Friday, March 18, 2011

WI: 'Strangers high-fiving in courthouse elevator'

The news is spreading like wildfire and people are thrilled (for now). Tweets @legaleagle:
Strangers high-fiving in courthouse elevator. #wiunion #thankyoujudgesumi”
@techpr tweets:
The #wiunion happy hour's gonna be even sweeter now. 5pm at Rotunda, pub crawl from there.
Here's what Tom Bennett, president of Teamsters Local 200 in Milwaukee, had to say in an email message:

Sumi’s order will prevent Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law until she can rule on the merits of the case. Dane County Ismael Ozanne is seeking to block the law because he says a legislative committee violated the state’s open meetings law.

Sumi said Ozanne was likely to succeed on the merits.
"It seems to me the public policy behind effective enforcement of the open meeting law is so strong that it does outweigh the interest, at least at this time, which may exist in favor of sustaining the validity of the (law)," she said.
The judge’s finding – at least for now – is a setback to Republican Gov. Scott Walker and a victory for opponents, who have spent weeks in the Capitol to protest the bill.

Rep. Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) said he was pleased with the judge's ruling.

"I am very pleased with her action," Barca said. "We felt from the beginning this was a violation of the open meetings law. And now we go on from here."

It is a positive step in the right direction to let the Wisconsin working middle-class families understand that rights do matter. Brothers and Sisters took to the streets of Madison to be heard, then others outside Organized Labor joined with us because our values understand right from wrong. Building off today's decision cannot be shorted lived, it is the catalyst to keep the battle moving.
UPDATE: And this from Danny McGowan, political director for Local 662 in Eau Claire:
This is a small victory for the public employees in Wisconsin but it is better than nothing. The Republican lawmakers will still try and get this bill through one way or the other. The working middle class in Wisconsin now needs to get the eight republican senators and Governor Walker recalled and elect individuals that will listen to the people instead of silencing them.
Then and only then will we be able to right the injustice that is being imposed on Wisconsin workers.And some good tweeted advice from @WI_Outrage

Also, campaign for Kloppenburg, because we need good judges. RT @JustPlainTiredO Put that energy into the recall effort! #wiunion
The jsonline offers this