Laborers Local 236, AFL-CIO v. Walker

Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Labor Law
Citation
Case Number: 
No. 13-3193
Decision Date: 
April 18, 2014
Federal District: 
W.D. Wisc.
Holding: 
Affirmed
Dist Ct. did not err in finding that Wisconsin Act 10, which, among other things, prohibits govt. employers from collectively bargaining with their general employees over anything except base wages, was constitutional, even though plaintiffs-public employee unions argued that said Act violated their First Amendment petition and association rights, as well as union members’ equal protection rights. General employees remain free to associate and union members and union remain free to speak following enactment of said Act, and none of Act’s provisions implicated any First Amendment rights, since First Amendment’s protections did not impose any mandated collective-bargaining procedure or require state govt. to respond to union request for voluntary collective bargaining procedures. Also, plaintiffs failed to establish any equal protection violation where distinction in Act drawn between represented and non-represented employees satisfied rational basis test.