Public Sector Employment: Cases and Materials
Coauthors include:
Martin H. Malin Professor of Law and Director, Institute for Law and the Workplace Chicago-Kent College of Law I Illinois Institute of Technology
Joseph E. Slater Eugene N. Balk Professor of Law and Values University of Toledo College of Law
Jeffrey M. Hirsch Geneva Yeargan Rand Distinguished Professor of Law University of North Carolina School of Law
Abstract
Shortly after publication of the second edition of this casebook, dramatic changes occurred in public sector labor law, most visibly in Wisconsin where large public demonstrations captured the attention of the nation while protesting the virtual elimination of collective bargaining rights for most public employees in Wisconsin, home of the first public sector bargaining law enacted in 1959. A number of other states changed their laws, most reducing bargaining rights, although some of the changes were later revoked by public referendum. This retrenchment of bargaining rights, which was not uniform, was attributed to state financial difficulties following the recession that began in 2007. Despite the legal changes since 2011, union membership in the public sector has changed little, remaining at 35.2% of the workforce in 2015, slightly down from 35. 7% in 2014.