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Bills from the 2011–12 session

Assembly Bill 338

Collective bargaining for public employees, granting rule-making authority, and making appropriations

Topics: Collective bargaining, Day care, Nursing homes and adult care, Public employee, Public employee: Labor union, Public employee: Salary, University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics Authority, University of Wisconsin: Employee

Stopped in committee

It never got a ⁠, so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.

  1. Introduced, passed

    Oct 25, 2011

  2. Committee, stopped here

    Stopped here. No public hearing was held.

  3. Assembly vote, not reached

  4. Senate vote, not reached

  5. Governor, not reached

  6. Law, not reached

Latest entry in the official record, Mar 23, 2012: “Failed to pass pursuant to ⁠”

It never got a hearing in the Assembly Committee on Assembly Organization. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.

Read the bill

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What it would have done

Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Current law grants certain protective occupation participants under the Wisconsin Retirement System (public safety employees) and certain municipal transit employees the right to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment. State government and municipal government employees who are not public safety employees or municipal transit employees (general employees) have the right to collectively bargain over a percentage increase in base wages that does not exceed the percentage change in the consumer price index. Current law also prohibits municipal employers from collectively bargaining with municipal general employees in matters that are not permitted under the Municipal Employment Relations Act (MERA). Under this bill, all municipal employees have the right to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment under MERA, and all state employees have the right to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment under the State Employment Labor Relations Act (SELRA). In addition, this bill provides University of Wisconsin (UW) System employees, employees of the UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority, and certain home care and child care providers the right to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

Under SELRA and MERA, each collective bargaining unit containing general employees must have an annual election to certify the labor organization that represents the collective bargaining unit. If, at the election, less than 51 percent of the actual employees in the collective bargaining unit vote for a representative, then, at the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement, the current representative is decertified and the members of the collective bargaining unit are nonrepresented and may not be represented for one year. This bill eliminates the requirement to have an annual certification election. Once the majority of employees in a collective bargaining unit elects a labor organization as their representative, that labor organization remains the representative unless a percentage of members of the collective bargaining unit supports a petition for a new election and subsequently votes to decertify the representative.

Read the full summary

Currently, the term for a collective bargaining agreement covering a general employee may not exceed one year and may not be extended. This bill generally limits the term to two years and eliminates the prohibition on agreement extensions.

Current law prohibits the deduction of labor organization dues from salaries of general employees. This bill allows employees who are represented by a labor organization to have the organization dues deducted from their salaries.

Who's behind it

30 lawmakers are its ⁠. All 30 are Democrats.

17 more lawmakers ⁠.

See all 47 names

Authors (30)

Signed on in support (17)

What it would cost

State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

What happened

  1. Mar 23, 2012

    The session ended, and the bill died with it.

  2. Feb 1, 2012

    1 more representative signed on in support.

  3. Jan 24, 2012

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  4. Nov 16, 2011

    A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.

  5. Oct 25, 2011

    Sent to the Assembly Committee on Assembly Organization.

  6. Oct 25, 2011

    Introduced in the Assembly.

See the official record, word for word
  1. Oct 25, 2011 · Assembly

    Introduced by Representatives Pocan, Barca, Berceau, Bernard Schaber, Bewley, Doyle, Fields, Grigsby, Hebl, Hintz, Hulsey, Jorgensen, Kessler, Mason, Milroy, Molepske Jr, Pasch, Pope-Roberts, Richards, Ringhand, Roys, Seidel, Sinicki, Staskunas, Steinbrink, C. Taylor, Turner, Young, Zamarripa and Zepnick;Cosponsored by Senators Risser, Carpenter, S. Coggs, Erpenbach, Hansen, Holperin, Jauch, King, C. Larson, Lassa, Miller, Shilling, Taylor, Vinehout, Wirch and T. Cullen

  2. Oct 25, 2011 · Assembly

    Read first time and referred to committee on Assembly Organization

  3. Nov 16, 2011 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  4. Jan 24, 2012 · Assembly

    Fiscal estimate received

  5. Feb 1, 2012 · Assembly

    Representative Clark added as a coauthor

  6. Mar 23, 2012 · Assembly

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

Terms on this page

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary

From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source

Committee

A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.

More in the glossary

Public hearing

A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.

More in the glossary

Senate Joint Resolution 1

The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.

Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1

More in the glossary

Legislative Reference Bureau

The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.

Official term: LRB analysis

More in the glossary

Author

A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.

Official term: Author, coauthor

More in the glossary

Signed on in support

Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.

Official term: Cosponsor

More in the glossary

Cost estimate

A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.

Official term: Fiscal estimate

More in the glossary