
WEAC Legislative Agenda 2009-10 Repeal of the QEO WEAC supports legislation to repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law. Great schools benefit everyone, and one reason Wisconsin has had such high quality school staff over the years is that they have been involved, through collective bargaining, in decisions about their schools. Wisconsin takes pride in great schools, and this kind of local collaboration is something we all value. Unfortunately, the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) law has taken decision-making power away from teachers, having a negative impact on the quality of our schools. If Wisconsin is to recruit and retain the best and the brightest educators, it must restore fairness to the state bargaining law. The QEO law must be repealed. Under the QEO law, educators have little power and school boards get the best of all worlds: School boards can bargain a voluntary settlement, or they can avoid interest arbitration by imposing a QEO of 3.8%, or they can choose to go to arbitration when they have a strong case. Under the QEO law, teachers cannot petition to take the contract to arbitration, and they cannot strike. If the parties do not reach a voluntary settlement and the school board imposes a QEO, teachers have no legal means to achieve resolution. Moreover, once wages and benefits have been set and the QEO is imposed, teachers lack the bargaining leverage to effectively negotiate other compensation or education issues such as class size, preparation time, or student discipline. Every kid deserves a great school, and the QEO law harms the quality of public education. It discourages those with a superior teaching ability from entering and staying in the education profession by limiting pay. In addition, the QEO often eliminates collaboration between labor and management organizations, resulting in increased tension in the workplace that interferes with education quality. The QEO law is an affront to Wisconsin’s tradition of fairness. It singles out and penalizes one group of employees. In addition, it contains a flawed costing formula that uses projected, rather than actual costs. Consequently, district budgets are often overestimated because they project forward the previous year’s staff positions. Turnover savings are ignored and teachers receive even less than the QEO promises them. Furthermore, the law penalizes employees who are planning to retire by giving them a lifetime of reduced pensions. Investments in great schools build strong communities, and by limiting teacher pay the QEO law not only makes it difficult for school districts to attract and retain quality staff, it robs local economies of earning power that could be invested in goods and services. It is self-defeating for lawmakers to artificially limit the pay of those very individuals who help develop the skilled and knowledgeable workforce that is the economic engine of tomorrow. Teacher pay has declined relative to the cost of living at a time when wages in most other professions have exceeded inflation. Since the QEO law went into effect in 1993, teacher salaries have lost 11% to inflation. Teacher salaries fell to just 93% of the national average, the lowest point in 40 years, with the state’s ranking plummeting from 15 to 21 nationally. The tide must be reversed. It is time to repeal the unfair QEO law and allow school districts and unions to bargain in good faith without artificial constraints. Additional Information Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e-mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions. Posted May 12, 2008

WEAC Legislative Agenda 2009-10

Repeal of the QEO

WEAC supports legislation to repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law.

Great schools benefit everyone, and one reason Wisconsin has had such high quality school staff over the years is that they have been involved, through collective bargaining, in decisions about their schools. Wisconsin takes pride in great schools, and this kind of local collaboration is something we all value.

Unfortunately, the Qualified Economic Offer (QEO) law has taken decision-making power away from teachers, having a negative impact on the quality of our schools.

If Wisconsin is to recruit and retain the best and the brightest educators, it must restore fairness to the state bargaining law. The QEO law must be repealed.

Under the QEO law, educators have little power and school boards get the best of all worlds: School boards can bargain a voluntary settlement, or they can avoid interest
arbitration by imposing a QEO of 3.8%, or they can choose to go to arbitration when they have a strong case. Under the QEO law, teachers cannot petition to take the contract to arbitration, and they cannot strike.

If the parties do not reach a voluntary settlement and the school board imposes a QEO, teachers have no legal means to achieve resolution. Moreover, once wages and benefits have been set and the QEO is imposed, teachers lack the bargaining leverage to effectively negotiate other compensation or education issues such as class size, preparation time, or student discipline.

Every kid deserves a great school, and the QEO law harms the quality of public education. It discourages those with a superior teaching ability from entering and staying in the education profession by limiting pay. In addition, the QEO often eliminates collaboration between labor and management organizations, resulting in increased tension in the workplace that interferes with education quality.

The QEO law is an affront to Wisconsin’s tradition of fairness. It singles out and penalizes one group of employees. In addition, it contains a flawed costing formula that uses projected, rather than actual costs. Consequently, district budgets are often overestimated because they project forward the previous year’s staff positions. Turnover savings are ignored and teachers receive even less than the QEO promises them. Furthermore, the law penalizes employees who are planning to retire by giving them a lifetime of reduced pensions.

Investments in great schools build strong communities, and by limiting teacher pay the QEO law not only makes it difficult for school districts to attract and retain quality staff, it robs local economies of earning power that could be invested in goods and services. It is self-defeating for lawmakers to artificially limit the pay of those very individuals who help develop the skilled and knowledgeable workforce that is the economic engine of tomorrow. Teacher pay has declined relative to the cost of living at a time when wages in most other professions have exceeded inflation. Since the QEO law went into effect in 1993, teacher salaries have lost 11% to inflation. Teacher salaries fell to just 93% of the national average, the lowest point in 40 years, with the state’s ranking plummeting from 15 to 21 nationally. The tide must be reversed.

It is time to repeal the unfair QEO law and allow school districts and unions to bargain in good faith without artificial constraints.

Additional Information

Contact Deb Sybell, WEAC Legislative Program Coordinator, at 800-362-8034 ext. 227 or by e-mail at sybelld@weac.org with any reactions, comments or questions.

Posted May 12, 2008