Remember Scott Walker and Wisconsin?

kdailey4315

kdailey4315

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Pacifica, CA
Capital!

I still cannot understand why "civil servants" need to have collective bargaining or unions. I can almost feature it with PD/FD staff, but not anyone else. It's almost as if I were to wake up and read about newly-formed "legislators' unions" for elected nitwits (as if they're not bad enough as it is, unionising them would only make things far worse...)
 
kdailey4315 said:
Great article about the early results of Scott Walker telling the unions to go pound salt. After finally being allowed to tweak contracts with teachers ONE school district will turn a 400K deficit into a 1.5MM surplus. The changes to the teachers contract and working conditions are very reasonable and now the unions just look like power hungry a-holes.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/union-curbs-rescue-wisconsin-school-district
Click to expand...

No surprise there, I tried to get on a list as a supplier for a couple of school districts around my area, the bribes I would have needed to pay to get on the approved county and state lists was simply amazing. Palm Sunday every time I turned around.
 
kdailey4315 said:
Great article about the early results of Scott Walker telling the unions to go pound salt. After finally being allowed to tweak contracts with teachers ONE school district will turn a 400K deficit into a 1.5MM surplus. The changes to the teachers contract and working conditions are very reasonable and now the unions just look like power hungry a-holes.

http://washingtonexaminer.com/politics/2011/06/union-curbs-rescue-wisconsin-school-district
Click to expand...

Textbook example of how the unions designed to protect the workers has been corrupted by power brokers who amass wealth and power on the backs of the union members.......and leverage the outcomes of elections.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/05/20/richard-trumka-democrats_n_864518.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/11/03/aflcio-defend-election-2010-efforts-_n_778166.html

I like your description as well......
 
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Scott Walker didn't exactly tell unions to go pound salt. He told specific unions to go pound salt. Firefighters, Police, and Transportation Unions are all exempt from the legislation.

The estimated surplus in the school district comes from the additional contributions of the teachers to their health and retirement benefits (which the unions had already agreed to before the legislation was proposed), and layoffs.

Will kids still receive an education at their respective schools? Yes, though you'll have a hard time convincing me that larger classroom sizes will provide the same access to a quality education that a lower student/teacher ratio does.

On a closely related note, when asked about the 250,000 jobs that he promised to create during his campaign, Walker insisted that the reason he is not on target is due to the ineffectiveness of the federal government. Mildly ironic considering the reason behind his harsh budget cuts and "union policy overhauls" is that he refuses to "pass the buck" to future generations.
 
Colin W. said:
Scott Walker didn't exactly tell unions to go pound salt. He told specific unions to go pound salt. Firefighters, Police, and Transportation Unions are all exempt from the legislation.

The estimated surplus in the school district comes from the additional contributions of the teachers to their health and retirement benefits (which the unions had already agreed to before the legislation was proposed), and layoffs.

Will kids still receive an education at their respective schools? Yes, though you'll have a hard time convincing me that larger classroom sizes will provide the same access to a quality education that a lower student/teacher ratio does.

On a closely related note, when asked about the 250,000 jobs that he promised to create during his campaign, Walker insisted that the reason he is not on target is due to the ineffectiveness of the federal government. Mildly ironic considering the reason behind his harsh budget cuts and "union policy overhauls" is that he refuses to "pass the buck" to future generations.
Click to expand...

You don't think the union would have just went on strike as soon as that contract was up to get back everything they "lost" plus some?
 
kdailey4315 said:
You don't think the union would have just went on strike as soon as that contract was up to get back everything they "lost" plus some?
Click to expand...

There are enough out of work teachers that you could staff most of the school systems wholesale with new blood pretty quick.
 
The Schools are under a lot of economic pressure. The Gov has given the Districts one tool. The Teachers Union may not like it, and tried to give in at the 11th hour to make it look as though there was no reason to recend the right to collectively bargan, but I believe it was neccesary. They will not be able to come back in a few years and demand their salaries back with a bonus.

I do not believe class size will be affected. The Teacher to Student ratio has always floated around 30, and that was even before the Teachers Unionized in 78'. What will happen is that some folks who should retire, will. That will open possibilities for new UW graduates to tke their places.

This is not a cure all. Schools are under a lot of pressure to meet budget, and they provide a ton of services that if it were not for State Law, would be dished out to other State Agencies.

-Ron
 
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