A Dane County judge on Monday struck down dozens of sections of the 2011 labor reforms dubbed Act 10, 13 years after the law was passed by a Republican legislative majority and signed by then-Gov. Scott Walker.
The reforms limited most unions in Wisconsin’s state and local government sectors to bargaining over wages, taking work rules, the design of benefits plans and other topics off the table. The law also required public-sector unions to regularly seek recertification from workers they purported to bargain for, required them to collect dues rather than having the money taken from employees’ paychecks by government employers, and required public sector employees to contribute toward their health benefits as most private-sector workers do.
The law had several far-reaching consequences, including billions in tax savings and better pay for better teachers.
As Scott Walker told the Badger Institute on the reform’s 10-year anniversary, Act 10 made teaching a meritocracy again: “They can put the best and the brightest in the classrooms and keep them there.”
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