Where Falk and Barrett differ is not as much in their ultimate policy aims, but in their approaches.
Falk entered the race in mid-January, almost the instant the deadline for turning in recall signatures passed. She quickly declared her intention to fully restore all aspects of public collective bargaining that Republicans had repealed.
She sought and won the endorsements or recommendations of a slew of labor organizations, including the largest public employee unions - AFSCME, SEIU, WEAC. Falk even went so far as to sign a "veto pledge" to turn back any state budget that arrived on her desk without restoring collective bargaining in full.
Barrett, by contrast, waited... and waited... to get into the race, entering more than two months later on March 30 and just days before being re-elected as mayor of Milwaukee.
Barrett eased into the question of collective bargaining, refused to sign any such veto pledge, and while he has more recently said he would work to restore collective bargaining, he would do it in measures, not in one fell swoop.
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