MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A law that drew massive protests and made Wisconsin the center of a national fight for union rights is back in court Tuesday, facing a new challenge of teachers and public servants brought in after the state Supreme Court passed to liberal control.
The 2011 law, known as Law 10, imposed a near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees. It withstood numerous legal challenges and was the former Republican governor’s signature legislative achievement. Scott Walkerwho used it to mount a presidential run.
The law catapulted Walker onto the national stage, triggered an unsuccessful recall campaign, and laid the groundwork for his failed presidential bid in 2016. It also led to a dramatic decrease in union membership across the state.
If the latter process is successful, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power will have it restored. 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, unions argue in court filings.
The Republican-controlled Legislature is calling for the case to be dismissed, arguing that “it was long ago decided 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 their challenge, noting that the law has been in effect for nearly 13 years and has survived state and federal court challenges.
The lawsuit claims that exemptions for firefighters and other public safety workers are unconstitutional, similar to arguments made in a previous case brought by Milwaukee teachers and public employees that was rejected in 2014 by the State Supreme Court.
The only change since the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2014 ruling is the makeup of the court, attorneys for the Legislature said in court documents.
“And that is certainly no reason for any Wisconsin court to depart from this precedent,” the Legislature argues.
The court is controlled 4-3 by liberals, a turnaround 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, is representing the state agencies named as defendants and also supporting the dismissal of the case.
The Act 10 law effectively ended collective bargaining for most public unions, allowing them to negotiate only base salary increases no higher than inflation. It also banned the automatic withdrawal of union dues, required annual union recertification votes, and forced public workers to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits.
Teachers and other public officials argue in their lawsuit that Act 10 violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s guarantee of equal protection and exempts groups that also supported Walker in the 2010 gubernatorial election, while those subject to the restrictions did not.
But the Legislature and state agency defendants all say there were rational and legal reasons to differentiate between employee groups.
A federal appeals court in 2013 also rejected claims that the law violated the guarantee of equal protection in the U.S. Constitution, saying the state was free draw a line between public safety and other unions, and the following year again ruled that the law was constitutional.
And in 2019, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by two arms of the International Union of Operating Engineers that argued the law violates freedom of speech and association under the First Amendment.
Defendants cite these prior decisions in arguing for dismissal. The unions argue that their case raises different legal questions than previous ones that failed.
