Union leaders promise fight over Act 10 is not done

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- They may have lost the battle, but they promise to keep fighting the war. From nurses to teachers and beyond, most public employee unions say they are disappointed with the Federal court's ruling saying Act 10 would stand.

"Our members were extremely upset, very worried about what this means," says Candice Owley who represents the Wisconsin Federation of Nurses and Health Professionals.

Owley says public nurses all over Wisconsin feel they have had their voice taken away at work.

Bruce Colburn is with SEIU Healthcare Wisconsin.

He says the consequences of Act 10 are already being felt,  "We've seen at the Veterans homes, the loss of staffing. Where we now have forced overtime and not enough staffing."

But just this week in his State of the State address, Governor Walker argued his reforms have worked for Wisconsin taxpayers.

"Today Wisconsin has a $342 million dollar budget surplus, property taxes on a medium valued home went down in each of the last two years," Gov. Walker told the legislature.

While the union leaders don't disagree with the numbers, they argue those savings have also come at a cost, especially in Wisconsin classrooms.

Bob Peterson is with the Milwaukee Teachers Education Association.

Peterson said, "What's happening in many of our schools is larger class sizes, less adults working with kids who need help, as a community we can't sustain ourselves that way."

The union groups say they are now putting hopes on a court case at the state level.

A judge struck down part of Act 10 last year, based on the state constitution.

That case is still under appeal.