Democratic lawmakers introduced a bill Feb. 6 to restore collective bargaining rights for University of Wisconsin Health employees eliminated by Wisconsin Act 10.
Passed by Republicans in 2011, Act 10 eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public sector employees, including nurses at UW Health. The Dane County Circuit Court ruled that key provisions of the law violated the equal protection clause in December 2024. The case currently sits in the court of appeals and is expected to eventually be heard by the Wisconsin Supreme Court.
Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, one of the bill’s sponsors, said he believes all health care workers should have the right to unionize regardless of what happens to Act 10 in the courts.
“While there is a strong legal argument to be made that UW Health staff should not be subject to the union activity restrictions of 2011 WI Act 10, as long as these essential workers lack full bargaining rights, we should be doing what we can as legislators to ensure that those rights are restored,” Larson said in a statement to The Daily Cardinal.
Colin Gillis, an inpatient trauma nurse and leader of the UW Nurses United union, SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin has long fought for better working conditions and his right to unionize.
“I hope that Act 10 is found to be unconstitutional, but I also just hope that… protections for worker rights in Wisconsin are built into the law of the land, and that unions can rebuild,” Gillis told the Cardinal.
Gillis pointed to a clear distinction between UW and other private state health care workers, who retain rights to collective bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act. Additionally, Act 10 carved out exceptions for some public safety workers — like firefighters and police officers.
Gillis called it “unusually cruel” that nurses did not retain their bargaining rights, saying “I think the UW Health part of Act 10 made it unusually plain that it was just about busting unions.”
UW Health is tied to the University of Wisconsin-Madison by state statute, but operates as a quasi-public authority with financial independence. The 2011 cuts impacted the UW System budget, not UW Health, where funding comes from patient revenue, insurance reimbursement and outside contributions. Its operating revenue was not directly impacted.
Gillis emphasized public approval for unions. As of 2025, 68% of Americans say they support labor unions. Since 2017, support has sustained at above 60%, the highest approval period since the 1960s, according to a Gallup poll.
Bill author Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said she hopes to work across the aisle on the bill.
During Act 10’s initial backlash, Roys visited her father in the hospital. There, she was able to hear nurses’ perspectives on the legislation firsthand.
“They were extremely concerned about what losing their union was going to mean for their patients, because nurses are really the frontline health care workers that are with the patients, not just for 10 minutes at grand rounds in the morning or for a quick checkup, but with these patients hour after hour, day after day,” Roys said.
Gillis echoed that sentiment, saying patient care is an important reason to fight for collective bargaining rights.
“My working conditions are my patient's care conditions,” Gillis said. “How many nurses are in the unit, how qualified those nurses are, how much experience they have, all of those factors are affected directly by the quality of the working conditions there, and they directly affect the outcomes [of] patients.”
The bill was read and referred to the Committee on Licensing, Regulatory Reform, State and Federal Affairs, but has not received a date for a public hearing yet.
Staff Writer
