Over at Pointoflaw.com, Adam Freedman describes Judge Juan Colas' opinion striking down the Wisconsin collective bargaining reforms of Scott Walker as "a thinly veiled piece of judicial activism." The heart of the decision, writes Freedman:
... appears to be this single sentence on page 15: "Although the statutes do not prohibit speech or associational activities, the statutes do impose burdens on employees' exercise of those rights when they do so for the purpose of recognition of their association as an exclusive bargaining agent."
By this reasoning, right to work laws are inherently unconstitutional, too, because the judge sees employees rights to be free to join, or not join, a municipal union, as a burden rather than a freedom. Right to work laws have been held constitutional, of course, and let's bet that a higher court overturns this decision. The actual judge's ruling is here.
Join the conversation