Posted by Tina
One brave reporter in Wisconsin is daring to reveal a possible health insurance scheme that may be at the heart of the strong union stance on collective bargaining. Is the protest really about rights or is that hammer just a means to protect the union’s ability to control which health plan gets the contract?
About two-thirds of Wisconsin school districts get their coverage through WEA Trust, a creature of the state’s chief teachers union, WEAC. This is puzzling, since WEA Trust’s coverage is so costly for what you get.
Districts that buy WEA Trust plans average $1,665 a month for family premiums, according to their state association, while those choosing other carriers average $1,466. The difference is greatest where taxpayers cover the whole premium – that is, in contracts where districts are most generous. This by itself suggests that the difference doesn’t come from non-WEA plans being cut-rate.
Milton wanted to switch teachers to a pair of plans from Madison-based Dean Health and Janesville-based MercyCare that it said were comparable. The union objected, but the arbitrator agreed, letting Milton save $382 per month on each employee. In the end, that means more money for education. As I point out in the column, this benefits the rest of us, too, since it heralds a new era in arbitration – one in which other districts may seek to get out of the WEA Trust, to which they’ve often been pushed in contract talks. “I’ve had lots of calls from superintendents in districts having the same issue as us,” said Milton’s superintendent.
This shouldn’t be surprising. While WEA Trust’s defenders often say school districts gladly choose it for its quality, a report put out by a union watchdog and the MacIver Institute found plenty of district officials around the state willing to say they were pushed into WEA, and at no appreciable benefit to teachers. Sure, the report’s sponsors are conservative, but the quotes are real and the data are from districts.
The column contains several links of interest, I recommend reading the entire piece.
Another bit of news about education and unions in Wisconsin comes to us today from the Daily Caller. It seems that collective batrgaining and the history of the union in America MUST be taught in Wisconsin schools BY LAW:
Wisconsin’s teachers are required to teach children about the history of the labor union movement and collective bargaining in the United States, per a law former Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle signed in December 2009. Wisconsin’s Assembly Bill (AB) 172 requires the state’s teachers to incorporate “the history of organized labor in America and the collective bargaining process” into their lesson plans.
Describing the new law, AB 172, Wisconsin’s official Department of Public Instruction (DPI) website says, “Wisconsin has long been a leader in labor rights. The Progressive Movement, which had its beginnings in our state, led to laws limiting child labor and safety in the workplace. Unions such as the AFL-CIO and Teamsters allow us to enjoy an eight-hour work week and vacation time. In fact, it has been argued by some historians that the history of the United States itself could be a history of labor.”
For help in lesson planning, the Wisconsin DPI provides links to the Wisconsin Labor History Society, the Wisconsin Historical Society Labor Collections and the Educational Communications Board Surf Report on Labor History, all pro-union websites.
It’s doubtful that anyone is teaching young minds about the history of the entrepreneurial spirit in America and how that spirit made this nation the most innovative and successful nation on earth providing millions and millions of jobs for the American people. It’s doubtful students will learn much about economics, or, for that matter, how valuable self-reliance would be to them in their own future success. This law, enacted during a Democrat controlled government amounts to forcing indoctrination in public education.
What do you think guys? If found to be true are these things acceptable? Is the teachers union an arm of the Democrat Party? Do they collude to scam the taxpayers, retain power and indoctrinate our children?
America used to have a sterling educational system. Post Scripts has long been calling on dedicated teachers in America to question the status quo, to demand more authority in their classrooms, to join with conservatives in demanding a structure that puts emphasis on preparing students to become responsible adults, and on putting our dollars to work in the classroom with fewer funds going to administrators and a lot less emphasis on union concerns.