AFT-Wisconsin: “A slap in the face to the democratic process”
3/7/2008
Jill Malak, Public Relations Representative
608-662-1444 ext 222
608-770-0498
Assembly leadership continues to stonewall Collective Bargaining Rights Bill
Madison, Wis – The Collective Bargaining Rights Bill came up against a hurdle in the Wisconsin State Assembly yesterday as an effort to bring the bill up for debate on the floor of the Assembly was defeated along party lines. The vote comes after months of stalling in committee by Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), who has refused to hold a hearing on the bill.
Although the vast majority of public- and private- sector employees in Wisconsin have the right to vote on whether they would like to be represented by collective bargaining, this basic right is presently denied to over 17,000 UW faculty and academic staff. Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay) and Representative Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee) have introduced Senate Bill 353 and Assembly Bill 726 to extend to academic staff and faculty this fundamental right.
Recognizing the right to decide on collective bargaining as a fundamental human right, the Wisconsin State Senate gave SB-353 wide bipartisan support, passing it recently in a bipartisan floor vote of 21-12.
Unfortunately, AB-726 has been bottlenecked in the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities, where the committee chairman, Rep. Steve Nass, has refused to even hold a hearing on the bill, despite bipartisan requests for action. AB-726 is the only bill assigned to the Assembly Committee on Colleges and Universities that Chairman Nass refuses to hear despite repeated requests from bill sponsors.
AB-726 received another blow in the Assembly yesterday when a motion to debate the bill was put forth by Rep. Richards, and was defeated along party lines. Had the motion passed, AB-726 would have been brought to the floor of the Assembly, where it would have received a full vote.
According to Bryan Kennedy, president of AFT-Wisconsin, AB-726 would have likely passed a floor vote in the Assembly. “The Collective Bargaining Rights bill is a very basic issue of fairness that is supported across the state and across party lines. We have the support we need in the Assembly for this bill to pass, and it’s a disgrace that the Assembly leadership refuses to let those voices be heard. It’s a slap in the face to the democratic process.”
Referring to the quashed motion to debate, Ray Spoto, former president of The Association of UW Professionals (TAUWP, AFT-Wisconsin Local 3535), commented, “The Assembly had the opportunity to right a wrong that has plagued the great State of Wisconsin for decades. Instead, the Republican caucus chose to play politics with a bill that would extend a basic human right to thousands by continuing to hold AB-726 hostage.”
http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=120268