Berns v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission

The court of appeals affirmed the order and judgment of the circuit court for Milwaukee county, the Honorable George A. Burns, Jr., presiding, which affirmed an order of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. On this review we are presented with the question whether a “fair-share” provision in a collective bargaining agreement between a municipal employer and a union may, by its terms, be given retroactive effect. We conclude it may, and we affirm the decision of the court of appeals.

Petitioners Berns and Browne initiated this action on February 28, 1976, by filing with the Wisconsin…