MARONE V. MATC

Marone v. MATC

Case Name: Marone v. Milwaukee Area Technical College

Type of Case: Act 10; Right to Work

Court: Milwaukee County Circuit Court

Case Number: 2013-CV-4154

Filed On: May 2, 2013

Current Status: Motions to dismiss denied, MATC and union conceded that no valid contract exists

2011 Wisconsin Act 10 drastically changed collective bargaining for public employees in Wisconsin. Under the law, collective bargaining was prohibited for most employees on all topics except base wages, dues deductions and compulsory dues payment were outlawed, and unions were now required to stand for recertification every year. In September of 2012, a Dane County judge declared portions of Act 10 to be unconstitutional, but until and unless that ruling is affirmed by a higher court, it has no precedential effect and binds only the parties to that particular lawsuit.

In February, 2013, MATC reached a labor agreement with a union representing its full-time, part-time, and support staff that contained numerous provisions in violation of Act 10. This lawsuit challenges the validity of that agreement. AFT Local 212, the MATC employees’ union, has intervened. WILL moved for summary judgment, but the judge delayed ruling on it, giving the union and MATC the chance to move to dismiss the case. WILL successfully defended against those motions.

Eventually, MATC and AFT conceded that no valid contract existed. Although WILL would have preferred to obtain a judicial ruling that MATC and AFT violated Act 10, the practical effect was the same.

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