Lobby against Legislative leaders' plans to undercut bargaining rights

As the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee rewrites the governor's 2005-07 state budget proposal Republican leaders have signaled their intent to draft a proposal that would restrict public employees' collective bargaining rights.

In a statement released June 1, state Representative Dan Vrakas proposed a health insurance pool for all state and local government workers, including school district employees. State Senator Alberta Darling and Representative Terri McCormick have also proposed a plan that would make choosing a health insurance provider a prohibited subject of bargaining for unionized public employees.

WEAC President Stan Johnson said this would mean higher premiums and deductibles for WEAC members, and an erosion of the quality of their health insurance benefits.

"Cutting benefits for teachers and education support professionals is not an effective method of health care cost reform," Johnson said. "The Republican proposal would simply shift skyrocketing health care costs on to the backs of hardworking school employees, whose salaries continue to lose pace with inflation and fall further behind the national average."

There is a perception that education employees do not pay for their health insurance, Johnson said, but the truth is that teachers and support staff have sacrificed pay increases at the bargaining table in exchange for health insurance coverage for their families.

"Great schools depend on great teachers and staff, and without fair compensation the best and brightest will pursue careers in other fields," Johnson said.

One way of responding to these attacks, Johnson said, is for all WEAC members to participate in Lobby Day on June 16 by coming to Madison to talk to their legislators about preserving investments in public education.

JFC puts special interests before kids

The Republican members of the Joint Finance Committee are choosing huge road construction projects over kids and education, WEAC President Stan Johnson said.

"Republican leaders would rather protect road builders than use the transportation fund to help school districts transport kids to and from school," Johnson said.

On June 1, the JFC Republicans cut the UW System by $45 million and cut 118 positions from Governor Jim Doyle's UW System budget - a move that will deny future educational opportunity in this state. K-12 public education and kids appear to be their next target.

The Republicans are expected to ratchet down on the per-pupil allowable increase in revenue caps, resulting in immediate and massive cuts to schools. At the same time, however, legislative leaders will try to take credit for increases in school aids from one budget to the next. What they are not saying is that school districts will be unable to use the aid to invest in classrooms that work or to maintain quality staff in schools. Do not be fooled by the false numbers, Johnson said.

Schools need flexibility to fund quality programs while the state helps to ease the burden of local property taxes. That is the promise of state funding two-thirds of local school costs that Governor Doyle renews in his budget.

"WEAC members need to come to Madison on June 16 to tell their stories about the deep cuts to schools during the last decade under revenue caps," Johnson said. "Legislators must understand that schools and communities cannot sustain further cuts in staff and academic programs."