Wisconsin’s restrictions on public employee unions are facing two tests: the Nov. 3 election and a legal challenge headed to the state Supreme Court. The outcome could determine whether workers regain broader collective bargaining rights under the 2011 law known as Act 10. The law is also dividing the candidates for governor. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who voted for Act 10 as a state legislator, has defended it and warned that repeal could raise costs for taxpayers. Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley supports repeal, but says restoring bargaining rights would not automatically end employees’ contributions to health insurance or retirement plans. A governor cannot repeal the law alone. Legislative changes would require action by the Legislature, making control of the Assembly and Senate important in the same election. Democrats are seeking majorities in both chambers for the first time since 2010. Senate Democratic Leader Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton said Democrats support restoring collective bargaining rights. The caucus has not settled what to do about employee health insurance and pension contributions that increased under Act 10. “Collective bargaining works,” Hesselbein said, pointing to her experience in Dane County and saying she wants to see it return statewide. The court case could alter the law even without a legislative repeal. A Dane County circuit judge ruled in 2024 that parts of Act 10 were unconstitutional, but a state appeals court reversed that decision in July. The lawsuit argues that exempting public safety unions from the law’s restrictions while applying them to other public employees violates the state constitution’s equal-protection protections. The Supreme Court is expected to consider the dispute in the coming months. Act 10 sharply narrowed bargaining rights for most public employees, limiting negotiations largely to base wage increases capped at inflation. It also required annual union recertification elections, with a majority of all union members—not just those who voted—needed to support recertification. The law increased workers’ required contributions toward pensions and health insurance and did not apply the same restrictions to police and firefighter unions. Before the law, public employees could negotiate over a broader range of matters, including contracts, vacation time and working conditions. Wisconsin Policy Forum President Jason Stein said the changes reduced employers’ obligations to bargain and gave many public agencies more freedom to alter benefits. The annual recertification requirement and limits on what unions could negotiate also led some unions to disband, he said. Public-sector union membership in Wisconsin fell from 46.6% in 2010 to 18.5% in 2025, according to a Center for Economic and Policy Research report. The decline of nearly 29 percentage points was the largest of any state, the report found. A Marquette Law School poll conducted Aug. 26 found 54% of registered voters wanted public employees’ bargaining rights restored to their pre-Act 10 level, while 43% preferred keeping the law as it is. Views differed sharply by party: 84% of Democrats supported restoration, while 65% of Republicans opposed repeal. Independents were more evenly divided, with 50% favoring the law and 46% supporting repeal. Even if the law is repealed or struck down, workers would not automatically receive raises or new benefits. Some unions may have to reorganize or recertify, and workers and employers would need to negotiate agreements. University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Workers professor Michael Childers said both unions and public employers would need time to rebuild bargaining experience after nearly 15 years under the law. The financial effects are also uncertain. Tiffany has cited an estimate of $2 billion in additional annual taxes tied to a study by the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty. Crowley disputes that restoring bargaining rights would cause an immediate tax increase, saying costs would depend on negotiated agreements. Act 10 shifted more pension costs to employees. A Wisconsin Policy Forum analysis estimated that increased employee pension contributions reduced state and local government costs by nearly $5.2 billion from 2011 to 2017; that figure did not include changes to health insurance contributions. Researchers say the consequences of repeal would depend on which provisions changed and on the limits public bodies face when raising revenue. Wisconsin Policy Forum researchers note that school districts operate under state school-funding rules and per-pupil revenue limits, while local governments face levy limits. Those constraints could make a sudden, large increase in public spending difficult, even if bargaining rights were restored. Any longer-term cost would vary by employer and by the terms of future agreements. Act 10 sparked mass protests at the state Capitol after its introduction in 2011, drawing crowds estimated as large as 100,000, and helped trigger an unsuccessful effort to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. The state Supreme Court upheld the law in 2014. The court now has a liberal majority, but any legal ruling and the makeup of the Legislature after the election could shape what changes follow. A court decision against Act 10 would not guarantee a legislative repeal: lawmakers could respond to the ruling, and divided control of state government could stall broader changes. As Stein put it, the law’s future depends on elections that shape both the Supreme Court and the Legislature.