Overview

• Seven unions in Wisconsin have filed a lawsuit to end the state's near-total ban on collective bargaining for most public employees, a restriction put in place by the 2011 Act 10 law.
• The lawsuit alleges that Act 10's exemption of some public safety workers from the bargaining restrictions violates the Wisconsin Constitution’s equal protection guarantee.
• The case is the first major challenge to Act 10 since the Wisconsin Supreme Court shifted to liberal control in August.
• If successful, the lawsuit would restore collective bargaining power to all public sector workers who lost it under Act 10.
• Former Republican Governor Scott Walker, who used Act 10 to mount a presidential run, maintains that the law is constitutional and working.