Opening the door for full collective bargaining rights for public sector workers
MADISON, WI – On December 2, 2024, Dane County Judge Jacob Frost issued a significant ruling, declaring key provisions of Wisconsin’s Act 10 of 2011 unconstitutional. This decision follows a July 2024 ruling in which the court denied a Motion to Dismiss a case filed by several public sector unions, including AFSCME locals, SEIU Wisconsin, the TAA, AFT, the Abbotsford Education Association, and IBT Local 695.
In the July ruling, the Court found that Act 10 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Wisconsin Constitution. The Court determined that the disparate treatment of different categories of employees, namely general employees and public safety employees, could not survive constitutional scrutiny. Specifically, the Court ruled that there was no rational basis for the state legislature to define “public safety” or “protective occupation participants” in a manner that granted collective bargaining protections to one group while denying these rights to others.
The new ruling by Judge Frost reaffirmed these findings. This opens the door for certified units of public sector employees, who have been prohibited from engaging in full collective bargaining since 2011, to potentially regain those rights. Both parties involved in the case anticipate an appeal to the decision and going all the way to the state supreme court.
In response to the news, UW-Madison School for Workers Associate Professor Alexia Kulwiec said, “While the final outcome of this case remains uncertain, pending further legal developments, this decision marks a critical step forward in restoring workers’ rights in Wisconsin.”
For more information, please contact the UW-Madison School for Workers.
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Contact:
UW-Madison School for Workers
phone: 608-262-2112
Email: schoolforworkers@dcs.wsic.edu