Labor-Management Relations

On July 29, 2026, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued its long-awaited decision in Abbotsford Education Association v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, reversing the Dane County Circuit Court’s 2024 ruling that had declared significant portions of Act 10 unconstitutional.[1] In doing so, the court has preserved the status quo that Wisconsin public employers, including municipalities, technical colleges, school districts, and other governmental entities, have operated under for more than a decade.

On June 9, 2026, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 230–193 to pass the Faster Labor Contracts Act (“FLCA”), a bipartisan bill that would fundamentally alter the process by which employers and newly certified unions negotiate first collective bargaining agreements (“CBAs”).

On May 28, 2026, the Supreme Court issued its latest ruling broadening the transportation worker exemption to the Federal Arbitration Act (FAA). In a unanimous decision, the Supreme Court ruled that a transportation worker does not need to cross state lines, or interact with a vehicle that does, to be exempt from the FAA’s coverage.