collective bargaining presentation david fischer final
TRANSCRIPT
Collective Bargainingand
2011 WI Act 10 and WI Act 32
David S. Fischer
Legal Aspects of Education - SCHBUSMG 772
December 12, 2014
WISCONSIN CEMENTS ITS PLACE IN THE
HISTORY OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
Wisconsin the first state to pass a law allowing collective bargaining rights
for public employees
Wisconsin legislature passed laws eliminating
collective bargaining for
majority of public employees
1959 2011
WISCONSIN HAS ALWAYS BEEN AT THE
FOREFRONT OF UNION ORGANIZING
• Local 125, Molders Union, was formed in Milwaukee Nation’s first modern trade union
• Knights of St. Crispin Union founded by shoemakers in Milwaukee At that time, largest union in the nation with 50,000 members
• Milwaukee workers joined nationwide effort to institute 8 hour workdays Seven workers killed during protests
1886
1867
1865
WISCONSIN UNIONS LOBBIED FOR SOCIAL REFORMS
THROUGHOUT EARLY 1900S
• First workers compensation law was passed in Wisconsin Provided medical attention and compensation to employees for
job related injuries and deaths
• Wagner Act signed into law by President Roosevelt Allowed employees to bargain collectively, but limited to
private-sector employees
• Wisconsin legislature passed the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Act (PECBA) The first state law permitting collective bargaining rights for
public employees
1959
1935
1911
1960S AND 1970S MARKED THE EXPANSION
OF COLLECTIVE BARGAINING RIGHTS
AND NUMEROUS ILLEGAL STRIKES
• Wisconsin Employment Relations Board created.
• Subchapter IV of Chapter 124, Laws of 1971 significantly modified Designated as the Wisconsin's Municipal Employment Relations
Act • Milwaukee police strike. Known as the “Blue Flu”
• Hortonville teacher’s strike 95 teachers terminated
1974
1971
1961
• Chapter 178 established binding arbitration1977
A DIVIDE BETWEEN LABOR AND PUBLIC SECTOR
EMPLOYEES OVER BINDING ARBITRATION DEVELOPED
BETWEEN THE 1980S AND EARLY 1990S
• Wisconsin Act 16 established the Qualified Economic Factor (QEO) Allowed school district employers to avoid binding arbitration
on salaries and benefits if employees offered a QEO combined total of 3.8%
QEO included provisions for step increases and increases for promotions and professional training.
Employers and labor disagreed over use of QEOso Labor claimed QEOs were infringement on binding
arbitration process.o Employers moderately supported use of QEOs to avoid
binding arbitratrion Support decreased with rising health costs
1993
THE PERFECT STORM
• Wisconsin Act 28 eliminated use of QEOs Collective bargaining process reverted back to use of mediation
and binding arbitration Tension between labor and employers continues
2009
• Scott Walker elected Governor of Wisconsin• State budget crisis• Public outcry for reform in our public schools
2010
• Governor Walker states intentions to eliminate the collective bargaining process for the majority of public sector employees. Claimed the state could no longer afford collective bargaining
because the salaries, benefits, and pensions of its government workers were driving deficits to deep and dangerous levels.
Union organizations, employees, and political foes claimed there was no direct correlation between collective bargaining and increaseing budget deficits
2011
WISCONSIN ACT 10 AND ACT 32 PASSED
• Wisconsin Act 10 enacted Legislation eliminated union bargaining rights for everything
except base salary, and it prohibited the collection of union dues
March 11, 2011
• Wisconsin Act 32 enacted Contained amendments to Act 10 pertaining to state finances
and appropriations. Constituted the executive budget act of the 2011 legislature
June 26, 2011
THE MASSIVE SWING IN THE PENDULUM CAUSED
SHOCKWAVES FELT NATIONWIDE.
COURT CASES SURROUNDING WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32
• First suit filed by Dane County Executive, Kathleen Falk Claimed the bill was unconstitutionally passed because the bill
contained financial provisions
March 11,2011
• State Supreme court overruled Judge Sumi, Declared the law was passed legally and that Sumi had
overstepped her jurisdiction
June 14, 2011
March 16, 2011
• Dane County District Attorney, Ismael Ozanne, filed against the state on similar grounds
March 18, 2011
• Judge Sumi, the judge hearing the above cases, issued a stay on the bill Claimed it had been passed without the required 24 hours
notice to inform the public of the meeting.
Cases 1 & 2
COURT CASES SURROUNDING WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32
• A federal court cut out parts of the collective bargaining legislation in Act 10 on the grounds that the state could not prevent public employee unions from automatically collecting dues or require them to recertify annually
March 2012
• Governor Walker appealed Judge Colas' ruling to the Supreme Court of the State of Wisconsin
November2013
January2013
• The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit upheld the law in its entirety in January 2013, reversing the lower court’s decision to invalidate parts of the law
September2012
• In a lawsuit brought by the Madison teachers union and a union for Milwaukee city employees, a Dane County Circuit Judge, Juan Colas, stated that Act 10 legislation violated the state and U.S. constitutions and ruled it null and void
Case 3
Case 4
• Governor Walker won that appeal and Act 10 was upheld July
2014
2 COURT CASES CHALLENGING SCHOOL DISTRICTS’ AUTHORITY TO ENTER INTO COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
AGREEMENTS
• KUSD negotiated their teacher contract during the time Governor Walker was awaiting the appeals verdict
• A former teacher contended the new contract was illegal and sued the KUSD Board with the help of Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL)
• In June 2014, the KUSD voted to settle the lawsuit that claimed the district violated Act 10 when it struck a labor agreement with teachers in November 2013
Kenosha Unified School District (KUSD)
Madison School District• in September 2014, the WILL, on behalf of Dave Blaska, alleged that the terms of the current
Madison teachers’ contract violated Act 10 laws• The district and Madison Teacher Inc. filed a motion to strike, on the grounds that Blaska was not a
district employee• WILL attorneys responded to that motion to strike saying, “Taxpayers have standing to challenge
any unlawful action by a government entity that results in the expenditure of public funds.”• The Madison teachers’ union has maintained that its contract is valid because it was reached after
Colas ruled against Act 10 and before the state Supreme Court reversed his decision• Their current contract runs through June 2016, and the case is still pending trial
IMPACT OF WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32Decrease in Employee Morale
• Complete swing in the pendulum that highly favors employer• Lack of trust, given the circumstances surrounding the passage
of WI Act 10 and the radical changes it brought• Lack of understanding, misinformation, and uncertainty
continues to plague district employers in their attempts to improve morale and climate
IMPACT OF WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32Need for Employee Handbooks
• Elimination of collective bargaining created the need for districts to establish employee handbook
• Development and implementation of an employee handbook proved to be a difficult undertaking for many school districts.
• Employees continue to question and resist the implementation of that handbook Very dependent on how districts approached the
development processo In districts where no input from staff was requested or
heard, resistance has been very higho In districts where input was requested, they have
experienced less resistance and more buy-in
IMPACT OF WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32Higher employee turn-over rates
• Teachers now able to act as free agents.• “We are definitely seeing more of a major league baseball type
of atmosphere. If you are a sharp teacher and/or in short supply, you are going to command a higher price.” – William Bracken, Paralegal & Labor Law Expert, Davis & Kuelthau Creates an interesting predicament for school districts.
o Trying to maintain a balanced budget while still offering competitive salaries to retain and attract quality teachers.
IMPACT OF WI ACT 10 AND ACT 32Easier for Employers to Make Benefit Changes
• All 5 interviewees listed ease in making benefits changes as a positive outcome of Act 10 and Act 32 Prior to Act 10, making any type of benefit change was extremely
difficult Insurance carriers raised premiums with relative confidence they would
be able to maintain their customer base. Rising premiums put some school districts in financially precarious
situations.• Passage of Act 10 eliminated the need to bargain over benefits
Gave district employers the long overdue ability to examine and bid out their benefitso Resulted in insurance carriers offering more competitive pricingo Single monthly insurance premiums decreased from $754, pre Act
10, to $665 in 2012-2013.o Family monthly insurance premiums decreased from $1,752, pre
Act 10, to $1,551 in 2012-2013
CONCLUSION
• Factors negatively impacting teacher morale and decreasing job satisfaction: Staggering changes triggered by WI Act 10 and WI Act 32 Political tactics Shrinking revenues and state aid Increasing demands on educators, like Educator Effectiveness
• Long-term impact: Difficult to attract high quality candidates into the education profession Create a shortage of teachers
• Districts’ board members and administrators need to lead professional educators through difficult times Manage these changes Find solutions Etablish safe and productive work environments Empower educators to make a difference in their classrooms
References
Richards, E. (2014, October 9). Madison district, union lawyers seek dismissal of act 10 contractslawsuit. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved November 13, fromhttp://www.jsonline.com/news/education/madisondistrict-union-lawyers-seek-dismissal-
of-act10-contracts-lawsuit-b99367935z1-278650961.html
Ryan, S. (2013, January 18). Wisconsin law curtailing collective bargaining upheld on appeal. Milwaukee Business Journal. Retrieved fromhttp://www.bizjournals.com/milwaukee/news/2013/01/18/wisconsin-act-10-upheld-byfederal.html
The passage of the wagner act. (n.d.). National Labor Relations Board. Retrieved on November 8, 2014from http://www.nlrb.gov/who-we-are/our-history/1935-passage-wagner-act
Van Alstyne, S. (2011, February 24). Collective bargaining: What it is and its place inwisconsin’s history. International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Retrieved fromhttp://www.ifebp.org/AboutUs/PressRoom/Releases/pages/pr_022411.aspx
Watchke, G.(1998). Qualified economic offer. Budget Briefs, 98(5), 1-2. Retrieved fromhttp://legis.wisconsin.gov/lrb/pubs/budbriefs/98bb5.pdf
Wisconsin collective bargaining. (n.d.). Ballotpedia. Retrieved fromhttp://ballotpedia.org/Wisconsin_collective_bargaining#cite_note-11
Zimmerman, A. (2013, January). State and local government employment relationslaw. Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau. Retrieved fromhttp://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/publications/informational papers/documents2013/97_state%20and%20local%20government%20employment%20relation%20law.pdf
References2011 Wisconsin Act 10. State of Wisconsin. Retrieved from
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/acts/102011 Wisconsin Act 32. State of Wisconsin. Retrieved from
http://docs.legis.wisconsin.gov/2011/related/acts/32.pdfGermanson, K. (n.d.). Milestones in wisconsin labor history. Wisconsin Labor History Society.
Retrieved from http://www.wisconsinlaborhistory.org/resources/milestonesGunn, S. (2013, Spring). First years of freedom: Wisconsin schools saving millions on health insurance
inthe act 10 era. Education Action Group News. Retrieved fromhttp://eagnews.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/First-Years-of-Freedom-report.pdf
Judge strikes down wisconsin law restricting union rights. (2012, September 14). NBC News. Retrievedfrom http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/09/14/13868190-judge-strikes-down-
wisconsin-lawrestricting union-rights?lite
Marley, P. and Walker, D. (2011, June 14). Supreme court reinstates collective bargaining law.Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Retrieved from http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics123859034.html
McCartin, J. (2011, February 19). What’s really going on in wisconsin. New Republic. Retrieved fromhttp://www.newrepublic.com/article/politics/83829/wisconsin-public-employees-walkernegotiate
Mills, S. (2014, June 9). Kenosha school district settles lawsuit over alleged act 10 violation.Wisconsin Public Radio. Retrieved fromhttp://www.wpr.org/kenosha-school-district-settles-lawsuit-over-alleged-act-10-violation