Politics

Walker signs bill stripping unions of collective bargaining rights

Vince Coglianese Contributor
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Gov. Scott Walker signed a bill Friday that takes away most collective bargaining for state employees.

The state Assembly passed the bill Thursday after the Senate approved it Wednesday without 14 AWOL Democrats. The vote in the Senate followed more than three weeks of dramatic protests that clogged the streets, hallways and meeting rooms of the Capitol.

Walker has notified public employee unions that he’s rescinding notices he sent last week that could have resulted in 1,500 layoffs. Walker said the layoffs would not be necessary since the bill, which includes $30 million in concessions from state employees, had passed.