Former union head: Loss of collective bargaining hurts workplace harmony
Updated
John Matthews, head of Madison Teachers Inc., listens to arguments in the union's lawsuit against then-Gov. Scott Walker's administration in the state Supreme Court on Nov. 11, 2013. The court ruled Act 10 did not violate workers' constitutional rights.
The most seismic political story of the last decade in Wisconsin began on Feb. 7, 2011, when Republican Gov. Scott Walker informed a gathering of cabinet members of plans to unilaterally roll back the power of public sector unions in the state. He "dropped the bomb," as Walker would describe it afterward, four days later.
The audacious proposal, to be known forever after as Act 10, required public employees to pay more for pension and health insurance benefits, but also banned most subjects of collective bargaining and placed obstacles to maintaining union membership.
The most seismic political story of the last decade in Wisconsin began on Feb. 7, 2011, when Republican Gov. Scott Walker informed a gathering…
John Matthews, head of Madison Teachers Inc., listens to arguments in the union's lawsuit against then-Gov. Scott Walker's administration in the state Supreme Court on Nov. 11, 2013. The court ruled Act 10 did not violate workers' constitutional rights.
