A right-to-work bill passed through the Wisconsin State Senate with a 17-15 majority and no amendments Wednesday as union-backing protesters gathered inside the Capitol building.
The vote comes after a rushed Senate Labor Committee hearing Tuesday and upcoming State Assembly debates to come next week. If the bill passes, Wisconsin will join 24 other right-to-work states and would abolish laws making union dues mandatory, which critics say would dissolve private sector unions.
Republican lawmakers unexpectedly announced on Friday they would take up the legislation in an extraordinary session to pass the bill as quickly as possible
Majority Leader Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said Wednesday at the Senate debate it is time for Wisconsin to modernize its economy to keep up with competing states in the Midwest. He said passing right-to-work legislation is a step toward this goal and toward individual freedom.
“This leaves it up to the individual to decide if they want to join their union or not,” Fitzgerald said.
Two gallery members interrupted Fitzgerald’s testimony to loudly express their opposition to right-to-work and as a result, Capitol Police escorted them out of the parlor. Senate President Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, warned gallery members another interruption would lead to the expulsion of the entire gallery.
The Senate voted across party lines to reject a series of 10 amendments Democratic legislators put forward.
Amendments Democrats put forth included provisions to delay the bill’s implementation, changes to the penalties in the bill for those who require union dues and more funds to support impoverished public schools, which Democrats argued was to make up for what they viewed as the economically destructive nature of the bill. Democrats cited studies showing right-to-work states have higher poverty rates.
“There are lots of factors that affect poverty, but I would say the wages paid to workers is a primary one,” Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, said.
Legislators debated as approximately 2,000 union members and union backers continued to rally inside and outside the Capitol building. American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations President Phil Neuenfeldt expressed his opposition to the bill to the crowd outside the Capitol.
“Democracy failed us yesterday,” Neuenfeldt said to protesters.
The National Football League has come out against Wisconsin’s right-to-work effort and Major League Baseball released a statement in opposition during the senate debate. Both leagues have players unions and would be affected if the bill becomes law.
When the session adjourned, union-backing gallery members loudly chanted “Shame! Shame!”
Fitzgerald said in a statement following the session he was proud the Senate had passed the bill.
“The heart of this issue is a simple matter of individual freedom: this legislation will ensure that Wisconsin’s workers have the sole power to determine whether they wish to belong to or support a labor organization, and ensure that they cannot be punished for that decision in their workplace,” Fitzgerald said.
An Assembly committee, which has an even stronger Republican majority than the Senate, will take up the bill before it is debated on the floor next week.
