Public bargaining born in Wisconsin

One of the most basic questions is what is collective bargaining?

Fundamentally, it's a way of determining workers' wages, hours and conditions of employment through direct negotiation eventually leading to a written contract.

The governor's plan would take away two of those areas, hours and conditions of employment, and limit wage changes up or down to consumer price changes.

It's also worth noting Wisconsin's historically strong background in this area.

It was the first state to adopt a collective bargaining law for public employees. That was 52 years ago.

The country's primary union for non-federal government workers, AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) was formed in Madison 75 years ago.

Led by Gov. Philip La Follette, the state created the nation's first unemployment compensation law in 1932. And, exactly 100 years ago, Wisconsin was first to create a law providing payment to workers injured on the job.