Wisconsin Steps Forward For liberty

Yesterday, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed into law a bill limiting the monopoly bargaining power of government-sector union bosses and providing the Right to Work for most government workers.

Your action was critical in making sure Governor Walker did not back down to Big Labor.

Amid reports this week that Governor Walker was willing to compromise on the bill, tens of thousands of your signed petitions were on their way to Madison to be hand-delivered to Governor Walker's office by my staff.

You showed Governor Walker that concerned citizens are paying attention and expect officials who were elected in November to follow through on their pledges to protect the taxpayers and curtail the special privileges and powers of the union hierarchy.

I had been particularly troubled in the last week by reports that Governor Walker could cave in to Big Labor on the parts of the bill dealing with forced dues.

As liberal blogger Mickey Kaus explained, the union bosses -- and their fleeing allies in the State Senate -- would never accept any bill prohibiting government unions from seizing union dues straight from workers' paychecks.

"[T]he elimination of the mandatory dues checkoff," Kaus continued, "is what really terrifies unions, because it might dry up the political funds they use to elect candidates." Kaus concludes, "this political spending power is more important to the unions even than collective bargaining power."

He's right. It IS about forced dues.

That's why Big Labor and Democrats used the exact same tactics in Indiana -- fleeing the state to shut down the legislature -- even though the proposed bill was simply a Right to Work law that would have guaranteed that no Hoosier (with an unseemly exception for construction workers) could be required to join or pay dues to a union as a condition of employment.

But by the end of the week, Governor Walker stood strong, unlike Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, who gave in to the union bosses' demands to pull the Right to Work bill.

Now Big Labor is even threatening "recall" elections against Wisconsin Republicans.

After all, that's exactly why the government-sector union operatives want forced dues powers -- they want to elect their own bosses.

But this week, the union bosses lost. Thank you again for your action.

I know I can continue to count on you as we press forward to fight for Right to Work laws in New Hampshire, Missouri, and other forced unionism states, as well as votes in Congress on the National Right to Work Act.

Stay tuned.

Sincerely,