Posts tagged Wisconsin
Labor Unions Won Big on Election Day, With Ballot Initiatives and Friendly Politicians
November 9, 2026 // Perhaps most ominous are the developments at the federal level. Prior to the election, a bill called the Faster Labor Contracts Act (FLCA) started to pick up steam in Congress. The legislation is sponsored by pro-union Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.) and has a handful of Republican supporters on Capitol Hill. The FLCA cleared the House of Representatives but so far has stalled out in the Senate due to lack of votes. But now, depending on how the remaining uncalled Senate races shake out, the FLCA may be within a stone's throw of President Donald Trump's desk. If Democrats secure 56 seats in the Senate, that puts theoretical support for the FLCA at 58 votes once Republican support is factored in (in addition to Hawley, Sen. Bernie Moreno (R–Ohio) is also a co-sponsor of the FLCA).
Teachers Unions Back School Funding Measures, Governor Candidates in Midterms
November 2, 2026 // Locals from New York to California are focusing on statewide races, while national union targets Senate seats in battleground states.
Teachers unions back school funding measures, governor candidates in midterms
October 30, 2026 // As the American Federation of Teachers finishes an election tour in battleground areas, many local affiliates’ biggest bets are on state ballots, including school funding measures and governor’s races. Both the AFT and the National Education Association have homed in on specific states for the midterms. The NEA and its state affiliate, the California Teachers Association, contributed a total of nearly $45 million to campaign for Proposition 3, a measure that would make a higher income tax rate for top earners permanent. The surcharge, which has funded billions for schools since 2012, would otherwise expire in 2031.
Unearthed filing shows largest teachers unions poured over $900 million into political activities
October 28, 2026 // According to an investigation by the North American Values Institute (NAVI), a nonprofit watchdog that tracks ideological activism in education, the National Education Association (NEA) spent at least $547 million on political activity and advocacy between fiscal years 2016 and 2025. That total includes $458.9 million filed officially as political activity and lobbying, along with an additional $88.2 million in direct funding to progressive advocacy organizations. To finance its political activities, "NEA delegates approved a $10 dues increase for a ballot-measure and media fund projected to generate more than $20 million annually," the report stated. With more than 3 million members, the NEA is the largest teachers' union in the country.
Key labor group mobilizes WI voters in fight for workers’ rights
October 28, 2026 // The union put their message into action over the weekend. Hundreds of union workers rallied and took to the streets for door-to-door canvassing as part of a nationwide “Unions for All” effort. In Milwaukee, healthcare, school, janitorial and security workers mobilized around the election while calling on corporations to stay out of politics and pay what they owe in taxes.
Yale Political Union votes to ban public-sector unions after debate with Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe
October 15, 2026 // Members of the Yale Political Union voted 35-25, to pass the resolution “Ban Public-Sector Unions” after Freedom Foundation CEO Aaron Withe argued the affirmative on Sept. 29. Founded in 1934, the Yale Political Union is one of the country’s best-known student debate societies. After Withe’s opening speech, students questioned him and debated the resolution before the house voted. Withe opened by quoting President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who wrote in 1937 that collective bargaining “cannot be transplanted into the public service.” The quote, Withe noted, came not from Ronald Reagan, Ron DeSantis or Scott Walker, but from FDR.
Commentary: Are Unions Rising from the Political Grave?
September 21, 2026 // Here again, however, there may be less than meets the eye. Despite its surprising bipartisan support, the FLCA would raise significant constitutional questions if enacted. By relying on a government-mandated arbitration panel to resolve labor disputes, the law effectively empowers the state to impose contractual terms on private parties—a form of what constitutional lawyers call “state action.” As attorneys Alex MacDonald and Vinnie Vernuccio observe: “[S]tate action opens the door to a slew of constitutional requirements and restrictions, notably to protect rights of free speech and association.”
Wisconsin Employee Files Class Action Lawsuit to Defend Wisconsin State Law That Guarantees Workplace Freedom
September 18, 2026 // Suit: Outdated federal precedents wrongfully permit union officials to block workers from stopping union dues payments
Report: The Battle for Worker Freedom: Grading State Public Sector Labor Laws
September 10, 2026 // Union executives are prioritizing recruitment. The fastest-growing category of public sector labor legislation expands collective bargaining into new workplaces. On the strength of these new laws, union executives are slowly replacing their membership losses since 2018. From 2018 to 2025, the country’s four largest government unions report a net decline in membership of 87,919, or 1.3 percent. However, they also report a collective gain of 232,502 members, or 3.5 percent since 2024. This report awards full letter-grade increases to Idaho (now A) and Louisiana (now B) due to their adoption of pro-worker labor reforms this past legislative session. However, the drops in grades—Nebraska (D), Nevada (D), and Rhode Island (F)—are the result of these states prioritizing union executives over workers and enacting laws helping unions recruit, politick, organize, and strike. Thirteen states now have an “A” or “A+” grade—up from twelve in the previous edition of this report—while six states earned an “F”—up from five over the same time period. Overall, the research finds 25 states fall below a “C.”
Unions ask Supreme Court to affirm judge who found Act 10 unconstitutional
August 19, 2026 // The plaintiffs filed their state Supreme Court appeal Monday. They include unions affiliated with the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the American Federation of Teachers, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, the Service Employees International Union and the Teamsters. Act 10, one of the signature laws passed early in former Gov. Scott Walker’s two terms, ended collective bargaining rights for most state and local employees, making an exception for certain public safety employees. The law survived a series of court challenges in the years immediately after its passage.