The Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld Wisconsin governor Scott Walker’s controversial collective bargaining law Tuesday, overruling a lower court which had blocked implementation of the measure.
In a 4-3 decision, the court ruled a lower court judge had improperly interfered in the legislative process when she overturned the law. The opinion voids all orders in the case from the lower court.
Mr. Walker, a Republican, said the latest ruling reaffirms the public’s support for limiting collective bargaining rights. “The Supreme Court’s ruling provides our state the opportunity to move forward together and focus on getting Wisconsin working again,” Mr. Walker said.
Mr. Walker claimed that the law, which requires public employees to pay more for their health care and pensions, was necessary in order to help address the state’s $3.6 billion budget shortfall and give local governments enough flexibility to contain labor costs.
Wisconsin legislative leaders had said they would move forward with an attempt to insert limits on collective bargaining into the state budget late Tuesday if the court had not issued a ruling.
The court ruling, which examined whether Wisconsin Republicans had violated state law by passing the measure while Democrats remained outside of the state, said lawmakers had acted in good faith and that the measure’s passage was constitutional.
“We conclude that the Legislature did not violate the Wisconsin Constitution by the process it used,” the ruling said.
