By State Representative, Leon D. Young
Leon D. Young
Go into any store these days and one is immediately reminded as to the time of year. Summer is fading fast and the school year is almost upon us. This school year, however, will be exceedingly different.
For starters, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) has announced that it has issued layoff notices to 42 employees. This is approximately 40 percent of WEAC’s professional staff.
This decision to reduce staff comes at a time when the organization is struggling to stay afloat as a union. The new legislation specifically limits collective bargaining and requires WEAC to do several things that include:
- Local unions must hold annual re-certification votes
- Prohibits employers from automatically deducting union dues from a public worker’s payroll
- Gives bargaining-unit members the ability to opt out of paying union dues altogether, if they so choose.
The other head of this twoheaded legislative Cyclops requires most public workers to pay more for their health care and retirement benefits. This, in essence, puts added financial pressure on WEAC to remain solvent as a union.
Walker ’s 2011-13 state budget is no friend of public education either. The budget cuts funding for K-12 by $1.6 billion statewide. This means sizeable layoffs of teachers and the elimination of most art, music, and gym classes.
We have all heard the Republican rhetoric concerning the national debt, the size of government, and how we are mortgaging the future of our children and their children in turn. However, I beg to differ.
Contrary to this disingenuous GOP mantra, the real threat to future generations is the egregious dismantling of public education in this country.