When Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker introduced his proposal to scale back public sector collective bargaining last year, organized labor immediately announced that their opposition "wasn't about the money." State union leaders said that they would accept Walker's proposed higher health and pension contributions if they were able to retain the ability to collectively bargain in the future.
Some school districts apparently didn't get the memo. Several districts rushed back to the bargaining table to sign new contracts before Walker's higher employee contributions kicked in. In "Walker-proofing" their benefits for a year or two, they were exposing themselves to drastic cuts in state aid, which the higher employee contributions were supposed to supplant.
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the state's largest district, was one of the districts that renegotiated their teacher contract in advance of Walker's proposal taking effect. (MPS actually passed their new contracts before Walker even introduced his plan; but the fact that they signed an unprecedented four-year deal signals that they knew exactly what was coming.) In Walker-proofing their benefits, MPS faced a $75 million state aid cut. Hundreds of teachers expected to lose their jobs as a result of teachers prioritizing benefits over actual teachers. (The average Milwaukee teacher pay and benefit package? $101,000 per year.)
Now, MPS has run to the state legislature, asking for a bill that would allow the district to re-open the contract without voiding it altogether. Republicans in control of both houses of the legislature have been amendable to such a change, hoping MPS can get its act together.
But other teachers' unions around the state are miffed at what they consider to be the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association's capitulation to Walker's proposal. This week, union leaders from Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay, and Racine sent a letter to MTEA, urging them to pull their request for legislation. It said: [my bold]
Nobody is surprised that teachers' unions are more interested in maneuvering for political power than they are in educating kids. But this latest union fracture is just further evidence that they might not hold the electoral clout they're counting on when they try to recall Walker in June.
Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS), the state's largest district, was one of the districts that renegotiated their teacher contract in advance of Walker's proposal taking effect. (MPS actually passed their new contracts before Walker even introduced his plan; but the fact that they signed an unprecedented four-year deal signals that they knew exactly what was coming.) In Walker-proofing their benefits, MPS faced a $75 million state aid cut. Hundreds of teachers expected to lose their jobs as a result of teachers prioritizing benefits over actual teachers. (The average Milwaukee teacher pay and benefit package? $101,000 per year.)
Now, MPS has run to the state legislature, asking for a bill that would allow the district to re-open the contract without voiding it altogether. Republicans in control of both houses of the legislature have been amendable to such a change, hoping MPS can get its act together.
But other teachers' unions around the state are miffed at what they consider to be the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association's capitulation to Walker's proposal. This week, union leaders from Madison, Kenosha, Green Bay, and Racine sent a letter to MTEA, urging them to pull their request for legislation. It said: [my bold]
"Such legislation will enable Governor Walker to claim victory of his policy to reign [sic] in public employee wages and benefits... Allowing Governor Walker to make such a claim just before the recall election will prove detrimental to recalling him and, therefore, will only enhance his ability to further harm all Wisconsin public employees."Clearly, other local teachers' unions are willing to throw the Milwaukee teachers' union under the bus, simply so Walker can't take credit for helping them out before the recall election that he is tentatively scheduled to face on June 5th. These other groups would be fine sacrificing teacher jobs in Milwaukee simply to have a slightly better chance at beating Walker over the summer.
Nobody is surprised that teachers' unions are more interested in maneuvering for political power than they are in educating kids. But this latest union fracture is just further evidence that they might not hold the electoral clout they're counting on when they try to recall Walker in June.
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