Voters should realize from the example below that what big government Walker Republicans can take away once, they'll take away again, until its gone. Take the only thing left of collective bargaining, wage increases. Think you're safe? Pretty soon, they'll find a reason to go after you.
jsonline: Gov. Scott Walker used his broad new powers to reshape a state rule and effectively lower the cost-of-living raises that public worker unions can win through bargaining.
For workers in public schools and technical colleges, the revised emergency rule put in place Thursday could reduce the upper limit of their allowed salary increases by an estimated 30% or more. Under that law, unions' bargaining is limited to cost-of-living adjustments and the change by Walker would limit that bargaining more than the original rule proposed by his own appointees.
Katy Lounsbury, a Madison labor attorney, said the rules effectively neuter teachers unions in their bargaining over salaries. She said the rules may result in legal action … "It penalizes members of a union."
But Walker's administration ordered changes to the rules that would limit base wages to exclude pay given to workers such as teachers to reflect factors such as having a graduate degree. For instance, a teacher with a master's degree making $45,000 a year might only make $35,000 a year in a given school district without the extra pay for her graduate degree. That would yield an allowable 3.2% increase of $1,050 a year rather than $1,350 … the change would mainly affect unions in K-12 schools and technical colleges.
The Wisconsin Association of School Boards said in a memo to members this month that legal challenges of the rule are likely.
No comments:
Post a Comment