Author: Scott Bauer

Wisconsin’s labor battle: Where Act 10 stands now that the collective bargaining law is overturned

A judge’s overturning of Wisconsin’s 13-year-old law that effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers and most state government employees has rekindled a battle over labor rights in a state where the first public sector unions were formed 65 years ago. But before unions head back to the bargaining table, more legal fights await. Here are five things to know about the law, the current challenge and what happens next: WHAT IS THE FIGHT ABOUT? At its core, the battle is over whether tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, prison guards and other state government employees can bargain over their...

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Voting logistics: How Milwaukee’s new election chief plans to keep 180 polling sites running smoothly

As election officials across the country boost security ahead of November’s election, the leader of one of the most intensely scrutinized offices in a presidential swing state said it’s not personal threats or worries about conflicts at the polls that keep her up at night. It is the little things that could loom large once voting begins, the day-to-day logistics of making sure everything runs smoothly at 180 polling sites in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest city, from ensuring there are enough ballots to having a sufficient number of poll workers. “Being a new election administrator is a big challenge,” Paulina...

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Wisconsin voters will put Trump’s endorsements to the test when deciding key primary candidates

The power of an endorsement by former President and convicted felon Donald Trump in battleground Wisconsin will be tested in a race for an open congressional seat in the August 13 primary, when voters also will officially set the field for the state’s closely watched U.S. Senate race. Voters will choose a Democratic candidate to take on a first-term Republican who captured a western Wisconsin congressional district after a generation under Democratic control. Two constitutional amendments passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature that would take power away from the governor also are on the ballot. The election is the state’s...

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March route altered after federal judge rules “family-friendly” protest cannot enter RNC security zone

A federal judge ruled on July 8 that protesters cannot march through a security zone at the Republican National Convention, handing a defeat to liberals who had pushed to have closer access to where delegates will gather in Milwaukee. The American Civil Liberties Union and the Coalition to March on the RNC 2024 filed a lawsuit last month against the city of Milwaukee, alleging that the city’s plans for protesters violated their free speech rights. They had asked the judge to order that the city design a protest parade route that is within sight and hearing of the Fiserv...

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2020 fake electors: Attorney General Kaul files felony charges against Trump’s Wisconsin conspirators

Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul filed felony forgery charges Tuesday against two attorneys and an aide who helped submit paperwork falsely saying that former President Donald Trump had won the battleground state in 2020. The state charges are the first to come in Wisconsin and follow separate charges brought in Arizona, Michigan, Nevada, and Georgia related to the fake electors scheme. Democratic Governor Tony Evers offered a one-word response to news of the charges being filed: “Good.” The Wisconsin charges were filed against Trump’s attorney in the state, Jim Troupis, 62, attorney Kenneth Chesebro, 62, who was advising the...

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Fight over union rights: Wisconsin lawsuit seeks to overturn Act 10 and restore collective bargaining

Unions for public workers and teachers argued on May 28 that their lawsuit seeking to strike down a Wisconsin law, that drew massive protests and made the state the center of a national fight over union rights, should be allowed to proceed. It is the first challenge to the law known as Act 10 since Wisconsin’s Supreme Court flipped to liberal control last year. Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost questioned on May 28 whether there was another remedy to address alleged problems with the law short of striking it down. He did not rule from the bench and...

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