Wis. Unions Rush Deals Ahead Of Bargaining Law SoS Said He Put It Off Until Latest Day Possible

[L. Coyote]

Wis. Unions Rush Deals Ahead Of Bargaining Law
Secretary Of State Said He Put It Off Until Latest Day Possible
SCOTT BAUER, Associated Press
POSTED: 9:39 am PDT March 14, 2011
http://www.ktvz.com/politics/27189532/detail.html

MADISON, Wis. -- School boards and local governments across Wisconsin are rushing to reach agreements with unions before a new law takes effect and erases their ability to collectively bargain over nearly all issues other than minimal salary increases.

The law doesn't go into effect until the day after Secretary of State Doug La Follette publishes it and it doesn't supersede contracts already in place, fueling unions' desire to reach new deals quickly. La Follette said Monday that he will delay publication until the latest day possible, March 25, to give local governments time to try to reach agreements.

Republican Gov. Scott Walker had asked La Follette to publish the law Monday, but the Democratic secretary of state said he didn't see any emergency that warranted doing so. La Follette opposed the bill and said he sat in his office watching parts of a weekend protest that brought as many as 100,000 people out in opposition to the law.

"This is the biggest change in Wisconsin labor management history in 50 years," La Follette said, describing his reasoning for holding off on its enactment. .............