You've seen this story before - maybe in a town near you. It's been rampant the last few years, the public workers of this country beginning to feel the pinch of their states' budgets. It's been felt acutely in states such as California and New York, but now Wisconsin is on the national media radar with several school systems canceling classes, anticipating that several teachers will protest a bill asking them to pay more towards their benefits and take away most of their collective bargaining rights.
I've never had the pleasure of working in the public sector before (there's a touch of sarcasm there), although the benefits are quite cushy and have been for some time. Many workers both public and private enjoy the protection of unions, formed in order to protect the rights and prevent the abuse of workers. Low-skill workers used to be taken advantage of by deplorable working conditions and low wages.
Today, the prevalence of low pay and dangerous work conditions are mitigated by the presence of unions, and while that's all and good, unions have now shifted their focus to securing adequate pay and benefits increases on a regular basis. For government unions, this comes at the expense of the taxpayers, of which most are in the private sector and suffering their own conundrum of their employers reducing their benefits, but with no rights to picket. (For private unions, they usually only have one choice - keep paying out the nose until they go bankrupt and EVERYONE loses their job. Detroit is a good example of this.)
This perhaps is less about yet another picketing school system than more about what needs to be done, first starting at the national level and encouraging states to follow suit. The bigwigs in Washington are going about this in the wrong direction: By pushing more costs onto the taxpayer and borrowing money that doesn't exist, we are creating a hole from which our children and grandchildren may never escape. In other words, the Big Government is trying to do this all on their own, instead of seeking out private companies to assist when budget cuts strike - programs for the elderly and disabled, for example.
I fear that more people will start looking upon unionized workers with scorn. I think people have a fundamental right to living with enough income, but at the same time, why shouldn't they cough up a little more dough to cover their benefits? Pay raises are great and should be given when deserved; but here I am, having been down the road where our benefits disappeared and had to pay for insurance entirely out of pocket, and my income is slowly being cut, not raised. And they're protesting that they need to help balance a budget that they are a part of?
No. If we're going to get out of this mess, start protesting for something that makes sense. Let's back up and look at how the private sector can help balance budgets. Start finding organizations to supplement the after-school programs, programs for those with learning disabilities, and sports. If teachers want the extra pay and full benefits coverage, then they need to see the bigger issue at hand: Not that unions are being unfairly targeted, but that the government just doesn't know how to run itself, and that nothing short of a creative solution will have the most benefit.
Here's some point by point commentary on the CNN article above:
- Today 24,500 students missed school because the Wisconsin Education Association Council asked people to "stand beside your neighbors, family and friends and help our voices be heard." Well, that's just selfish now. It's MY VOICE, I WANT TO BE HEARD. Not everybody else. Not everyone else who is suffering from budget cuts, JUST ME. What kind of "collective bargaining" is that?!
- The deficit in Wisconsin is in the billions over the next two years. Billions! That's nine zeros to deal with! How can we demand fiscal responsibility and expect states to operate on a budget (just like most average Americans do) without everyone feeling the pinch? Call it a job hazard. Don't protest and leave the students hanging; figure out how to use your unions to target irresponsible spending and find results that work, starting with finding legislators who will do such a thing, and vote for them. More than ever we need properly educated children to compete against other first-world economies, and whether you like it or not, China is right there with us and owns most of our debt.
- WI governor Scott Walker says he understands the legal protests, but wants "taxpayers of Wisconsin [to] have their chance to have their voices heard." Bingo and bingo. Peaceful protesting makes this country great, but if I'm paying for teachers' salaries and benefits, let's make sure the money is going to the right place. That's my right as a taxpaying citizen.
- Okay, and now teachers have to pay more of their pension. What is a pension and how can a self-employed businesswoman like me get in on that? Oh, wait. Never mind.
- Pay raises limited to inflation - sensible, and again, living within their means. Unless the government can get (legally) creative in balancing the budget, this is what it should be limited to for now.
- At least they still have some collective bargaining rights. If they were to completely do away with that (which I don't think is legally possible), then you'd see the entire state shut down.
- Bryan Kennedy, president of the AFT-Wisconsin, states that the bill is a "smokescreen" and that the debate is "not a financial issue. It is about worker rights." Uh, Mr. Kennedy, if you're on someone else's budget, then it is a financial issue. You can't just set the education budget off to the side and let everyone else suffer the cuts. If government refuses to resolve the problem by making sweeping changes to the way they do business, then everyone needs to take part of the fall.
- A video of one union worker states that "If Wisconsin [collective bargaining] falls, so does the nation." ORLY? When did you get so damn important, since you won the Super Bowl? (Just kidding.) Seriously though, if setting a precedent is their concern, then set the right one. Don't picket again and expect a different outcome. Isn't that defined as insanity?
- Ah, and absent teachers this week would be docked pay if they didn't have a doctor's note. Good for them.
- A voice of reason: Superintendent Daniel Nerad is asking Walker to re-bargain collective bargaining, but also acknowledging that their "no. 1 responsibility is to instruct students." Yes, that's exactly what should be happening.
Look, I understand we all need to live. We all want and need something that our government can't provide us, and in this great country, we can usually find a way to get it. It's not ever easy but in this day and age, we can do it. That's why I wonder why we place so much power into the government, including our money, without pushing for some sensible resolutions to these shortfalls. The private sector is dying for jobs and cash flow; private workers are poised to spend their money again if only they can get the job. It's all there and we can't connect the damn dots! And instead, the government insists on getting bigger to handle the problem when they don't have the tools to deal with it.
Well, we can hardly blame them; the majority voted in a democratic majority two years ago, and now we have a Republican majority in the House with a Democratic President and Senate, and bipartisanship is less chivalrous than traitorous. We know that red and blue don't make purple, they make war.
And while unions work to keep their workers safe and paid, who knows what will happen if people start to wonder why union workers keep getting their higher-than-normal benefits at the expense of corporations (private) or taxpayers (government)? Could corporations simply lay off their workers and hire some other folks who agree not to join the union? Of course they can. There are people desperate enough out there for ANY job that they'd do it. And if the government started thinking that way, they'd be able to find folks out of work who'd do anything - including a promise not to unionize - just to get that job.
