Expanding Act 10: Are Police and Fire Unions Next?

Are police and fire unions going to fall under the same restrictions as other public employee unions? It might be too soon to tell, but Gov. Scott Walker this week said legislation might get introduced to deal with the issue.

When Walker first introduced Act 10, the bill that stripped most collective bargaining rights from public employee unions, police and fire unions were noticeably absent from those affected.

But now, more than two years later - and a year after Walker successfully fended off recall efforts against him - the governor let it slip on Monday that expanding Act 10 to police and fire unions might be something he could support, according to a story in the Wisconsin State Journal.

“I think now, for those areas, having seen that the world didn’t come to an end for other municipal employees, there might be a greater opening going forward because they’d say, ‘Hey, you know, things worked out,’” he is quoted as saying.

More specifically, he said legislation may be introduced in the future that leads to the Act 10 expansion because there weren't massive strikes among public employees. So, adding public safety unions to the list probably wouldn't result in strikes, either.

Walker was quick on Tuesday, though, to downplay any significance about his comments, a story on jsonline.com reads.

"There isn't a specific proposal I'm pushing," he was quoted.

Public safety unions were the few public employee unions to back Walker both in his first election run in 2010 and again in the recall in 2012. 

While the Wisconsin State Journal reporter was unable to reach fire union officials, Mike Crivello from the Milwaukee Police Association said he isn't jumping to conclusions because Walker is aware there is a difference between public safety and most other public employee unions.

The Wisconsin League of Municipalities has pushed for all public employee unions to get treated equally under the law.

Spokespersons for Republican leaders in Madison say this issue isn't currently under discussion, according to the Journal Sentinel.