A Classroom circ 1950 pre budget woes - image: pinellas county schools k-12
When Wisconsin Governor, Scott Walker, took over the task of filling a budget gap, he went straight for the Public Employees Unions, asking those teachers to contribute to pension and health plans, at a rate slightly lower than those in the public sector. In addition he proposed ending forced union enrollment, giving teachers an option to opt out of the Public Employees Union, save the money on dues, and buy into the State’s Health Insurance, rather than the Teachers Unions Health Insurance. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back, as thousands of union protestors moved into Madison WI and the battle began. The Democrats in the Senate fled the State in order to avoid a vote on the budget, which includes the aforementioned provisions, in hopes that with enough pressure, Walker would change his mind. He hasn’t.
As of yesterday Walker issued anultimatum to those State Senators telling them they had 24 hours to return – or else. The or else are pink slips to over 1000 state workers. The press is comparing Walker to Reagan vis a vis “union busting”:
“What began as one small state trying to rewrite the rules of labor relations has blown up into what could be the biggest confrontation with American labor unions since then President Ronald Reagan fired striking air traffic controllers in 1981.”
(Reuters).
It appears that Walker is not alone, however, in the need to make deep cuts, confront Teachers unions and put State Houses in order. With the expiration of the Stimulus, those States that had kept the status quo or worse, increased spending based on a limited Stimulus, are now faced with making decisions that fly in the face of the Progressive “Tax the Rich”, mantra. The problem – the “Rich” who, in certain states, were taxed more, simply packed up and left, with the high and sustained unemployment, state income suffered from a drop in real middle class taxpayers, and the result is that Public Employee Unions are now in a power struggle over cash. Nowhere is this more apparent, that in the smallest state in the Union: Rhode Island.
Rhode Island has a state legislature and senate that is similar in scope to neighboring Massachusetts, with Democrats outnumbering Republicans by wide margins. In recent months, however, individual cities have taken steps to rein in spending – mayors are going to – the Unions, specifically Teachers.
An article in this morning’s Boston Globe highlights Providence Rhode Island, where, the Mayor is being compared to Scott Walkers double. The City of Providence, the State Capital has, in order to salvage the budget fired all of its teachers, in a move to get out from under the high cost of union benefits – which are unsustainable. The icing on the cake:
“But the mayor is facing a $40-million school budget deficit in a district that serves fewer than 24,000 students (PK-12). Taveras and the school committee are not laying the teachers off. They are firing them, which allows them to circumvent seniority bumping rules, whereby teachers will be called back to work on the basis of their years of tenure. This move allows school leaders to select teachers they think are the most effective.”
The union, of course is up in arms, and the author of the Boston Globe Article, Jim Stergios, points out that Massachusetts may be next. The income of larger urban areas in Massachusetts is derived from tax receipts and aid from the Commonwealth and the Federal Government (both broke), and two in particular are mentioned in the article as on the brink: Holyoke and Fall River. It is noted that both are “worse off” than Providence, and additional State cuts to municipalities can be anticipated in 2012.
Over in New York State, Governor Cuomo is facing an insurrection in his House, as the Governor has suggesting cutting benefits to School Superintendents, the rambunctious New York Democrats in the legislature are, of course, making waves. (Fox 23 news).
All of these Governors and Mayor from Walker to Cuomo and more to come as budget woes will force a realization that there is simply not enough money in this economic climate to sustain the lavish lifestyle the Teachers Unions and public employees unions (SEIU) to which they have become accustomed.
It is not about “union busting” per se, it is about survival of the state, asking those employees to take nominal cuts, and have an opt out to being in a union, (Wisconsin), or in the case of Providence, just firing the teachers, in order to hire back those deemed competent (now, that’s union busting, taking the Holy Grail of tenure and throwing it out based on competency). Come to think of it, it does appear to be a bit like “Union Busting”, but as the nation looks on, they do understand that there are those who need collective bargaining, and perhaps those who do not. Those that put their lives on the line, yes, those that don’t – do not – very simply put.
As a byproduct of the rage against inflated salaries and pension for public workers and retirees, the media (local) has found a new story line which is bound to bring in viewers. Today, WWLP Springfield MA an NBC Affiliate promoted today’s news cast with a Special Report, on – yes – which city (Springfield) retirees have the highest pensions. Of course, this is in the interest of the people’s right to know where there money is going – suddenly.
In retrospect, although the unions are taking center stage, along with their alleged protagonists (the Governors or Mayors), sooner or later those that rabble rouse professionally, must protect those rank and file who rely on having a job and simply let go of some of the power they have – or face a staggering loss of power as the balance of towns, municipalities and state governments realize they can no longer afford the “high price tag” associated with unionized public employee unions. It will not be a choice, it will be a necessity, as one cannot manufacture money (unless one is the Fed), to keep up pensions and salaries and health benefit plans that are the envy of the private sector (which, is, in the long run, more effective.) Case in point: in Western Massachusetts public schools have an average graduation rate in larger urban areas of approximately 50%, in private college prep schools, the graduation rate is 100% with those students going onto a 2 to 4 year college (100%), the cost of educating these students: Public schools: $12,000 to $14,000 approximately, the cost for college prep (varies) approximately $10,000. The question arises, is, in a private setting, students are able to learn, graduate and move onto college at a near or perfect rate, how is it that the nation’s most funded school systems, with union teachers, cannot manage to do the same, especially as they are obviously better funded.
In reality they are not, the funding for students in public schools includes salaries and benefits of the union teachers and administrators, and what little is left, goes towards education. For example: the City of Holyoke, which is named in the Boston Globe article: budget for FY 2009 (doe.mass.edu/profiles/finance), budgeted $13,000 per student, 34% of which went towards “classroom and specialists teachers) $4,907, another 10.4% went to “Insurance, Retirement Programs and Other” or $2,213 per student, other categories having to do with “Instructional Leadership”, “Other Teaching Services”, “Professional Development”, added approximately $2,000 to the pot (for the Teachers), out of that $13,000 in Holyoke Taxpayer Dollars, money spent for books and guidance amounted to: less than $1000 out of $13,000 per student. One can anticipate that there were increases in 2010 and again in 2012. It is any wonder therefore, that Massachusetts, although ironically, they do lead the nation, fail reading at proficient levels, and have dismal graduation rates?
This is what the nation has discovered, and as the press looks for increased ratings, more of these “exposes” will occur - Walker may have started the ball rolling, but the revelation of the incompetence and greed, will be the end of the era substandard unionized education.
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