Walker says he won’t push right-to-work

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker said Thursday he was not going to push for any right-to-work legislation similar to the law recently approved in Michigan.

Walker made his comments in response to a question from a union member, while visiting a manufacturing facility in New Richmond.

Right-to-work efforts limit the power of unions and don’t allow unions to force employees to join or compel them to pay dues.

Walker stopped at Bosch Packaging Technologies in New Richmond for an hour-long visit, one in a series of what Walker’s office calls a “Talk with Walker” event. Bosch employees were gathered in chairs on the production floor where Walker had “a conversation with employees about the future of Wisconsin.”

Walker said he didn’t want to pursue any hot-button topics that would pull the attention away from his top five priorities.

“That would be a large distraction from the five priorities we have,” he said.

Walker said his priorities are:

— Creating jobs.

— Developing the state’s workforce.

— Transforming education.

— Reforming government.

— Making investments in the state’s infrastructure.

During the upcoming session of the legislature, the Republican governor said he would also encourage all legislators to stay away from issues like same-day voter registration and immigration that would detract from the more important business at hand — turning the state’s economy around.

He told the crowd he’d learned a lesson over the past two years, referring to the protests that erupted after the Act 10 legislation was signed into law. Walker said the firestorm that ensued, along with the recall efforts statewide, didn’t serve the state well. He said employers were hesitant to expand or hire more employees because of the uncertainty in the state, and employees were frustrated by the mess.

“I don’t want to go through that again,” Walker said.

Other questions from the audience centered around economic development efforts, educational excellence and reciprocity agreements between Wisconsin and Minnesota.

During the upcoming legislative session, Walker said he wanted unions to be “partners” in the effort to strengthen Wisconsin’s economy and map a course for a brighter future.

Tags: news, labor, politics