Walker Says Legislature Shouldn’t Focus On Right-To-Work Bill Next Session

Gov. Scott Walker said on Wednesday that he hopes legislative leaders will focus on his agenda next year, and not on a bill that would make Wisconsin a right-to-work state.

Right-to-work laws ban mandatory union shops in the private sector. There have been some recent indications that there’s interest in getting such a law passed in Wisconsin: A conservative activist formed a right-to-work advocacy group earlier this week, and a rank-and-file GOP lawmaker said he’d introduce a right-to-work bill next year.

Walker told reporters in Milwaukee he understood that legislative leaders could not control every one of their members. However, the governor said right-to-work was not part of his agenda.

“As I said before the election and have said repeatedly over the last few years, I just think right-to-work legislation right now, as well as reopening Act 10 to make any other adjustments, would be a distraction from the work that we’re trying to do,” said Walker.

Walker said his agenda included reforming taxes, education, regulations and entitlements.

While some conservatives have said that a right-to-work law could help the state’s economy, Walker downplayed those economic benefits. He said that states with right-to-work laws have other policies that play a larger role in economic growth, like “a much lower tax burden — in some cases no income tax, other cases much lower — a much more favorable regulatory climate, (and) other factors.”

Listen to Walker’s comments in their entirety here.