Whether mingling on small-town streets, giving radio interviews or appearing at union hall rallies, Wisconsin candidate Mary Burke speaks in measured tones, saying little that stirs the old partisan passions.

DFL-aligned spending groups marshal their forces.

The Harris v. Quinn decision will be felt in Minnesota, where two labor groups are working to organize both home care workers and in-home day care workers through a union election.

Monday’s opinion reflects how unions’ political power has diminished since 1977.

Working to rule, strikes, lifetime employment, and seniority-based employment have no place in mission-critical places like public schools.

No bill has faced a more tortuous path this legislative session than a proposal to allow child care workers and personal care assistants to unionize.

Union leaders say they are moving full speed ahead with their legislative agenda this year, despite recent comments from Senate Majority Leader Tom Bakk that many issues on their wish list will not pass this session.

The path through any budget session leads to a negotiating table at which the governor and legislative leaders work out the most politically palatable taxing and spending deal they can muster. But the budget is never the only game in town. Before the session endgame gets played out, a network of committees will play host to various and sundry dramas involving policy issues before state government.

Republican Sen. Dave Thompson said Thursday he expects to introduce a right-to-work constitutional amendment in "the next week or two."

Four Republican lawmakers are proposing a bill that will stop 500 University of Wisconsin staff members being forced to join labor unions.