Rob Meiksins writes in Nonprofit Quarterly about what happened to Wisconsin after Governor Scott Walker and the Legislature crushed public sector unions.
I previously posted the underlying study here about how teachers’ salaries and benefits declined.
Meiksins adds:
“An article by Mother Jones covering the same study cites a conversation with a professor at the University of Wisconsin teaching certification program, ranked by US News and World Report as one of the best in the country. This professor said that prior to Act 10, they would receive 300-400 applicants for their 125 openings, annually. Now they get one applicant per opening.”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Now that Trump is stacking the SCOTUS and the lower courts with anti-union far right wingers who will be in place for decades, public sector unions (or any unions for that matter) are in dire peril. The Trump administration is on the war path to turn the US into a right to work (for less) country. Bill Clinton and Obama gave us Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor and Kagan. Hillary would have appointed similarly liberal, moderate liberal justices. In NJ, Phil Murphy (D) is not rabidly anti the NJEA as Christie was. Murphy was supported by the NJEA. However, Murphy can’t protect public sector unions from the Trump administration or SCOTUS rulings against unions.
There is no difference in the parties as far as education goes but there is a big difference in the political parties regarding appointments to the SCOTUS and the lower courts.
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Not challenging conclusions, just asking: how would these anti-union appointees come into play for NJ? Been following the 8-yr-long Christie/ public union tussle. He had one win in 2011 on pension/ healthcare adjustments, but he’s taken a number of losses as well. The jousting seems to take place entirely w/n the state court system. Teachers unions still considered the cloutiest lobby in state; legislature has longtime been Dem majority
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The court decision will allow those covered by the bargaining to not pay any dues. . Which will take funds away from the union . When you and your neighbors lose their deduct-ability of State and Local taxes how long will Democrats hold those seats . How many school boards will refuse to approve budgets with increases . As those union contracts are frozen how many teachers will stop paying dues . ?
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Mm yes I see it now. It will work differently in different communities, I think.
Mine for instance is Repub (locally) — RE taxes have been nutsy-hi long time, but over last 5 yrs we’ve kept the rise to less than 1/2 what it was for my first 20 yrs here, well under cap, while still being quite generous on distr teacher contract cuz that’s how we roll. Expect RE taxes will freeze now, & regardless, they’re too hi. Elim’g ded will accelerate gradual shift toward richer families– res seg– but that’s always tempered here by outlandish NYC RE values/ lo prop tax: many newcomers (like we did in ’92) are not richies but 2-career city folk trading up for prox same $. The 1st pressure here will be to bust the blasted county budget, rife w/fat pols passing ea other freebies while charging arm&leg for frivolous incidentals. Cannot see local teachers w/h union dues, they are well-pd.
Biggest affect here will be on poor cities/ wkg-class rural areas for sure, they’re already hurting bad, many of their schools live on state/ fed aid pumped up by RE taxes redistributed from wealthy areas– w/downward pressure on all 3 sources. We will become most unequal, class-seg state in nation– oops, we already are.
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Is there an example of a non-union state where teachers make more than in union states?
If not then it’s a pretty safe bet pay will go down when they eradicate unions.
We already know how this experiment comes out. In fact, if they eradicate unions in all states pay in non-union states will go still lower
that’s in fact the point- to lower wages
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ALEC’s goal is to eradicate unions and the teaching profession, so there is no organized to oppose budget cuts
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What is also true is, when the economic condition of workers deteriorates they tend to vote right wing after a while . As there own personal situation deteriorates they look for scapegoate’s.
Of course I would argue the cause is there is no left wing opposition to vote for . Nothing even close. Let me know when Chuck goes down on Wall Street and leads a chant of pay your share .
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where the Democratic party has most blatantly failed: forget about adamantly supporting unions, let workers fall into despair, watch so many start voting to the far right hoping for magic
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All I want for Christmas is the edit button . there =their own
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Attacking collective bargaining fits right in with right wing extremism. This is all part of ALEC’s plan to reinvent our country and send us back to the dark ages. While unions have been in decline around the globe, our country stands out among industrialized nations for its overt hostility to workers’ rights to collective bargaining. While Canada’s unions have also declined to about 29% of workers, the US, a haven for billionaires, now stands at about 11%. Minnesota, a much more friendly labor state and Wisconsin’s neighbor, has been outpacing Wisconsin’s economy. http://cepr.net/blogs/cepr-blog/wisconsin-vs-minnesota-what-the-data-show
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I used to be very anti union. My mom is a teacher in NJ and I felt that the concepts of tenure and step pay and guaranteed pensions were very out of line with what America’s merit system is about. Whenever she told me she had a rough day, I would remind her she was making very good money, had job security, would get a pension and threw the summer off thing in her face.
Now I live in NC, where educators are leaving in droves and kids are dissuaded from pursuing education in college. I have witnessed the effects of the opposite extreme where politicians are hell bent on unfairly compensating teachers to further a political agenda.
What did me in was finding out one of my son’s phenomenal teacher’s kids were on free and reduced lunch programs. That is not supposed to happen to a white collared educated professional who excels at their job.
In recent years, I’ve apologized profusely to my mother. I was so wrong.
I’ve told my two hard studying boys, who seem to have my mom’s teacher gene in them, to avoid the profession like the plague. I can’t bear to think my kids would invest so much time and effort for degrees costing $100k minimum to earn less than they could being an Uber driver.
I think a lot of people might agree with me in NC, seeing as enrollment in education majors has declined by 30% since 2010.
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In California, the decline in those preparing to be teachers was worse. In 2003, it was 77,000. Ten years later, it was 19,000
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Holy cow!
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I think that one would be insane to want to become a teacher under the current conditions. The pay is terrible. The working conditions are terrible. The schools have become test prep organizations. Teachers are micromanaged by idiots. There’s never enough time and always too many demands. And, finally, people in this job get no respect, from parents, from administrators, from their students. It’s pretty awful, and most teachers I know are looking to do almost anything else.
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Scott Walker’s crushing of the public sector unions had the support of the same Wisconsin voters who voted for Trump.
Apparently, they support the crushing of the public sector unions because the Democrats have lied to them and therefore that made them all want the public sector unions to be crushed. And then vote to re-elect the guy who crushed them so he could do a lot more of the stuff he said he would. It’s all the Dem’s fault for not pandering to those voters more. Since they don’t trust the Dems, they decided to instead vote for the guy who kept his promise to really crush unions.
All that is needed to defeat a Dem is to blame him for Scott Walker’s choice to crush public sector unions and whatever new nasty policies Walker will come up with. The worst he is, the more the angry voters will respond by continuing to re-elect him because it’s all the Dems fault that Walker does what he does.
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NYCPSP
Of course it had nothing to do with those private sector workers most of them Union losing their jobs to ROBOTS IN CHINA AND MEXICO . Built by William Jefferson Clinton and Barrack Obama . Or at least their names were on the legislation even though the Republicans overwhelmingly supported it.
I know this is just fake news, note the 75,000 number quoted is from the Trade Assistance program meaning they were given assistance because they lost the job . You could probably double that as many relocated and many others did not apply for the assistance . Taking other lower wage jobs which still paid more than the assistance. Then if you took Econ 101 they probably taught you about the multiplier effect or the velocity of money . Which could mean conservatively at least 3 x as many people lost jobs at other local businesses . Like the luncheonette or the store that sold work clothes …….
Now they are all competing for the 7.75 job at the local Walmart.
You think they give a crap about the teacher or the highway worker earning a decent living.
Watch what happens to school board votes in NY . You will see a rebellion this spring in districts that never turned down a budget. . Watch what happens to the legislature in NY. when they can no longer deduct local taxes. King and Zelden may be toast , but lets see if they do not vote for the guy who promises to cut their SALT.
Click to access wi.pdf
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And now we’ve got 9 Democrats and 1 Independent (Joe Donnelly, Heidi Heitkamp, Tim Kaine, Joe Manchin, Claire McCaskill, Gary Peters, Jon Tester, Mark Warner, Angus King, and Michael Bennet.) joining the GOP attack on Dodd-Frank to deregulate banking. WTF?
”Sign now to Senate Dems: Don’t help Trump deregulate big banks!”
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/sign-now-to-senate-dems-dont-help-trump-deregulate-big-banks
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yup
Somebody remind me of a major bill or appointment that Republicans did not filibuster.
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Reblogged this on David R. Taylor-Thoughts on Education.
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This year in Texas, I had a 25% increase in my medical insurance rates this year to the tune of $400 a month PAY CUT.
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In 1981, the Air Traffic Controller’s union (PATCO) staged an illegal strike. Pres. Reagan fired the illegal strikers, and in effect, busted the union. This action showed the world, that Reagan was a serious man, he was to be taken seriously. “There is no right to strike against the public safety by anybody, anywhere, anytime,”- Calvin Coolidge.
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