Unions file lawsuit challenging Wisconsin’s Act 10

Seven unions representing Wisconsin public employees have filed a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state law which eliminated the freedom to engage in collective bargaining for most public sector workers.

Plaintiffs include the Abbotsford Education Association (WEAC/NEA), AFSCME Local 47, AFSCME Local 1215, Beaver Dam Education Association (WEAC/NEA), SEIU Wisconsin, Teaching Assistants Association (TAA/AFT) Local 3220 and Teamsters Local 695.

A 2011 law known as Act 10 that ended collective bargaining for most public employee unions in Wisconsin has withstood numerous legal challenges. Consideration of the law sparked numerous large protests in Madison and elsewhere in Wisconsin. The law limits collective bargaining to wage increases no larger than the rate of inflation, requires annual votes to recertify public employee unions and eliminates automatic contributions for union dues.

The law applies to most, but not all public employee unions. The lawsuit filed Nov. 30 in Dane County Circuit Court alleges that Act 10’s exemption of some police, firefighters and other public safety workers from the bargaining restrictions violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s equal protection guarantee.