Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB95

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/28/25
• Refer: 2/28/25
• Engrossed: 3/18/25
• Enrolled: 3/20/25
• Chaptered: 3/28/25
• Passed: 3/28/25

Caption

An Act Relating to: ratification of the agreement negotiated between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee, for the 2024-25 fiscal year, covering employees in the building trades crafts collective bargaining unit, and authorizing an expenditure of funds. (FE)

Summary

AB95 ratifies the 2024-25 fiscal year tentative agreement between the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the Wisconsin State Building Trades Negotiating Committee for employees in the building trades crafts collective bargaining unit. The bill approves the labor agreement as negotiated, as approved by the employees, and as recommended by the Joint Committee on Employment Relations, and it authorizes the expenditure of state funds needed to implement the agreement. The act also requires UW-Madison to file an official certified copy of the agreement with the secretary of state. It makes clear that only the terms contained in the official copy are approved by the legislature, and that any separate formal or informal understandings outside that document are not legislatively ratified. The bill takes effect the day after publication, except for any provisions in the agreement that specify different effective dates.

Impact

AB95 affects Wisconsin labor law and state budgeting by giving legislative approval to a collective bargaining agreement under subchapter V of chapter 111 and by authorizing spending from the appropriations referenced in s. 20.865(1). Its practical effect is to implement the negotiated terms for UW-Madison building trades employees for the 2024-25 fiscal year, including any wage, benefit, or working-condition provisions contained in the agreement, while limiting approval to the official certified agreement filed with the state.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Assembly unanimously, 94-0, and the Senate by a wide margin, 31-1, indicating strong bipartisan acceptance of the negotiated labor agreement and the associated funding authorization. The absence of committee transcript material also suggests there was little recorded public dispute in the available materials.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the legislature’s role in ratifying a negotiated labor contract and authorizing expenditures, which can raise concerns about state spending and oversight. Another possible issue is the bill’s limitation that only the official certified agreement is approved, excluding any side understandings; that provision protects legislative control but could matter to parties if there were disputed ancillary terms. The near-unanimous votes, however, suggest these issues did not generate significant opposition in this case.