SB 558

Under current law, certain protective occupation participants under the

Wisconsin Retirement System (public safety employees) and certain municipal

transit employees may collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of

employment except that public safety employees who are municipal employees are

prohibited from bargaining over costs, payments, and the design and selection of

health care coverage plans and public safety employees who are state or municipal

employees are prohibited from bargaining over the requirement that the employer

may not pay any employee required contributions under the Wisconsin Retirement

System or under an employee retirement system of a first class city or a county

having a population of 500,000 or more (employee required contribution to a

retirement system). State government and municipal government employees who

are not public safety employees or municipal transit employees (general employees)

may collectively bargain only 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 may collectively bargain over wages,

hours, and conditions of employment under MERA and all state employees may

collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment under the

State Employment Labor Relations Act (SELRA). This bill does not change any

exceptions listed above for public safety employees, but does provide that general

employees are prohibited from bargaining over costs, payments, and the design and

selection of health care coverage plans and over the requirement that the employer

may not pay any employee required contributions to a retirement system. This bill

permits University of Wisconsin (UW) System employees to collectively bargain over

wages, hours, and conditions of employment subject to the same prohibited subjects

created in this bill for state employees. In addition, this bill permits employees of the

UW Hospitals and Clinics Authority and certain home care and child care providers

to collectively bargain over wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

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.