Wisconsin Justices Uphold Union Limits, a Victory for the Governor

CHICAGO — The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Thursday upheld a law that significantly limits collective bargaining rights for most public workers, dealing a decisive blow to labor unions in the state and handing Gov. Scott Walker a crucial victory in an election year.

The law, known as Act 10, became the signature legislation of Mr. Walker, a Republican who drew national notice when he proposed it after taking office in 2011. The measure brought thousands of union supporters to the State Capitol in protest and galvanized efforts to limit unions in Republican-controlled states.

In a 5-to-2 decision, justices rejected arguments that the restrictions on collective bargaining violated freedom of association and equal protection rights, among others.

“No matter the limitations or ‘burdens’ a legislative enactment places on the collective bargaining process, collective bargaining remains a creation of legislative grace and not constitutional obligation,” Justice Michael J. Gableman wrote in a majority opinion.

“The First Amendment cannot be used as a vehicle to expand the parameters of a benefit that it does not itself protect,” he also wrote.

The justices also ruled on two other closely watched issues, upholding a law requiring voters to show photo identification and another creating a domestic partnership registry for same-sex couples. The immediate effect of those rulings was somewhat limited because of other, still-waited decisions expected on related issues in the federal courts.

In a written statement, Mr. Walker said of the collective bargaining case: “Act 10 has saved Wisconsin taxpayers more than $3 billion. Today’s ruling is a victory for those hard-working taxpayers.” The law had been entangled in litigation since its passage.

Mr. Walker, who is talked about as a possible presidential candidate in 2016 even as he is in the midst of a tight race for re-election, has said that Act 10 is needed to solve an expected deficit in the state budget.

Union leaders — who have long dismissed Act 10 as an excuse to diminish the power of unions, which often back Democratic candidates — said they were disappointed but not surprised by the ruling. While the State Supreme Court is nominally nonpartisan, some critics say it has often split along predictable conservative-liberal lines with a majority of the justices siding with the conservatives.

Some labor leaders said that Mr. Walker’s measure all but eviscerated many public sector unions, leaving members wondering exactly what bargaining ability they were getting for their dues, which under the law can no longer be automatically withdrawn from their paychecks. Act 10 limited bargaining rights to pay raises within the rate of inflation. And with higher contributions from workers for their health care and pensions under the law, some union members said they could no longer afford dues. One Wisconsin union said it had lost as much as 60 percent of its membership.

“We were preparing our locals for this outcome, and in all honesty, we have been moving forward under the assumption that it would be this way,” said Kim Kohlhaas, the president of AFT-Wisconsin.

With the legal challenges over, at least for now, union leaders and Democrats, who hold minorities in both of the state’s legislative chambers, said they would still pursue changes through the coming elections.

Act 10 proved divisive in the state, which decades ago became the nation’s first to give public sector unions the ability to negotiate contracts. The changes led to recall efforts against Mr. Walker and legislators in 2011 and 2012, and remain an issue in Mr. Walker’s re-election campaign this year.

“It’s been a sobering time, but we carry on and people are ready to make it right,” said Boyd McCamish, executive director of District Council 48 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in Milwaukee.

Mr. Walker’s opponent this fall, Mary Burke, a Democrat and former business executive, has said she favors collective bargaining. Polls have shown the race is close. “Mary supports the right of workers to collectively bargain, and believes that the concessions on health care and pension were fair, but should have been reached through the collective bargaining process,” a statement from Ms. Burke’s spokesman, Joe Zepecki, read in part.

In a pair of other rulings, the justices upheld a state law requiring that photo identification be shown at polling places, while also requiring officials to consider waiving the cost of securing documents needed to get such identification. The rulings will have no immediate effect on Wisconsin voters, however, because of a federal court decision in April that the law violates the Constitution. That decision is being reviewed by a federal appeals court in Chicago.

And in the case involving a challenge to a law establishing a domestic partnership registry system for gay couples, the justices said the law did not violate a state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. But a larger question about same-sex marriages in the state is making its way through the federal court system. In June, a federal judge struck down the state’s ban, and that case, along with a similar one from Indiana, is awaiting a hearing in an appeals court.