111.04 Rights of employees. (1) 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. (2) Employees shall have the right to refrain from self-organization; forming, joining, or assisting labor organizations; bargaining collectively through representatives; or engaging in activities for the purpose of collective bargaining or other mutual aid or protection. (3) (a) No person may require, as a condition of obtaining or continuing employment, an individual to do any of the following: 1. Refrain or resign from membership in, voluntary affiliation with, or voluntary financial support of a labor organization. 2. Become or remain a member of a labor organization. 3. Pay any dues, fees, assessments, or other charges or expenses of any kind or amount, or provide anything of value, to a labor organization. 4. Pay to any 3rd party an amount that is in place of, equivalent to, or any portion of dues, fees, assessments, or other charges or expenses required of members of, or employees represented by, a labor organization. (b) This subsection applies to the extent permitted under federal law. If a provision of a contract violates this subsection, that provision is void. History: 2015 a. 1. Congress specifically reserved to the individual states the right to prohibit agreements that require employees to pay representative fees as a condition of employment. Passage of the right-to-work law in Wisconsin was within the province of the legislature. Sub. (3), as created by 2015 Wis. Act 1, does not appropriate, transfer, or encumber money. Act 1 does not require labor organizations to provide services to anyone. Act 1 merely prohibits employers from requiring union membership or the payment of fees as a condition of employment. Unions have no constitutional entitlement to the fees of non-member employees. Machinists Local Lodge 1061 v. Walker, 2017 WI App 66, 378 Wis. 2d 243, 903 N.W.2d 141, 16-0820. Under the holding and reasoning of Sweeney, 767 F.3d 654 (2014), 2015 Wis. Act 1, and specifically sub. (3) (a) 3., is not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act and does not work an unconstitutional taking. International Union of Operating Engineers Local 139 v. Schimel, 210 F. Supp. 3d 1088 (2016). Affirmed. 863 F.3d 674 (2017).
111.05 Representatives and elections. (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. (2) Whenever a question arises concerning the determination of a collective bargaining unit, 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.
May 22, 2026, are designated by NOTES. (Published 5-22-26)
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Updated 23-24 Wis. Stats.
(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. (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. (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. History: 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (4); 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 27; 1999 a. 83; 2009 a. 28; 2011 a. 10. Cross-reference: See also chs. ERC 3, 7, and 17, Wis. adm. code.