"If Gov. Scott Walker's union bargaining measure becomes law and forces do-or-die recertification votes for public employee unions..."

"... some large public unions may simply skip the votes and drop their official status with the state..."

Bob McLinn, president of the Wisconsin State Employees Union, which represents blue-collar workers, said his union may instead seek to keep representing members as a voluntary organization without the official recognition the union now receives from the state.

"There has been a discussion about not recertifying because of the fact that there would be little or no benefit," McLinn said.

To stay alive, the unions under Walker's legislation would have to get 51% of the vote of all the potential union members in their bargaining unit, not just the ones who actually cast ballots. They also will have to win the vote again every year or their union will cease to function and be unable to reconstitute itself for at least a year after that.