Laborers Local 236, AFL-CIO, AFSCME Local 60, AFL-CIO v. Walker

1996 LRRM (BNA) 2869 (2013)

From our private database of 46,400+ case briefs, written and edited by humans—never with AI.

Laborers Local 236, AFL-CIO, AFSCME Local 60, AFL-CIO v. Walker

United States District Court for the Western District of Wisconsin
1996 LRRM (BNA) 2869 (2013)

  • Written by Patricia Peters, JD

Facts

In March 2011, the Wisconsin legislature passed 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 (Act 10) as an amendment to the Municipal Employment Relations Act. Among other changes, the amendments of Act 10 (1) limited collectively bargained agreements to nonextendable one-year terms, (2) mandated that the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) conduct yearly representation elections that required an absolute majority for recertification, (3) prohibited bargaining between municipal employers and labor organizations on any subject except wages, (4) prohibited the automatic deduction of union dues, and (5) eliminated the payment requirement for nonunion employees. Laborers Local 236, AFL-CIO and AFSCME Local 60, AFL-CIO (the unions) (plaintiffs) sued Wisconsin governor Scott Walker (defendant) in district court. The unions claimed first that Act 10 violated the First Amendment right of association by preventing them from bargaining collectively with their employers. Second, the unions claimed that Act 10 violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment because it limited wage increases for represented employees only, prohibited collective bargaining with employers on everything except wages while allowing individuals to negotiate on any subject, and prohibited automatic dues payments to unions but not to other organizations. As to the unions’ claim under the Equal Protection Clause, Walker argued that the differential treatment of union members survived rational-basis review because it would make employers’ budgets easier to work with. Walker claimed that negotiations with individual employees would allow employers to offset higher wage increases for better workers with lower wage increases for less-productive workers, as opposed to negotiating uniform wage increases for members of an entire bargaining unit. Walker moved for judgment on the pleadings as to both claims.

Rule of Law

Issue

Holding and Reasoning (Conley, J.)

What to do next…

  1. Unlock this case brief with a free (no-commitment) trial membership of Quimbee.

    You’ll be in good company: Quimbee is one of the most widely used and trusted sites for law students, serving more than 832,000 law students since 2011. Some law schools even subscribe directly to Quimbee for all their law students.

  2. Learn more about Quimbee’s unique (and proven) approach to achieving great grades at law school.

    Quimbee is a company hell-bent on one thing: helping you get an “A” in every course you take in law school, so you can graduate at the top of your class and get a high-paying law job. We’re not just a study aid for law students; we’re the study aid for law students.

Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:

  • Written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students. 46,400 briefs, keyed to 994 casebooks. Top-notch customer support.
  • The right amount of information, includes the facts, issues, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents.
  • Access in your classes, works on your mobile and tablet. Massive library of related video lessons and high quality multiple-choice questions.
  • Easy to use, uniform format for every case brief. Written in plain English, not in legalese. Our briefs summarize and simplify; they don’t just repeat the court’s language.

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership
Here's why 832,000 law students have relied on our case briefs:
  • Reliable - written by law professors and practitioners, not other law students
  • The right length and amount of information - includes the facts, issue, rule of law, holding and reasoning, and any concurrences and dissents
  • Access in your class - works on your mobile and tablet
  • 46,400 briefs - keyed to 994 casebooks
  • Uniform format for every case brief
  • Written in plain English - not in legalese and not just repeating the court's language
  • Massive library of related video lessons - and practice questions
  • Top-notch customer support

Access this case brief for FREE

With a 7-day free trial membership