MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A judge’s repeal of Wisconsin’s 13-year-old law that effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers and most state government employees has reignited a fight over labor rights in a state where the country’s first unions public sector were founded 65 years ago.
But before the unions return to the negotiating table, further legal disputes await. Here are five things you should know about the law, the current challenge and what’s next:
What is the fight about?
At its core, the fight is over whether tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, prison guards and other state government employees can negotiate their working conditions and salaries.
The law, known as Law 10, was enacted in 2011 and limits negotiations to wage increases no higher than the rate of inflation. This means that other issues such as benefits, safety and working conditions, and vacation are non-negotiable.
The law also requires each public sector union to vote annually on whether to maintain its own certification. To pass, at least 51% of each union’s members must vote “yes,” not just 51% of those eligible to vote.
Union members also had to pay more for their benefits, which reduced their take-home pay and effectively resulted in a pay cut.
Supporters say the law has saved school districts and local governments billions of dollars. Opponents say the law has brought unions that have traditionally supported Democrats to their knees and hurt morale and income.
The law’s passage cleared the way for lawmakers to pass a so-called “right to work” law in 2015 that constrained the power of unions in the private sector.
Who was and is behind Act 10?
Then-Governor Scott Walker introduced the proposal shortly after taking office in 2011. That sparked weeks of massive protests, a strike by Democratic state senators in a failed attempt to block passage of the law, and recall elections that targeted Walker and the Republicans who voted for it.
The fight placed Wisconsin at the center of the fight for union rights in the United States. Walker gained attention, survived the 2012 recall attempt and then launched a campaign for president a few years later. However, he dropped out in the fall of 2015 as support for Donald Trump grew.
The battle lines are largely the same then and now. The law is opposed by Democrats and unions. It is supported by Republicans, conservative groups and powerful organizations like Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in Wisconsin.
Haven’t the courts already sorted this out?
Numerous lawsuits challenging the law have been filed in state and federal courts. None of them have succeeded so far.
The latest lawsuit was filed last year by seven unions representing teachers and other public workers, as well as three individuals.
This lawsuit alleges that exempting some police officers, firefighters and other public safety employees from Act 10’s bargaining restrictions violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection.
A similar argument was made in a federal lawsuit alleging that Act 10 violated the U.S. Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection. But a federal appeals court said in 2013 that the state was free to draw a line between public safety and other unions, and ruled again the following year that the law was constitutional.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court also upheld the law as constitutional in 2014, dismissing a lawsuit filed by Milwaukee teachers and public officials. Different arguments were made in this case than in the current lawsuit. And in 2019, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit from two branches of the International Union of Operating Engineers that argued the law violated freedom of speech and association under the First Amendment.
What are people saying about this latest challenge?
Walker, whose legacy is largely defined by his fight with unions, described the administration as “brazen political activism.”
The judge who struck down the law, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost, was appointed by Wisconsin’s current governor, Democrat Tony Evers. It also appears that Frost signed the petition to recall Walker.
Republican leaders in the Legislature echoed Walker’s comments, condemning the ruling and calling Frost an “activist.”
Evers called the decision “great news” and said, “I have always believed that workers should have a seat at the table when making decisions that affect their daily lives and livelihoods.”
Unions welcomed the ruling, while conservative groups warned that repealing the law would dramatically boost costs for local governments and lead to service cuts and tax increases.
What happens next?
Lawmakers have appealed the case. This would typically result in the case being sent to the state appeals court, unless the unions ask the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take the case directly.
Opponents of the law want the state Supreme Court to hear the case while it is controlled 4-3 by liberal justices. An election in April will decide whether the Liberals retain control or hand the court back to the Conservatives, who ruled there from before Law 10 was passed until 2023. The newly elected judge will begin work next August.
Even if the current court accepts the case, it is unclear which justices would hear it.
Judge Janet Protasiewicz, whose victory last year gave the Liberals a majority, said during her campaign that she believes Law 10 is unconstitutional. She also said she would consider recusing herself from any case challenging the law. Protasiewicz took part in protests against the law and signed the petition to recall Walker.
Conservative Judge Brian Hagedorn was Walker’s chief legal adviser and helped draft the Act 10 law. But during his successful run for the court in 2015, Hagedorn did not promise to recuse himself if a case against Act 10 went to trial.
