Republicans vowed to immediately appeal the ruling, which ultimately is likely to go before the Wisconsin Supreme Court. That only amplifies the importance of the April election that will determine whether the court remains controlled 4-3 by liberal justices.

Wisconsin public worker and teachers unions have scored a major legal victory with a ruling that restores collective bargaining rights they lost under a 2011 state law.

MADISON, Wis. (WBAY) - A Dane County judge has restored collective bargaining powers to teachers and other public workers, ending a near-total ban on collective bargaining since 2011, throwing out a law known as Act 10.

A Wisconsin judge struck down certain parts of Act 10, a controversial law also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill, on Monday, restoring collective bargaining rights to union workers.

The 2011 law stripped most government workers in the state of collective bargaining rights and set off protests that lasted weeks.