MADISON, Wis. — The state Supreme Court handed Republican Gov. Scott Walker a major victory Tuesday, ruling that a union law stripping most public employees of their collective-bargaining rights could take effect.
In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi overstepped her authority when she said Republican lawmakers violated the state’s open-meetings statutes in the run-up to passage of the legislation and declared the law void.
The law, which also requires public employees to pay more for their health care and pensions, sparked weeks of protests when Walker introduced it in February. Tens of thousands of demonstrators occupied the state Capitol during that time, and Democratic senators fled the state to prevent a vote, thrusting Wisconsin to the forefront of a national debate over labor rights.
In a one-sentence reaction to the ruling, the governor said: “The Supreme Court’s ruling provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again.”
Walker has said the law was needed to help address the state’s $3.6 billion budget shortfall and to give local governments enough flexibility on labor costs to deal with deep cuts to state aid. Democrats saw it as an attack on public-employee unions, which usually back their party’s candidates.
The Supreme Court’s ruling will probably be the precursor to an avalanche of lawsuits and legal challenges that couldn’t be brought until the law took effect.
The decision came just hours before the Wisconsin Assembly, the state Legislature’s lower house, was expected to begin debating the state budget.
