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Attorney General Schimel Appeals Right-To-Work Ruling

Wisconsin AG Also Requested A Stay To Keep Law In Place

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AP Photo/Andy Manis

Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel has filed an appeal and requested a stay in legal proceedings over Wisconsin’s controversial right-to-work law.

Last week, Dane County Circuit Court Judge William Foust ruled that the law violates the state constitution by requiring unions to provide services to members who don’t pay dues.

On Monday, Schimel appealed Foust’s decision. He also asked the District 3 Circuit Court of Appeals for a stay of Foust’s decision, which would keep the law in place while legal proceedings continue.

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In a prepared statement, Schimel said he’s confident that Wisconsin’s law will be upheld “given that 25 others states have right-to-work laws and none of those have been declared unconstitutional.”

Opponents to the right-to-work law say it denies workers their rights.

“The state should be focusing on creating jobs, raising wages and increasing economic opportunity for workers, not playing partisan politics with the freedom for workers to stick together and have each other’s backs in the workplace,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, in a prepared statement. “If we want a strong economy, we should be strengthening unions so that workers can continue to collectively negotiate better workplaces for future generations.”

While the case isn’t there yet, the final say on the law would ultimately rest with the state Supreme Court, where conservatives hold a 5-2 majority.

Gov. Scott Walker signed the right-to-work law roughly a year ago.