MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS
111.70 Municipal employment.
111.71 General provisions.
111.77 Settlement of disputes in collective bargaining units composed of law enforcement personnel and fire fighters.
SUBCHAPTER V
STATE EMPLOYMENT LABOR RELATIONS
111.80 Declaration of policy.
111.82 Rights of employees.
111.825 Collective bargaining units.
111.83 Representatives and elections.
111.84 Unfair labor practices.
111.85 Fair-share and maintenance of membership agreements.
111.86 Grievance arbitration.
111.89 Strike prohibited.
111.90 Management rights.
111.91 Subjects of bargaining.
111.93 Effect of labor organization; status of existing benefits and rights.
111.94 Rules, transcripts, training programs, fees.
EMPLOYMENT PEACE
111.01
111.01
Declaration of policy. The public policy of the state as to employment relations and collective bargaining, in the furtherance of which this subchapter is enacted, is declared to be as follows:
111.01(1)
(1) It recognizes that there are 3 major interests involved, namely: the public, the employee and the employer. These 3 interests are to a considerable extent interrelated. It is the policy of the state to protect and promote each of these interests with due regard to the situation and to the rights of the others.
111.01(2)
(2) Industrial peace, regular and adequate income for the employee, and uninterrupted production of goods and services are promotive of all of these interests. They are largely dependent upon the maintenance of fair, friendly and mutually satisfactory employment relations and the availability of suitable machinery for the peaceful adjustment of whatever controversies may arise. It is recognized that certain employers, including farmers and farmer cooperatives, in addition to their general employer problems, face special problems arising from perishable commodities and seasonal production which require adequate consideration. It is also recognized that whatever may be the rights of disputants with respect to each other in any controversy regarding employment relations, they should not be permitted, in the conduct of their controversy, to intrude directly into the primary rights of third parties to earn a livelihood, transact business and engage in the ordinary affairs of life by any lawful means and free from molestation, interference, restraint or coercion.
111.01(3)
(3) Negotiations of terms and conditions of work should result from voluntary agreement between employer and employee. For the purpose of such negotiation an employee has the right, if the employee desires, to associate with others in organizing and bargaining collectively through representatives of the employee's own choosing, without intimidation or coercion from any source.
111.01(4)
(4) It is the policy of the state, in order to preserve and promote the interests of the public, the employee, and the employer alike, to establish standards of fair conduct in employment relations and to provide a convenient, expeditious and impartial tribunal by which these interests may have their respective rights and obligations adjudicated. While limiting individual and group rights of aggression and defense, the state substitutes processes of justice for the more primitive methods of trial by combat.
111.01 Annotation
A labor agreement offering special parking privileges to county employees in a county ramp did not violate this section. Dane Co. v. McManus,
55 Wis. 2d 413,
198 N.W.2d 667 (1972).
111.01 Annotation
This section does not create substantive rights for employees. Ward v. Frito-Lay, Inc.
95 Wis. 2d 372, 290 NW 536 (Ct. App. 1980).
111.01 Annotation
The application of the open meetings law to the duties of WERC is discussed. 68 Atty. Gen. 171.
111.02
111.02
Definitions. When used in this subchapter:
111.02(1)
(1) The term "all-union agreement" shall mean 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.
111.02(2)
(2) "Collective bargaining" is the negotiating by an employer and a majority of the employer's employees in a collective bargaining unit, or their representatives, concerning representation or terms and conditions of employment of such employees, except as provided under
ss. 111.05 (5) and
111.17 (2), in a mutually genuine effort to reach an agreement with reference to the subject under negotiation.
111.02(3)
(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
ss. 111.01 to
111.19, 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
ss. 111.01 to
111.19 in reference to collective bargaining units otherwise established under
ss. 111.01 to
111.19. 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.
111.02(4)
(4) "Commission" means the employment relations commission.
111.02(5)
(5) The term "election" shall mean a proceeding in which the employees in a collective bargaining unit cast a secret ballot 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.
111.02(6)(a)(a) "Employee" shall include any person, other than an independent contractor, working for another for hire in the state of Wisconsin in a nonconfidential, nonmanagerial, nonexecutive and nonsupervisory capacity, and shall not be limited to the employees of a particular employer unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
111.02(6)(b)
(b) "Employee" shall include any individual whose work has ceased solely as a consequence of or in connection with any current labor dispute or because of any unfair labor practice on the part of an employer and who has not:
111.02(6)(b)1.
1. Refused or failed to return to work upon the final disposition of a labor dispute or a charge of an unfair labor practice by a tribunal having competent jurisdiction of the same or whose jurisdiction was accepted by the employee or the employee's representative;
111.02(6)(b)2.
2. Been found to have committed or to have been a party to any unfair labor practice hereunder;
111.02(6)(b)3.
3. Obtained regular and substantially equivalent employment elsewhere; or
111.02(6)(b)4.
4. Been absent from his or her employment for a substantial period of time during which reasonable expectancy of settlement has ceased (except by an employer's unlawful refusal to bargain) and whose place has been filled by another engaged in the regular manner for an indefinite or protracted period and not merely for the duration of a strike or lockout.
111.02(6)(c)
(c) "Employee" shall not include any individual employed in the domestic service of a family or person at the person's home or any individual employed by his or her parent or spouse or any employee who is subject to the federal railway labor act.
111.02(7)
(7) The term "employer" means a person who engages the services of an employee, and includes any person acting on behalf of an employer within the scope of his or her authority, express or implied, but shall not include the state or any political subdivision thereof, or any labor organization or anyone acting in behalf of such organization other than when it is acting as an employer in fact. For purposes of this subsection, a person who engages the services of an employee includes the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and a local cultural arts district created under
subch. V of ch. 229.
111.02(7m)
(7m) "Fair-share agreement" means an agreement between the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and a labor organization representing employees of that authority under which all of the employees in a collective bargaining unit are required to pay their proportionate share of the cost of the collective bargaining process and contract administration measured by the amount of dues uniformly required of all members.
111.02(8)
(8) The term "jurisdictional strike" shall mean a strike growing out of a dispute between 2 or more employees or representatives of employees as to the appropriate unit for collective bargaining, or as to which representative is entitled to act as collective bargaining representative, or as to whether employees represented by one or the other representative are entitled to perform particular work.
111.02(9)
(9) The term "labor dispute" means any controversy between an employer and the majority of the employer's employees in a collective bargaining unit concerning the right or process or details of collective bargaining or the designation of representatives. Any organization with which either the employer or such majority is affiliated may be considered a party to the labor dispute.
111.02(9m)
(9m) "Maintenance of membership agreement" means an agreement between the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority and a labor organization representing employees of that authority which requires that all of the employees whose dues are being deducted from earnings under
s. 20.921 (1) or
111.06 (1) (i) at the time the agreement takes effect shall continue to have dues deducted for the duration of the agreement and that dues shall be deducted from the earnings of all employees who are hired on or after the effective date of the agreement.
111.02(10)
(10) The term "person" includes one or more individuals, partnerships, associations, corporations, limited liability companies, legal representatives, trustees or receivers.
111.02(10m)
(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 fair-share or maintenance of membership agreement or to terminate such an agreement.
111.02(11)
(11) The term "representative" includes any person chosen by an employee to represent the employee.
111.02(12)
(12) The term "secondary boycott" shall include combining or conspiring to cause or threaten to cause injury to a person with whom no labor dispute exists in order to bring that person, against that person's will, into a concerted plan to coerce or inflict damage upon another, whether by:
111.02(12)(a)
(a) Withholding patronage, labor or other beneficial business intercourse;
111.02(12)(c)
(c) Refusing to handle, install, use or work on particular materials, equipment or supplies; or
111.02(13)
(13) The term "unfair labor practice" means any unfair labor practice as defined in
s. 111.06.
111.04
111.04
Rights of employees. Employees shall have the right of self-organization and the right to form, join or assist labor organizations, to bargain collectively through representatives of their own choosing, and to engage in lawful, concerted activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection; and such employees shall also have the right to refrain from any or all of such activities.
111.05
111.05
Representatives and elections. 111.05(1)
(1) Representatives chosen for the purposes of collective bargaining by a majority of the employees voting 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.
111.05(2)
(2) Except as provided in
sub. (5), whenever a question arises concerning the determination of a collective bargaining unit as defined in
s. 111.02 (3), 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.
111.05(3)
(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 and certifying in writing the results thereof to the interested parties and to their employer or employers. There shall be included on any ballot 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 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 shall be so prepared as to permit of a vote against representation by anyone named on the ballot. 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.
111.05(3g)
(3g) Notwithstanding
subs. (3) and
(4), if on June 30, 1997, there is a representative recognized or certified to represent any of the units specified in
s. 111.825 (1) (f) 1.,
5. or
9., that representative shall become the representative of the employees in the corresponding collective bargaining units specified in
sub. (5) (a) 1. to
3., without the necessity of filing a petition or conducting an election, subject to the right of any person to file a petition under this section on or after October 1, 1998.
111.05(3m)
(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 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 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.
111.05(4)
(4) Questions concerning the determination of collective bargaining units or representation of employees may be raised by petition of any employee or the employee's employer, or the representative of either of them. Where it appears by the petition that any emergency exists requiring prompt action, the commission shall act on the petition immediately and hold the election requested within such time as will meet the requirements of the emergency presented. The fact that one election has been held does not prevent the holding of another election among the same group of employees, provided that it appears to the commission that sufficient reason for another election exists.
111.05(5)(a)(a) 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:
111.05(5)(b)
(b) 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
par. (a) shall be determined in the manner provided in this section. The creation of any collective bargaining unit for such employees is subject to approval of the commission. The commission shall not permit fragmentation of such collective bargaining units or creation of any such collective bargaining unit that is too small to provide adequate representation of employees. In approving such collective bargaining units, the commission shall give primary consideration to the authority's needs to fulfill its statutory missions.
111.05(6)
(6) If a single representative is recognized or certified to represent more than one of the collective bargaining units specified in
sub. (5), that representative and the employer 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 an election under
subs. (3) and
(3g). Any agreement under this subsection is effective upon written notice of the agreement by the parties to the commission and terminates upon written notice of 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.
111.06
111.06
What are unfair labor practices. 111.06(1)
(1) It shall be an unfair labor practice for an employer individually or in concert with others:
111.06(1)(a)
(a) To interfere with, restrain or coerce the employer's employees in the exercise of the rights guaranteed in
s. 111.04.
111.06(1)(b)
(b) To initiate, create, dominate or interfere with the formation or administration of any labor organization or contribute financial support to it, provided that an employer shall not be prohibited from reimbursing employees at their prevailing wage rate for the time spent conferring with the employer, nor from cooperating with representatives of at least a majority of the employer's employees in a collective bargaining unit, at their request, by permitting employee organizational activities on company premises or the use of company property facilities where such activities or use create no additional expense to the company, provided, however, that it shall not be an unfair labor practice for an employer to become a member of the same labor organization of which the employer's employees are members, when the employer and the employer's employees work at the same trade.
111.06(1)(c)1.1. To encourage or discourage membership in any labor organization, employee agency, committee, association or representation plan by discrimination in regard to hiring, tenure or other terms or conditions of employment except in a collective bargaining unit where an all-union, fair-share or maintenance of membership agreement is in effect. An employer is not prohibited from entering into an all-union agreement with the voluntarily recognized representative of the employees in a collective bargaining unit, where at least a majority of such employees voting have voted affirmatively, by secret ballot, in favor of such all-union agreement in a referendum conducted by the commission, except that where the bargaining representative has been certified by either the commission or the national labor relations board as the result of a representation election, no referendum is required to authorize the entry into such an all-union agreement. Such authorization of an all-union agreement shall be deemed to continue thereafter, subject to the right of either party to the all-union agreement to petition the commission to conduct a new referendum on the subject. Upon receipt of such petition, the commission shall determine whether there is reasonable ground to believe that the employees concerned have changed their attitude toward the all-union agreement and upon so finding the commission shall conduct a referendum. If the continuance of the all-union agreement is supported on any such referendum by a vote at least equal to that provided in this subdivision for its initial authorization, it may be continued in force thereafter, subject to the right to petition for a further vote by the procedure set forth in this subdivision. If the continuance of the all-union agreement is not thus supported on any such referendum, it is deemed terminated at the termination of the contract of which it is then a part or at the end of one year from the date of the announcement by the commission of the result of the referendum, whichever is earlier. The commission shall declare any all-union agreement terminated whenever it finds that the labor organization involved has unreasonably refused to receive as a member any employee of such employer, and each such all-union agreement shall be made subject to this duty of the commission. Any person interested may come before the commission as provided in
s. 111.07 and ask the performance of this duty. Any all-union agreement in effect on October 4, 1975, made in accordance with the law in effect at the time it is made is valid.
111.06(1)(c)2.
2. It is not a violation of this subchapter for an employer engaged primarily in the building and construction industry where the employees of such employer in a collective bargaining unit usually perform their duties on building and construction sites, to negotiate, execute and enforce an all-union agreement with a labor organization which has not been subjected to a referendum vote as provided in this subchapter.
111.06(1)(c)3.
3. It is not a violation of this subchapter for an employer engaged in the truck transportation of freight in the motor freight industry as a common or contract carrier of property as defined in
s. 194.01 (1) and
(2) to negotiate, execute and enforce an all-union agreement with a labor organization representing employees in a multi-state bargaining unit which has not been subjected to a referendum vote as provided in this subchapter; except that an election shall be held if a petition requesting such election is signed by 30% of the employees affected.
