Faculty and academic staff of the University of Wisconsin System would be prohibited from using funds to discourage their employees from unionizing under a bill passed by the state Senate Tuesday.

Currently, state employees and UW System staff have similar collective bargaining rights and unfair labor practices, including intervening with employees who unionize, creating or interfering with any labor organization and encouraging or discouraging an employee’s membership in a labor organization.

Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, voiced criticism of the bill at the floor session and said it will suppress free speech on campuses.

“This is going to have a chilling impact on people in the universities who want to speak out against unions and that’s just plain wrong,” Grothman said. “The purpose of this bill is kind of [to] shut up management and prevent them from questioning or discouraging the employees from voting for a union.”

Grothman added that any UW System chancellor or person in a management position who is receiving a salary from a UW university would not be able to criticize unions in any public speech, because it could be considered using their money to discourage employees.

Sen. Spencer Coggs, D-Milwaukee, said at the floor session that an amendment was passed during the same Senate session which states nothing should intervene with faculty members’ rights of academic freedom, to address that issue.

Coggs added under the State Employment Labor Relations Act, state and academic employees are already directed not to interfere with an employee’s choice not to join a union.

This bill just prohibits any agency from using money to deter people from joining a union organization.

Grothman said he appreciated the amendment, but still had enough concerns about what “academic freedom” entailed and how the bill would affect free speech so he had to vote no.

The bill ended up passing with a 18-15 vote.

UW System spokesperson David Giroux previously told The Badger Herald the system does not have a position on the bill and is to remain neutral regarding any of their employees exercising their rights of collective bargaining.