A nonprofit legal firm in Milwaukee filed suit Wednesday against the Madison Metropolitan School District, Board of Education and teachers’ union for using a labor contract they say was negotiated using collective bargaining practices made illegal by Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10 legislation.
The union, Madison Teachers Inc., renegotiated the terms of its employees’ contracts with the school district after Dane County Circuit Court Judge Juan Colás ruled Act 10 unconstitutional but also before the Wisconsin Supreme Court overturned that decision in July.
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court on behalf of Madison resident David Blaska, requesting that the contracts be declared unlawful and permanently blocked.
Walker’s Act 10 law, which became effective in June 2011 and was upheld in the Wisconsin Supreme Court in July, removed virtually all collective bargaining power for public sector unions.
Rick Esenberg, president of WILL, said Act 10 prohibits a collective bargaining agreement in the public sector from having terms concerning how much employees contribute to health insurance and pensions as well as terms addressing work rules and seniority.
“Our client believes that the contract is unlawful because it is,” Essenberg said. “It is inconsistent with what the law permits.”
Arlene Silveira, president of the Madison School Board, of which Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke is a member, said as of Thursday the board had not reviewed the details of the suit.
“We will be meeting Monday night in closed session to discuss it,” Silveira said. “I think the gist of why they filed it is the claims that the contracts are not valid because they were negotiated at a time [before Act 10 was instated].”
Esenberg said the Madison School Board and School District are entitled to have a collective bargaining agreement, but not one that violates the law.
The school board and district must respond within 20 days of receiving the lawsuit Thursday.
