SB404: Bill Text

LRB-2149/1

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2021 - 2022 LEGISLATURE

2021 Senate BILL 404

June 10, 2021 - Introduced by Senators Agard, Carpenter, Bewley, Roys, Ringhand, Larson and Erpenbach, cosponsored by Representatives Subeck, S. Rodriguez, Milroy, Brostoff, Hebl, Shelton, Pope, Conley, Baldeh, Hesselbein, Doyle, Goyke, Neubauer, Vruwink, B. Meyers, Vining, Billings, McGuire, Anderson, Shankland, Snodgrass, Considine, Spreitzer, Riemer, Cabrera, Stubbs, Hintz, Drake, Sinicki, Hong, Ortiz-Velez, Emerson, L. Myers, Andraca and Haywood. Referred to Committee on Labor and Regulatory Reform.

SB404,1,10 An Act to repeal 111.04 (2); to renumber and amend 111.02 (7) (a), 111.115 (1) and 111.17; to amend 40.02 (25) (b) 8., 40.05 (4) (b), 40.05 (5) (intro.), 40.05 (5) (b) 4., 40.05 (6) (a), 40.62 (2), 111.02 (1), 111.02 (3), 111.02 (5), 111.04 (3) (a) (intro.), 111.05 (1), 111.05 (2), 111.05 (3), 111.05 (3m), 111.06 (1) (c), 111.06 (1) (d), 111.06 (1) (e), 111.06 (1) (i), 111.06 (2) (i), 111.115 (title), 233.03 (7) and 233.10 (2) (intro.); and to create 20.921 (1) (a) 2g., 111.02 (4m), 111.02 (7) (a) 2., 111.02 (9m), 111.02 (10m), 111.05 (5), 111.06 (1) (cm), 111.06 (1) (m), 111.075, 111.115 (1) (a), 111.115 (2), 111.13, 111.17 (2), 233.04 (2e), 233.04 (2m) and 233.04 (2s) of the statutes; relating to: collective bargaining for employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

This bill allows employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment. Under current law, employers and employees are prohibited from collective bargaining except as expressly provided in the statutes.

Prior to changes made by 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, employees of the UWHCA had the right to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment, and UWHCA was required to bargain over those subjects. The bill restores those rights and also authorizes UWHCA employees to enter into maintenance of membership agreements.

Current right-to-work law prohibits a person from requiring, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to refrain or resign from membership in a labor organization, to become or remain a member of a labor organization, to pay dues or other charges to a labor organization, or to pay any other person an amount that is in place of dues or charges required of members of a labor organization. The bill removes these prohibitions with respect to employees of the UWHCA.

The bill also does the following:

1. Sets conditions under which the UWHCA may enter into an all-union agreement.

2. Provides that, when an all-union agreement between the UWHCA and the representative of a collective bargaining unit is in effect, it is not an unfair labor practice to deduct labor organization dues or assessments from an employee's earnings.

3. Sets conditions for the continuation or termination of all-union agreements, including that, if the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission determines there is reasonable grounds to believe employees in an all-union agreement have changed their attitude about the agreement, WERC is required to conduct a referendum to determine whether the employees wish to continue the agreement. WERC is required to terminate an all-union agreement if it finds the union unreasonably refused to admit an employee into the union.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SB404,1 Section 1 . 20.921 (1) (a) 2g. of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,2,3 20.921 (1) (a) 2g. If the employee is an employee of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, payment of dues to employee organizations.

SB404,2 Section 2 . 40.02 (25) (b) 8. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,2,7 40.02 (25) (b) 8. Any other state employee for whom coverage is authorized under a collective bargaining agreement pursuant to subch. I or V of ch. 111 or under s. 230.12 or 233.10.

SB404,3 Section 3 . 40.05 (4) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,4,8 40.05 (4) (b) Except as provided under pars. (bc) and (bp), accumulated unused sick leave under ss. 13.121 (4), 36.30, 230.35 (2), 233.10, 238.04 (8), and 757.02 (5) and subch. I or V of ch. 111 of any eligible employee shall, at the time of death, upon qualifying for an immediate annuity or for a lump sum payment under s. 40.25 (1) or upon termination of creditable service and qualifying as an eligible employee under s. 40.02 (25) (b) 6. or 10., be converted, at the employee's highest basic pay rate he or she received while employed by the state, to credits for payment of health insurance premiums on behalf of the employee or the employee's surviving insured dependents. Any supplemental compensation that is paid to a state employee who is classified under the state classified civil service as a teacher, teacher supervisor, or education director for the employee's completion of educational courses that have been approved by the employee's employer is considered as part of the employee's basic pay for purposes of this paragraph. The full premium for any eligible employee who is insured at the time of retirement, or for the surviving insured dependents of an eligible employee who is deceased, shall be deducted from the credits until the credits are exhausted and paid from the account under s. 40.04 (10), and then deducted from annuity payments, if the annuity is sufficient. The department shall provide for the direct payment of premiums by the insured to the insurer if the premium to be withheld exceeds the annuity payment. Upon conversion of an employee's unused sick leave to credits under this paragraph or par. (bf), the employee or, if the employee is deceased, the employee's surviving insured dependents may initiate deductions from those credits or may elect to delay initiation of deductions from those credits, but only if the employee or surviving insured dependents are covered by a comparable health insurance plan or policy during the period beginning on the date of the conversion and ending on the date on which the employee or surviving insured dependents later elect to initiate deductions from those credits. If an employee or an employee's surviving insured dependents elect to delay initiation of deductions from those credits, an employee or the employee's surviving insured dependents may only later elect to initiate deductions from those credits during the annual enrollment period under par. (be). A health insurance plan or policy is considered comparable if it provides hospital and medical benefits that are substantially equivalent to the standard health insurance plan established under s. 40.52 (1).

SB404,4 Section 4 . 40.05 (5) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,4,14 40.05 (5) Income continuation insurance premiums. (intro.) For the income continuation insurance provided under subch. V the employee shall pay the amount remaining after the employer has contributed the following or, if different, the amount determined under a collective bargaining agreement under subch. I or V of ch. 111 or s. 230.12 or 233.10:

SB404,5 Section 5 . 40.05 (5) (b) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,4,18 40.05 (5) (b) 4. The accrual and crediting of sick leave shall be determined in accordance with ss. 13.121 (4), 36.30, 230.35 (2), 233.10, 238.04 (8), and 757.02 (5) and subch. I or V of ch. 111.

SB404,6 Section 6 . 40.05 (6) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,5,2 40.05 (6) (a) Except as otherwise provided in accordance with a collective bargaining agreement under subch. I or V of ch. 111 or s. 230.12 or 233.10, each insured employee under the age of 70 and annuitant under the age of 65 shall pay for group life insurance coverage a sum, approved by the group insurance board, which shall not exceed 60 cents monthly for each $1,000 of group life insurance, based upon the last amount of insurance in force during the month for which earnings are paid. The equivalent premium may be fixed by the group insurance board if the annual compensation is paid in other than 12 monthly installments.

SB404,7 Section 7 . 40.62 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,5,7 40.62 (2) Sick leave accumulation shall be determined in accordance with rules of the department, any collective bargaining agreement under subch. I or V of ch. 111, and ss. 13.121 (4), 36.30, 49.825 (4) (d) and (5) (d), 49.826 (4) (d), 230.35 (2), 233.10, 238.04 (8), 757.02 (5) and 978.12 (3).

SB404,8 Section 8. 111.02 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,5,13 111.02 (1) “All-union agreement" means an agreement between an employer other than the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and the representative of the employer's employees in a collective bargaining unit whereby all or any of the employees in such unit are required to be members of a single labor organization.

SB404,9 Section 9. 111.02 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,6,4 111.02 (3) “Collective bargaining unit" means all of the employees of one employer, employed within the state, except as provided in s. 111.05 (5) and except that where a majority of the employees engaged in a single craft, division, department or plant have voted by secret ballot as provided in s. 111.05 (2) to constitute such group a separate bargaining unit they shall be so considered, but, in appropriate cases, and to aid in the more efficient administration of this subchapter, the commission may find, where agreeable to all parties affected in any way thereby, an industry, trade or business comprising more than one employer in an association in any geographical area to be a “collective bargaining unit". A collective bargaining unit thus established by the commission shall be subject to all rights by termination or modification given by this subchapter in reference to collective bargaining units otherwise established under this subchapter. Two or more collective bargaining units may bargain collectively through the same representative where a majority of the employees in each separate unit have voted by secret ballot as provided in s. 111.05 (2) so to do.

SB404,10 Section 10. 111.02 (4m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,6,11 111.02 (4m) “Confidential authorization card” means a signed card that employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority complete to indicate their preferences regarding collective bargaining. An employee's preferences indicated on the confidential authorization card shall be held confidential to only the employee and the commission in certifying results, as applicable.

SB404,11 Section 11. 111.02 (5) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,6,18 111.02 (5) The term “election" shall mean a proceeding in which the employees in a collective bargaining unit cast a secret ballot or submit a confidential authorization card for collective bargaining representatives or for any other purpose specified in this subchapter and shall include elections conducted by the commission, or, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, by any tribunal having competent jurisdiction or whose jurisdiction was accepted by the parties.

SB404,12 Section 12. 111.02 (7) (a) of the statutes is renumbered 111.02 (7) (a) (intro.) and amended to read:

SB404,6,22 111.02 (7) (a) (intro.) “Employer" means a person who engages the services of an employee, and includes a all of the following:

SB404,6,24 1. A person acting on behalf of an employer within the scope of his or her authority, express or implied.

SB404,13 Section 13. 111.02 (7) (a) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,7,1 111.02 (7) (a) 2. The University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority.

SB404,14 Section 14. 111.02 (9m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,7,4 111.02 (9m) “Maintenance of membership agreement” means an agreement under s. 111.13 (2).

SB404,15 Section 15. 111.02 (10m) of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,7,10 111.02 (10m) “Referendum" means a proceeding conducted by the commission in which employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority in a collective bargaining unit may cast a secret ballot on the question of directing the labor organization and the employer to enter into a maintenance of membership agreement or to terminate such an agreement.

SB404,16 Section 16. 111.04 (2) of the statutes is repealed.

SB404,17 Section 17. 111.04 (3) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,7,15 111.04 (3) (a) (intro.) No Except as provided in ss. 111.05 (5), 111.075, and 111.13, no person may require, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to do any of the following:

SB404,18 Section 18. 111.05 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,7,25 111.05 (1) Representatives chosen for the purposes of collective bargaining by a majority of the employees voting or, for employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, submitting confidential authorization cards in a collective bargaining unit shall be the exclusive representatives of all of the employees in such unit for the purposes of collective bargaining, provided that any individual employee or any minority group of employees in any collective bargaining unit shall have the right at any time to present grievances to their employer in person or through representatives of their own choosing, and the employer shall confer with them in relation thereto.

SB404,19 Section 19. 111.05 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,8,7 111.05 (2) Whenever Except as provided in sub. (5), whenever a question arises concerning the determination of a collective bargaining unit, it shall be determined by secret ballot, and the commission, upon request, shall cause the ballot to be taken in such manner as to show separately the wishes of the employees in any craft, division, department or plant as to the determination of the collective bargaining unit.

SB404,20 Section 20. 111.05 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,8,25 111.05 (3) Whenever a question arises concerning the representation of employees in a collective bargaining unit the commission shall determine the representatives thereof by taking a secret ballot of employees or, for employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, by collecting confidential authorization cards and certifying in writing the results thereof to the interested parties and to their employer or employers. There shall be included on any ballot or confidential authorization card for the election of representatives the names of all persons submitted by an employee or group of employees participating in the election, except that the commission may, in its discretion, exclude from the ballot or confidential authorization card a person who, at the time of the election, stands deprived of the person's rights under this subchapter by reason of a prior adjudication of the person's having engaged in an unfair labor practice. The ballot or confidential authorization card shall be so prepared as to permit of a vote against representation by anyone named on the ballot or confidential authorization card. The commission's certification of the results of any election shall be conclusive as to the findings included therein unless reviewed in the same manner as provided by s. 111.07 (8) for review of orders of the commission.

SB404,21 Section 21. 111.05 (3m) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB404,9,11 111.05 (3m) Whenever an election has been conducted pursuant to sub. (3) in which the name of more than one proposed representative appears on the ballot or confidential authorization card and results in no conclusion, the commission may, in its discretion, if requested by any party to the proceeding within 30 days from the date of the certification of the results of such election, conduct a runoff election. In such runoff election, the commission may drop from the ballot or confidential authorization card the name of the representative that received the least number of votes at the original election, or the privilege of voting against any representative when the least number of votes cast at the first election was against representation by any named representative.

SB404,22 Section 22. 111.05 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

SB404,9,15 111.05 (5) (a) 1. Collective bargaining units for representation of the employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority shall include one unit for employees engaged in each of the following functions:

SB404,9,16 a. Clerical and related.

SB404,9,17 b. Blue collar and nonbuilding trades.

SB404,9,18 c. Building trades crafts.

SB404,9,19 d. Security and public safety.

SB404,9,20 e. Technical.

SB404,9,21 f. Fiscal and staff services.

SB404,9,22 g. Patient care.

SB404,9,23 h. Science.

SB404,9,25 2. Collective bargaining units for representation of the employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority who are engaged in a function not specified in subd. 1. shall be determined in the manner provided in this section. The creation of any collective bargaining unit for the employees is subject to approval of the commission. The commission may not allow fragmentation of the collective bargaining units or creation of any collective bargaining unit that is too small to provide adequate representation of employees. In approving the collective bargaining units, the commission shall give primary consideration to the authority's need to fulfill its statutory obligation.

SB404,10,17 (b) If a single representative is certified to represent more than one of the collective bargaining units specified in par. (a) 1. or 2., that representative and the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority may jointly agree to combine the collective bargaining units, subject to the right of the employees in any of the collective bargaining units that were combined to petition for a card collection under sub. (3). An agreement under this paragraph is effective upon written notice of the agreement by the parties to the commission and terminates upon written notice of the termination by the parties to the commission or upon decertification of the representative entering into the agreement as representative of one of the combined collective bargaining units, whichever occurs first.

SB404,10,25 (c) The commission shall establish a procedure whereby employees of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority may determine whether to form themselves into collective bargaining units under par. (a) 1. or 2. by confidential authorization cards in lieu of secret ballots. The procedure shall provide that once a majority of employees have indicated their preference on the confidential authorization cards to form themselves into a collective bargaining unit under par. (a) 1. or 2., the collective bargaining unit is established. The procedure shall provide all of the following: