For this month’s edition of the Wisconsin Interest Magazine, I’ve written a lengthy piece that takes a historical look at why Gov. Scott Walker wants to scale back public-sector collective bargaining so dramatically. It also notes the stunning similarities between enactment of the nation’s first state-government collective bargaining in 1959 and Walker’s attempts to significantly weaken it in 2011.
By now, the political lore is familiar: A major political party, cast aside by Wisconsin voters due to a lengthy recession, comes roaring back, winning a number of major state offices.
The 43-year-old new governor, carrying out a mandate he believes the voters have granted him, boldly begins restructuring the state’s tax system. His reform package contains a major change in the way state and local governments bargain with their employees, leading to charges that the governor is paying back his campaign contributors.
Only the year wasn’t 2011 — it was 1959, and Gov. Gaylord Nelson had just resurrected the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. Certain of his path, Nelson embarked on an ambitious agenda that included introduction of a withholding tax, which brought hundreds of protesters to the Capitol. Nelson also signed the nation’s first public-sector collective bargaining law — the same law that 52 years later Gov. Scott Walker targeted for fundamental revision.
Two different governors, two different parties, and two different positions.
Ironically, their assertive gubernatorial actions may produce the same disruptive outcome. By empowering the unions, Nelson’s legislation led to public-sector strikes and work stoppages. By disempowering the unions, Walker’s actions might lead to public-sector strikes and work stoppages.
In Walker’s case, union members reluctantly agreed to his pension and health-care demands, but have fought desperately to preserve their leverage in negotiating contracts. That raises the basic question of the Madison showdown: Why is Scott Walker so afraid of collective bargaining?
The answer can be found in the rise of the state’s teachers unions.
If you’re running short on time, then just sneak a peek at this graph I put together that demonstrates the growth in per-pupil spending in Wisconsin versus inflation:
It’s easy to see where teachers’ unions came in to being, in the early 1970s, where the lines begin to split drastically. And yet the teachers will still contend their opposition isn’t about the money.
Read the whole piece here.
— Christian Schneider is a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.
The "Actual Per Pupil Spending" is that how much tax payers are paying yearly?
Thank you.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf it isn't about the money, benefits and job security, then what is it about? It certainly isn't about education because there is no way to justify allowing mediocre teachers with tenure to keep their jobs, while exceptional teachers without tenure lose theirs. Union leaders, teachers and their supporters know exactly what doesn't work to improve education, i.e., taking away some collective bargaining rights from teachers, but haven't a clue what will work. Their plan is always the same. Keep throwing money at us until you see some improvement.
Public school systems across the nation have done it the union's way for decades, increasing the average cost per child per year to more than $10,000, and yet the proficiency of American students hasn't significantly improved in more than thirty years. It's become obvious that what's good for teachers isnt' necessarily good for students, so isn't it time to give something else a try? Continuing to throw money at an education system that never improves is definitely not the answer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseCan you make the case that a bachelor's degree with mandated continuing education is overpaid compared to the same degree in the private sector? I got out of teaching in 1988 and my pay doubled when I went into industry. Some BA's just do not have comparisons like in music education. I also think you must compare all teachers with supervisory pay scales. Teachers direct the minute activities of quite of body of people during the day and have uncommon responsibility over minors that supervisors in the private workforce do not have.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIf you can make the case that teachers are overpaid, you must do so and with equitable comparisons.
In another public sector, a first lieutenant with six years experience is paid about 53k and about 6k baq plus many other benefits I do not know about.They get 100% health care? And a very nice pension. Most lieutenants do not have near the responsibility of a public school teacher nor will they see dangerous duty. Can you make the case that teachers are worth less to our society than a first lieutenant?
For 9 months of work and eductional attainment standards that are essentially glad handed as a means to increase the teacher up the wage scale for "educational attainment" I would say, yes as a group you are way overpaid and exceedingly over "benefited". And of course, regardless, we are out of money as you have siphoned off an increasing percentage of tax receipts for your union lords.
Education degrees are a joke and attract the least qualified students in general compared to other majors. And more importantly, Union supporters who claim to care about the kids. I have been very involved in the schools my kids attended and knew their teachers as well as I could. Those most pro-union were the worst teachers, and if they became more involved in the union over time, their attitudes about their obligations to their kids also changed. You cannot serve two masters. Union teachers serve the union - real teachers serve their students. Through five kids and almost 20 years of kids in school I only met two teachers who were heavily pro-union but also exceptional teachers. I grant you that is subjective and fails the stats class. They also were both young.
You cannot do both.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseYup. That's exactly right. Teachers are worthless. Americas should just bust the unions and stop investing in education. Who cares about knowledge? We are Americans!
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseBoycottman: Did a public school teacher help you build that strawman?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRE: "Boycottman: Did a public school teacher help you build that strawman?"
He hurled a heapin' helpin' of False Choice in there, too.
Can we accomplish anything without courting the nitwit vote?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseWouldn't this information be more useful if it also included student achievement over that same period? Seems a glaring omission.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis graph is ridiculous. Every state's per pupil spending has risen much faster than inflation. The average in the country is $10,500. What's clear is that per pupil spending has little to do with teacher salaries and benefits. The average teacher makes $50k. Teacher salaries account for 5-7 kids. Where's the other 75-80% of the money going???
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseRE: "Wouldn't this information be more useful if it also included student achievement over that same period? Seems a glaring omission."
It's there. Just take the chart, above, and flip it.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseThis is not a complete assessment but merely an example of how careful one has to be in assessing figures. To be sure the increase in per pupil funding has exceeded the inflation rate. However, let's look more carefully at the 1997-1998 and 2007-2008 school year.
Table 11. States Ranked According to Per Pupil Elementary-Secondary Public School System Finance
(These articles should really cite their sources.)
Amounts
from External Link
If I haven't made any mistakes, here are the numbers:
WI Spending ($ per student) Overall
Total Local State Federal Rank
97-98 7981 3176 4444 361 12th
07-08 12229 5273 6016 725 18th
WI Instructional costs ($ per student)
Salary Rank(of 50) Benefits (of 50) Total Overall
97-98 3089 10th 1074 3rd 9th
07-08 4100 21st 1976 10th 18th
In this ten year comparison (ignoring the overall trend) we see that Wisconsin actually fell in its proportion of funding and teacher costs relative to other states. Maybe one could forward the argument that teachers in all states are self-serving but, in my mind, the data suggests that teachers and students in Wisconsin are already fairing somewhat worse. The nomimal 8% reduction in salary+benefits dictated by the "Budget repair bill" will move Wisconsin down to ~22nd place.
As to the overall trend line and what is reasonable, that is a much harder question to answer.
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseMarkW & Order66. Nope. I did it on my own. I'm a high school dropout. Hey, I'm an A-M-E-R-I-C-A-N. Who needs that biased and corrupted public school system, that nest of leftist leeches that are sucking the blood out of the hard-working, noble taxpayers? They are the root of all evil, the cause of all deficits. No way. I'm not contributing to the misery of our sons and grandsons. I don't want them enslaved by their Chinese masters! No. I'm a dropout, just like my dear Gov. Walker, my hero, my inspiration. What is a strawberryman? And a hippy helping his fat choices?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseNobody could make the case that our teachers are overpaid other than you don't like them. How many critics here have taught a full course load in a specific discipline that requires two degrees? Yes two, one in your major field and another in education. but I do not disagree that we need reforms. How did we do this in the 1950's-70's seemingly without batting an eyelash?
Reply to this commentLinkReport AbuseIn my experience the teachers need unions for protection from arbitrary administrators who apply standards via favoritism.