What to know about Wisconsin’s collective bargaining law for public workers

MADISON, Wis. — A judge’s overturning of Wisconsin’s 13-year-old law that effectively ended collective bargaining for teachers and most state government employees has rekindled a battle over labor rights in a state where the first public sector unions were formed 65 years ago.

But before unions head back to the bargaining table, more legal fights await. Here are five things to know about the law, the current challenge and what happens next:

At its core, the battle is over whether tens of thousands of teachers, nurses, prison guards and other state government employees can bargain over their workplace conditions and salary.

The law, known as Act 10, was enacted in 2011 and limits bargaining to only wage increases no greater than the inflation rate. That means that other issues, such as benefits, safety and working conditions, and vacations, are not negotiable.

The law also requires every public sector union to vote annually on maintaining its own certification. In order to pass, at least 51% of each union’s members must vote yes, not just 51% of those voting.

Union members were also required to pay more for their benefits, which reduced their take home pay and effectively served as a pay cut.

Supporters say the law has saved school districts and local governments billions of dollars. Opponents say the law has kneecapped unions that traditionally back Democrats and hurt workers’ morale and income.

Passage of the law helped ease the way for the Legislature in 2015 to approve a so-called right-to-work law that limited the power of private-sector unions.

Then- Gov. Scott Walker introduced the proposal shortly after taking office in 2011. That sparked weeks of massive protests, a walkout by Democratic state senators in a failed attempt to block passage of the law, and recall elections targeting Walker and Republicans who voted for it.

The fight thrust Wisconsin into the the center of the battle over union rights in the U.S. Walker rode the attention, survived the 2012 recall attempt and then mounted a campaign for president a few years later. He dropped out, though, in the fall of 2015 as Donald Trump’s support grew.

The battle lines then and now are largely the same. The law is opposed by Democrats and unions. It is supported by Republicans, conservative groups and powerful organizations like Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the largest business lobbying group in Wisconsin.

Numerous legal challenges have been filed challenging the law in state and federal…