Wisconsin AFL-CIO:
Nearly 14 years after Scott Walker in his own words “dropped the bomb” on Wisconsin public employees, Wisconsin workers can celebrate as the judicial branch restores collective bargaining rights to public employees in Wisconsin. Declaring Scott Walker’s union-busting Act 10 unconstitutional and void, over 60 sections of the 2011 anti-union law have now been struck down.
Here are some of the headlines:
Dane County judge strikes down Act 10, restoring public employee union bargaining rights
Wisconsin judge restores collective bargaining powers to public employees
Dane County judge strikes more than 60 sections of Act 10
In November of 2023, a group of public employees brought forth a legal challenge to Act 10 citing our state Constitution’s guarantees of equal protection. This July, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost ruled provisions of Act 10 were unconstitutional and denied a motion filed by the Republican-controlled Legislature to dismiss the case. Today, Judge Frost issued a final ruling, outlining specifically which provisions of Act 10 are now null and void. You can read the 18-page ruling here.
Act 10 has done great harm to working people in our state and has done great damage to the public services our families depend on every day. It has lowered wages and led to staff shortages and long-term vacancies in key public service positions. Working families in Wisconsin will greatly benefit from the restoration of collective bargaining rights. Restoring union freedoms to Wisconsin workers will strengthen Wisconsin’s middle class, lift up the voices of workers, and lead to better public services for our communities.
We know that the fight for workers’ rights is a marathon not a sprint and there will be as always appeals and obstructions along the way. Working people in Wisconsin will head into 2025 with a renewed sense of solidarity and a reinvigorated commitment to union organizing so that every worker who wants to be in a union can freely do so. It’s time to turn the page on the dark days of Scott Walker’s union-busting and move forward together with full worker freedoms and union rights for all in Wisconsin.
In Solidarity,
Stephanie Bloomingdale, President
Wisconsin Bail Out the People Movement 
You must be logged in to post a comment.