A Victory for Curbs on Public Worker Unions

Republican Gov. Scott Walker's convincing win Tuesday in Wisconsin was not just a victory for the governor himself, but a major triumph for conservatives in the fight to curb public employee unions. For the country's sake, however, it will be far better if this struggle remains a fight rather than all-out war. In the run-up to Election Day, the Wisconsin recall vote was widely touted on the right as the second most important election of 2012. It was ignited when Walker pushed through a budget repair bill to curb the public employee unions. One key provision prohibited the unions from engaging in collective bargaining about anything other than pay (firefighters and police were exempted). Another provision said that a civil servant can no longer be forced to join a union and pay dues; there must be freedom of choice.