A new poll released Thursday showing overwhelming support for right-to-work legislation in Wisconsin ignited conversation amongst legislators on whether or not to pursue the legislation during the Legislature’s current session.
The poll, conducted by The Tarrance Group, a Virginia-based, Republican polling firm, found that 69 percent of voters support allowing workers the ability to decide whether or not to join a labor union, including 51 percent of union households. The Tarrance Group surveyed 503 registered voters last month and reported a margin of error of plus or minus 4.5 points.
Right-to-work legislation had broad support across the political spectrum. According to the poll, Republicans, ticket-splitters and Democrats are supporting the legislation at 91, 76 and 48 percent, respectively.
"This is one of the best possible times to pursue passage of right to work legislation," said Brian Nienaber, The Tarrance Group vice president, in a Thursday statement. "There is a majority agreement that crosses notable demographic lines in support of right to work legislation."
The release of the new poll poses a dilemma for state Republicans. While Gov. Scott Walker called right-to-work legislation a “distraction,” earlier this month, state Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, said in a Thursday statement he still wants to gather information on the issue with his caucus.
"He [Fitzgerald] hasn't really taken a position on whether he thinks there's enough support in the caucus," said Myranda Tanck, Fitzgerald's communications director. "We kind of have to gather more information on what right-to-work would even look like in Wisconsin."
Though Fitzgerald acknowledges Walker's reluctance to pass right-to-work legislation, Fitzgerald "has not been asked by the governor not to pursue the issue at this time," Tanck said.
"With broad support throughout the state, it would be a missed opportunity to leave the workplace freedom debate out of that equation," Fitzgerald said in a Thursday statement.
On the other side of the state Legislature, the Assembly introduced a proposal to repeal the prevailing wage, which often leads to a higher wage scale for public sector workers.
