School administrators to discuss latest ruling on public union bargaining

Talk about it

Wisconsin school administrators will meet Friday, Sept. 21, to try to make sense of last Friday’s court ruling which struck down parts of the state law that limited most public union bargaining.

Some superintendents and teachers unions say they’ll wait to see how the issue is played out when the state challenges the ruling in the appellate courts. Other groups, like the Madison and Merrill teachers unions, have asked their bosses to get contract talks going before the bargaining law could be put back into place.

An appeals court will hold a hearing Oct. 4 on the state’s request to restore the law while the full appeal is being considered.

On Thursday, Sept. 20, state public school Superintendent Tony Evers said during his annual education address that teachers have been unfairly targeted in the battle over collective bargaining.

Evers said all Wisconsinites should be alarmed when teachers are not valued and respected in their communities. As he put it, “No other profession is more responsible for securing our economic future.”

Evers opposed the union limits, but he later worked with Gov. Scott Walker on a number of education reforms.

Walker’s office responded to Evers’ address by saying, “Transforming education will continue to be one of Gov. Walker’s top priorities in the next state budget.”

After his address, Evers said he would not comment on last week’s court ruling. He expects to hear more about it today at the conference of school administrators.

Evers does say schools are taking a “real toll” financially. He said he’ll keep pushing for changes in the state aid system.

Appeals court hearing

An appeals court has scheduled an Oct. 4h hearing on the state’s request to temporarily restore public union bargaining limits for local governments and schools. Those limits were struck down a week ago by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas, who said they were unconstitutional.

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has asked that the union law stay in effect while he challenges the ruling in the higher courts. Meanwhile, the Dane County Board in Madison voted 29-8 Thursday night, Sept. 20, in favor of a one-year extension of full union contracts for county employees, through 2015. The two sides scrambled to negotiate the extension, because they didn’t know how long the judge’s decision would remain in effect.

County Executive Joe Parisi says the deal includes the county’s own plan for cutting personnel costs if need be with things like furloughs and an unpaid voluntary leave program.

One of the supervisors who voted no, David Wiganowsky, says the deal appears to be more of a political favor than a contract extension.

Milwaukee labor council

The labor council that represents Milwaukee city, county and school employees had also asked for new contract talks in the wake of the court ruling.

Milwaukee County Deputy Corporation Counsel Mark Grady says the impact of the ruling is not as big as many people think. For county workers, Grady says it only affects the size of the pay raises that employees can negotiate for.

The union law only allows bargaining for raises at or below inflation, and it stopped giving workers a say on benefits and work conditions.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance said earlier this week that the ruling does not affect the higher payments all public workers are making toward their health care and pensions, with Milwaukee County pension payments being the only exception.

Tags: news, education, government, social