UW Health nurses presented their arguments before the Wisconsin Supreme Court to have their union recognized Wed., Feb. 12. The Service Employees International Union , which the UW Health system unionized under, is challenging Act 10 in court.
The act, passed in 2011, removed most bargaining rights for public employee unions, including healthcare and education unions, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
In an interview with the Badger Herald, associate Professor of Law and former Chief Counsel of SEIU Alexia Kulweic said Act 10 only applies to public sector employees, pointing out that the UW Health organization is arguably not a governmental entity.
Rather, they are a health system that is governed by the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority, according to the United States Courts.
The court urged the SEIU to consider the Act’s statutory history, according to the Wisconsin State Journal. Act 10 reduced funding for Health Services in response to a projected $3 billion budget deficit in 2011, according to the Wisconsin Legislative Council.
The Wisconsin Employment Peace Act still grants UW Health employees the right to self-organize, join and work with labor organizations and bargain collectively, SEIU attorneys told the Wisconsin State Journal.
While a decision has not yet been made, it depends on the Wisconsin Employees Relations Commission, which is in charge of public sector labor relations, Kulweic said.
If UW Health employees gain the right to organize a formal union again, they will have access to certain privileges revoked in the last 14 years, Kulweic said.
“This decision would allow them to bargain about wages and hours and healthcare contributions, as well as how assignments are made and their workload,” Kulweic said. “Essentially, everything that really impacts their conditions in the workplace.”
The right to formally unionize would allow UW healthcare workers to create better working conditions and address staffing shortages, in turn helping patients, including UW students, Kulweic said.
Kulweic said that with a union in place, wages tend to be higher and healthcare benefits more significant. Unionizing and improved working conditions will attract more students pursuing careers to the public sector, Kulweic said.
Students can have a say in the political process regarding Act 10 by voting in the upcoming election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice in April.