F%$# Scott Walker

One of the lasting legacies of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, the infamous ACT 10, which essentially banned unions for government workers (except for cops and firemen) in Wisconsin, has been struck down.

It turns out that the exception for cops and firemen, who were given said exemption because they endorsed Walker, was not sufficiently defined, and the statute could not stand without that:

A Dane County judge on Monday sent ripples through Wisconsin's political landscape, overturning a 13-year-old law that banned most collective bargaining among public employees, consequently decimating the size and power of employee unions and turning then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker into a nationally known political figure.

The effort to overturn Act 10 began in November 2023 when several unions representing public employees filed the lawsuit, citing a "dire situation" in workplaces with issues including low pay, staffing shortages and poor working conditions.

In July, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost ruled provisions of Act 10 unconstitutional and denied a motion filed by the Republican-controlled Legislature to dismiss the case.

The lawsuit argued the 2011 law violated equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into two classes: "general" and "public safety" employees. Public safety employees are exempt from the collective bargaining limitations imposed on "general" public employees.

Frost agreed. He said he couldn't sever Act 10's definition of "public safety employee," which he said is "irrational and violates the right to equal protection of the laws," and also keep the rest of Act 10 intact.

"I cannot solve Act 10's constitutional problems by striking the definition of 'public safety employee,' leaving the term undefined and leaving the remainder of the law in place," wrote Frost in Monday's ruling.

Frost added that "Act 10 as written by the Legislature specifically and narrowly defines 'public safety employee.' It is that definition which is unconstitutional. The Legislature cites no precedent for this bold argument that I should simply strike the unlawful definition but leave it to an agency and the courts to later define as they see fit. I am unaware of any such precedent (...)."

In the earlier ruling on the motion to dismiss the case, Frost pointed out the law treats different groups of public safety employees differently.

"Nobody could provide this Court an explanation that reasonably showed why municipal police and fire and State Troopers are considered public safety employees, but Capitol Police, UW Police and conservation wardens, who have the same authority and do the same work, are not," Frost said.

The law was all about political payback, and while I understand why Judge Frost was disinclined to state reality, that is the reality.

The law was a corrupt political and electoral thing, and the fact that it has been overturned is a good thing.

H/t Lawyers, Guns & Money.