When Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature passed a law this year sharply restricting collective bargaining for public employees, they included a tough measure requiring teachers and other unions to undergo annual voting to recertify.

Without certification, unions can't bargain for wages, even in the limited way now allowed under the law, but they can organize and advocate for their members.

The Wisconsin Employee Relations Commission, which oversaw the voting over the past 20 days, released a list of results showing that 177 teacher and other education unions voted to recertify, and 29 fell short of a recertification vote.

Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), chairman of the state Senate Education Committee, responded, "If teachers decided they want to recertify their unions, more power to them."

But he said the next question is whether the unions are able to collect their dues; the new state law removed the ability of unions to have dues automatically withheld from members' paychecks.

"The question is, will the dues come in," he said. "The proof will be in the pudding."