A federal appeals court has upheld Governor Scott Walker’s signature collective bargaining law.
The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals said Friday that the law limiting collective bargaining for most public employee unions does not infringe on the constitutional rights of workers, rejecting a court challenge brought by two unions in Dane County. Those groups claimed the law, commonly known as Act 10, violated their rights to free association and equal protection under the law.
In a decision released Friday, a three judge panel sided with Federal Judge William Conley, who ruled last September that the union law still allows public employees to organize…it just does not require the government to listen to their demands.
In a statement, Attorney General J.B Van Hollen called the ruling “a victory for the law and for Wisconsin taxpayers. This ruling, once again, supports the rule of law and recognizes the diligence and hard work of our lawyers in defending Act 10. I appreciate the court’s work. I look forward to a successful resolution of the few remaining challenges to this important law.”
The decision is one of several rulings that have upheld Act 10, although the controversial law continues to face unresolved legal challenges. The state Supreme Court is currently reviewing another case, which deals with how the law applies to unions for local government and school employees.