Wisconsin Asks Appeals Court to Block Order Halting Union-Bargaining Law
Wisconsin's attorney general has asked an appeals court to block the temporary restraining order that was issued last Friday. The restraining order restricts the attorney general from publishing the law until there has been a hearing, and was in reaction to complaints filed alleging that the committee that approved the bill violated open meeting laws. The attorney general says that the open meetings laws were changed last week, and that the judge who issued the restraining order does not have the power to rule on the case. The bill would restrict collective bargaining and the power of unions, exempting police and firefighters. It would also require state workers to pay around 5.8% of their pension costs and 12.6% of their health care costs. Supporters of the bill have said that it is necessary to balance the budget, saying that the bill would save $30 million this year and $300 million in the next two years. The appeals court judge has not made a ruling on the attorney general's challenge yet.
See "Wisconsin Asks Appeals Court to Block Order Halting Union-Bargaining Law", Marie Rohde and Andrew Harris, Bloomberg News, March 20, 2011