MADISON, Wis. (Keynote USA) — A law that sparked mass protests and made Wisconsin the center of a national fight for union rights returned to court Tuesday, facing a new challenge from teachers and public workers filed after the Court State Supreme Court will change to liberal control.
The 2011 law, known as Law 10, imposed a near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees. It has withstood numerous legal challenges and was the signature legislative achievement of former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who used it to mount a presidential bid.
The law catapulted Walker to the national stage, sparked an unsuccessful recall campaign, and laid the groundwork for his failed 2016 presidential bid. It also led to a dramatic decline in union membership across the state.
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If the latest lawsuit is successful, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would regain it. They would be treated the same as police, firefighters and other public safety unions that remain exempt.
The law is “fundamentally unequal,” irrational and unconstitutional, the unions argue in court documents.
The Republican-controlled Legislature is calling for the case to be dismissed, arguing that “it has long been ruled that Act 10 passes constitutional muster.” Dane County Circuit Judge Jakob Frost scheduled arguments on the motion to dismiss for Tuesday.
The Legislature also argues that unions waited too long to file the challenge, noting that the law has been in effect for nearly 13 years and survived challenges in state and federal courts.
The lawsuit says the exemptions for firefighters and other public safety workers are unconstitutional, similar to arguments made in an earlier case brought by Milwaukee teachers and public workers that was rejected in 2014 by the state Supreme Court.
The only change since the 2014 Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling is the makeup of the court, attorneys for the Legislature said in court papers.
“And that is certainly no reason for any Wisconsin court to depart from that precedent,” the Legislature argues.
The court is controlled 4-3 by liberals, a change from when it upheld the law a decade ago under 5-2 conservative control.
The state Department of Justice, overseen by Democratic Attorney General Josh Kaul, represents the state agencies named as defendants and also supports dismissal of the case.
Law 10 effectively ended collective bargaining for most public unions by allowing them to negotiate only on base wage increases no higher than inflation. It also banned the automatic withdrawal of union dues, required annual recertification votes for unions, and forced public workers to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits.
The teachers and other public workers argue in their lawsuit that Act 10 violates the equal protection guarantee of the Wisconsin Constitution and exempts groups that also supported Walker in the 2010 gubernatorial election, while those subject to the restrictions did not.
But the Legislature and the state agencies sued say there were legal and rational reasons to differentiate the groups of employees.
In 2013, a federal appeals court also rejected allegations that the law violated the U.S. Constitution’s equal protection guarantee, saying the state was free to draw a line between public safety and other unions, and at the same time The following year he ruled again that the law was constitutional.
And in 2019, a federal judge rejected a lawsuit brought by two branches of the International Union of Operating Engineers that argued the law violates free speech and free association under the First Amendment.
The defendants cite those previous rulings to request dismissal. The unions argue that their case raises different legal issues than previous lawsuits that failed.
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