Gov. Scott Walker signed a Right-to-Work bill into law Monday making Wisconsin the 25th state to adopt legislation making mandatory union membership to get or keep a job illegal clipping the wings of organize labor further in The Badger State.
The signing ceremony came four years after the state ended collective bargaining for public-sector workers – a move that led Big Labor to wage a massive but failed recall campaign and then a failed general election campaign to remove Walker from office.
Walker, who has all but declared a run for the White House in 2016, signed the legislation into law freeing private-sector employees from mandatory union membership and the payment of dues that often go to political candidate rank and file members do not support.
From introduction to passage, the legislation moved through the Wisconsin state legislature and to the governor’s desk for his signature in less than two weeks – record time for a state that organized labor once held out as an example for public and private sector union movement.
Right-to-Work supporters said the new law will make it easier for new businesses to locate to Wisconsin and improve the environment for existing businesses to grow.
The White House reaction was also predictable.
In a statement, President Barack Obama criticized Gov. Walker Monday for signing a law that ends mandatory union dues in the state. In what some say is a case of false causality, the president said:
“It’s no coincidence that the rise of the middle class in America coincided in large part with the rise of unions — workers who organized together for higher wages, better working conditions, and the benefits and protections that most workers take for granted today”.
“So I’m deeply disappointed that a new anti-worker law in Wisconsin will weaken, rather than strengthen workers in the new economy”…“Wisconsin is a state built by labor, with a proud pro-worker past.”
What President Obama left out was the fact that a vast majority of political donations made by unions to party committees and candidates go to democrats and that the money comes from forced union dues – oftentimes requiring employees to support candidates and causes they detest.
According to OpenSecrets.org – which tracks political spending – labor unions donated almost $60 million to political candidates in the 2013-2014 campaign cycle. Of that, $53.3 million went to Democrats and $6.6 million to Republicans – a spread of 89% to 11%.
This fact is not lost of Scott Walker. In a campaign appeal announcing Gov. Walker’s intention to sign Wisconsin’s Right-to-Work law, “Team Walker” writes:
“Governor Scott Walker will sign legislation to make Wisconsin a “Right to Work” state, prohibiting employees from being forced to join a union against their will. It’s the right thing to do for job creators and employees alike.
But you know how it is: It threatens the power the Big Government Labor Bosses crave and they are going to come after him with everything they’ve got.”
The appeal ends with a request for a donation saying “Show him you support his “Right to Work” effort all the way. Help him move Wisconsin – and America – forward.”