Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) has signed his bill curtailing public employee unions in to law, following a month-long political struggle in the state that saw Democratic legislators fleeing the state, massive protests, and a last-minute parliamentary end-run in order to get the measure passed.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:
He signed the bill in the morning and will hold a ceremony and press conference later in the day to tout the signing.
Walker also is planning a press conference to talk about the tumultuous past few weeks. On Friday morning, Walker directed two state agencies to rescind layoff notices because the Legislature had passed the bill.
As TPM has previously reported, this is likely far from the end of the story in Wisconsin — with a new series of political battles set to begin. Democrats have pledged to quickly recall the Republican members of the state Senate who are eligible, under the state law requiring at least one year of a term to be completed, and then to go after Walker next year. In addition, the union bill itself could potentially result in strikes or other labor unrest, in a state where unions have played a major role in the political culture.
Eric Kleefeld
Eric Kleefeld joined TPM as an intern for the final months of the 2006 midterm elections, and then kept showing up for work. His other interests include guitars, old comic books and the politics of various English-speaking countries.
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