Wisconsin Supreme Court won't hear case seeking to overturn 2011 anti-union law for now

abcnews.go.com:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has declined to immediately hear a case that seeks to restore collective bargaining rights lost that tens of thousands of teachers, nurses and other public workers lost in 2011

MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin Supreme Court declined on Wednesday to hear a case that seeks to restore collective bargaining rights lost in 2011 to tens of thousands of teachers, nurses and other public workers.

The court's decision means the case must first go through a lower appeals court before it will likely end up before the state Supreme Court.

Seven unions representing teachers and other public workers in Wisconsin filed the lawsuit seeking to overturn the anti-union 2011 law, known as Act 10. The law had withstood numerous legal challenges before a Dane County circuit court judge in December found the bulk of it to be unconstitutional, setting up the appeal to the state Supreme Court.

The Act 10 law effectively ended collective bargaining for most public unions by allowing them to bargain solely over base wage increases no greater than inflation. It also disallowed the automatic withdrawal of union dues, required annual recertification votes for unions, and forced public workers to pay more for health insurance and retirement benefits.

Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost in December ruled that the law violates equal protection guarantees in the Wisconsin Constitution by dividing public employees into “general” and “public safety” employees. Under the ruling, all public sector workers who lost their collective bargaining power would have it restored to what was in place before 2011.

The judge put the ruling on hold pending the appeal.

The law’s introduction in 2011 spurred massive protests that stretched on