Police.
At a Senate committee hearing on the bill last week, James Hoffman, president and owner of Hoffman Construction Co. of Black River Falls, said the change could harm his business. He said Operating Engineers Local 139 runs training programs that provide him with a steady stream of workers.
If those employees can opt out of paying union fees, membership rolls will dwind leand the training programs will likely be scaled back, he said.
“I ask you: Why are you doing this to my company?” he said.
In other testimony, leaders from Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce countered these messages by construction executives. But WMC did so without any officials from manufacturers to testify in favor of a bill that businesses in their industry are more likely to support.
Meeusen, the BadgerMeter head, said that was because factory executives saw little incentive to enter a divisive debate when right-to-work is all but certain to be signed into law.
Meeusen said his Milwaukee workforce has stayed flat over the past decade at about 450 even as the company’s employment worldwide has increased by 40% to 1,400, up from 1,000. If right-to-work passes, Meeusen said he would add a production line for a new water meter in Milwaukee rather than at the company’s Nogales, Mexico, facility.
The new hires would be paid $17.23 an hour, the same wage as other workers at the company’s unionized Milwaukee plant and its nonunion plant in Racine, he said.