A Wisconsin judge ruled late yesterday that the temporary restraining order is still in force for the law that guts collective bargaining for public employees-despite Gov. Scott Walker’s defiance of the judge’s initial ruling. On Friday, Walker published the law, and Republican state lawmakers said that with its publication, the bill went into effect. This from the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO:

Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi said the actions of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and his cronies put them “in peril of sanctions” and served to “jeopardize stability of [the] state.” Sumi ruled that the temporary restraining order is still in effect and barred any and all implementation of the bill harming Wisconsin families.

The court room was full of twist and turns as Secretary of State Doug La Follette was given the right to independent counsel and it was revealed that the Legislative Reference Bureau was pressured into publishing the law by Sen. Fitzgerald. Testimony will resume Friday when the hearing is scheduled to conclude.

“Gov. Walker seems to think he’s a dictator who can ignore the laws of Wisconsin or trample of the rights of our workers in pursuit of his extreme overreach for absolute power,” said Phil Neuenfeldt, president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO. “By attempting to unilaterally publish a bill and implement it as law in the face of a court order to the contrary shows Walker and his cronies completely unfit to govern the state of Wisconsin.”

La Follette explained the situation in detail last night on “The Rachel Maddow Show.” Watch it.

AFL-CIO Now Blog, Wed Mar 30 2011
Byline: Tula Connell