Kenosha School District Settles Lawsuit Over Alleged Act 10 Violation

District Had Negotiated New Teacher Contracts While Act 10 Made Its Way Through Courts

By
Above, Walter Reuther Central High School in Kenosha. Photo: Eric Allix Rogers (CC-BY-NC-SA).

The Kenosha Unified School District voted last week to settle a lawsuit that had contended that the district violated Act 10 when it struck a labor agreement with teachers last November.

Act 10 restricts collective bargaining to limited wage increases and prohibits mandatory union dues.

The Kenosha teacher’s contract was negotiated as Act 10 was working its way through the courts. Some districts renewed contracts during this window. A former teacher for Kenosha contended the new contract was illegal and sued with the help of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty.

Stay informed on the latest news

Sign up for WPR’s email newsletter.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“The Kenosha School District has agreed that the collective agreement is null and void and that they will not collect dues from our clients,” said the institute’s president Rick Esenberg. “The union, of course, doesn’t agree with that and so that claim – the union’s claim – will still be litigated.”

The Wisconsin Supreme Court is expected to rule on Act 10 this summer.

Related Stories