WILL Files Brief In Support of Right to Work Law, Union Members
Union members want the choice to not belong to the union
May 11, 2015 – Milwaukee, WI – The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty, on behalf of several Wisconsin workers and the National Federation of Independent Business has filed an Amici Curiae brief in Machinists Local Lodge 1061 v. Scott Walker arguing that Wisconsin workers should be free from compulsory union membership and in support of Wisconsin’s recently passed Right to Work law which affirms that right.
Wisconsin’s Right to Work law (2015 Act 1) was enacted to ensure worker freedom from compulsory union membership as a condition of employment.
Prior to the new state law, union membership could be made mandatory as a condition of employment; a union having exclusive representation and bargaining rights with a company, under the force of law, could compel employees to pay union dues, to have their benefits and wages determined on their behalf, and to be exclusively represented by the union in a grievance with an employer.
In conjunction with the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, WILL attorneys assert that if the union plaintiffs are successful in their suit to invalidate Act 1, current union members who wish not to pay dues and otherwise be represented by the union, would be compelled to associate with and support the union against their will, raising substantial First Amendment concerns. The argument advanced by the union plaintiffs, that Act 1 deprives them of a property right because they can no longer force employees to pay them dues, has never been accepted by any court in the country.
In their brief in support of the State of Wisconsin’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, WILL and NRTW point out that, “Employees have substantial personal and financial interests in securing and preserving the freedoms and benefits Act 1 provides. Wisconsin’s new Right to Work law protects their rights of free speech and association and allows them and other employees to choose whether to associate freely with and financially support a union[.]”
WILL President and General Counsel Rick Esenberg noted, “Based upon the previous rulings of other courts that have reviewed Right to Work laws, we are confident that Act 1 will withstand legal scrutiny. These laws are well-established and this case presents no new compelling arguments.”
A copy of AMICI CURIAE BRIEF OF RANDY DARTY, TODD MOMBERG, DANIEL SARAUER, DANIEL ZASTROW, AND THE NATIONAL FEDERATION OF INDEPENDENT BUSINESS SMALL BUSINESS LEGAL CENTER IN SUPPORT OF THE STATE’S MOTION TO DISMISS can be found here.