Wisconsin voters and the state Supreme Court could help determine the future of Act 10, the 2011 law that sharply curtailed collective bargaining rights for most public employees. The law is a key point of contrast in the Nov. 3 governor’s race. Republican U.S. Rep. Tom Tiffany, who voted for Act 10 as a state lawmaker, has defended it and warned that repeal could burden taxpayers. Democratic Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley supports repealing it. Neither governor could repeal the law alone. Major legislative changes would also depend on which party controls the Assembly and Senate, where Democrats are seeking majorities for the first time since 2010. A lawsuit challenging Act 10’s different treatment of public safety employees and other public workers is also headed to the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The court case stems from a 2024 Dane County Circuit Court ruling that invalidated parts of the law. A state appeals court reversed that decision in July. If the Supreme Court upholds the circuit court ruling, some restrictions on collective bargaining could be struck down. Act 10 largely ended collective bargaining for most public employees, limiting negotiations mainly to base wage increases no higher than inflation. It also required employees to contribute more toward pensions and health insurance, and imposed annual union recertification elections in which a union needed support from a majority of all members, including those who did not vote. Police and firefighter unions were exempt from key provisions. In an Aug. 26 Marquette Law School Poll, 54% of registered voters said they wanted public employees’ collective bargaining rights restored to their pre-Act 10 status; 43% favored keeping the law unchanged. Support for restoration was strongest among Democrats, at 84%. Among Republicans, 65% opposed repeal. Independents were divided, with 50% supporting the law and 46% favoring restoration. Senate Democratic leader Dianne Hesselbein of Middleton said her caucus supports restoring collective bargaining rights, but is still discussing what to do about employee pension and health insurance contributions. “Collective bargaining works,” Hesselbein said, pointing to her experience in Dane County and saying she wants to see it return statewide. The law’s supporters and critics disagree over the likely costs of repeal. Tiffany cited an estimate from the conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty that a full repeal could increase taxes by $2 billion a year. Crowley disputed that restoring bargaining rights would produce an immediate tax increase, saying any changes to retirement and health contributions would depend on negotiations. The Wisconsin Policy Forum estimated that higher employee pension contributions reduced state and local government costs by nearly $5.2 billion from 2011 to 2017. That estimate covered pension contributions, not other changes under Act 10, including employees’ higher health insurance payments. But the ultimate financial effect would depend on what provisions were changed and what employers and employees negotiated, policy analysts say. Tyler Byrnes, a senior research associate at the Wisconsin Policy Forum, noted that school districts face per-pupil revenue limits and local governments are subject to levy limits, which constrain how much they can spend. “While repealing those required contributions would give the employers and the employees something more to negotiate over, they’re still subject to how much revenue the local government has,” Byrnes said. A repeal or court ruling would not automatically restore wages, benefits or union representation. Some unions that remain certified could resume bargaining, while others would need to reorganize. University of Wisconsin-Madison School for Workers professor Michael Childers said unions and public employers would also need time to rebuild bargaining experience after nearly 15 years under the law. Wisconsin was the first state to authorize public-sector employees to bargain with employers, in 1959. Act 10 prompted mass protests at the state Capitol in 2011, with as many as 100,000 people taking part, and helped fuel an unsuccessful effort to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. The state Supreme Court upheld the law in 2014. 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. Wisconsin Policy Forum President Jason Stein said Act 10 made it harder for unions to remain certified and sharply narrowed what they could negotiate. “Now that’s — for many public employers — that’s not the case,” Stein said of the former obligation for governments to bargain with unions. He said the law gave public employers more latitude to change some working conditions, including health benefits. Unions representing public employees say the restrictions have affected workers and public services. AFT-Wisconsin President Jon Shelton said teachers have left the profession, taken additional jobs or moved to neighboring states for higher salaries. He argued that limiting educators’ role in workplace decisions has also harmed schools and students. SEIU Wisconsin supports a full repeal, communications specialist Julius Shieh said. The outcome could depend on both the elections and the courts, Stein said. A unified government would have a clearer path to legislative changes, while divided control could make them difficult. Even if the Supreme Court overturns some provisions, lawmakers could seek to revise the law in response. “A lot of (the permanence of Act 10) depends ultimately on elections,” Stein said, including contests that determine the makeup of the Supreme Court and the Legislature.