After more than three years of litigation, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld Act 10, the 2011 law repealing most union bargaining rights for most public employees. The lawsuit challenging the law was brought by a union representing Milwaukee’s public workers and the Madison teachers union, which argued that Act 10 violated workers’ constitutional rights to free assembly and equal protection.
The law was upheld on a 5-2 vote. Justices ruling in the majority were David Prosser, Patience Roggensack, Annette Ziegler, Patrick Crooks, and Michael Gableman, who wrote the lead opinion: “No matter the limitations or ‘burdens’ a legislative enactment places on the collective bargaining process, collective bargaining remains a creation of legislative grace and not constitutional obligation. The First Amendment cannot be used as a vehicle to expand the parameters of a benefit that it does not itself protect.”
Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson dissented.
The ruling is seen as a political victory for Gov. Scott Walker, who responded, “Act 10 has saved Wisconsin taxpayers more than $3 billion. Today’s ruling is a victory for those hard-working taxpayers.”
Act 10 bars automatic withdrawals from union members’ paychecks, requires annual elections allowing members to decide whether they want to continue their union membership, and requires public employees to contribute more toward their health insurance and pension costs.
Prior to the ruling, the law suffered setbacks in several trial courts, but it was upheld on every appeal.
