The Destruction of Unions

The Destruction of Unions
by: Camden Moeller

The reformers were cascading on the doorstep of capitol hill. Their intent: to fix an upcoming budget crisis. Wisconsin was facing a huge budget deficit during 2009-2011, but this was before the state lost one eighth of their manufacturing jobs ("Wisconsin State Budget 2010-2011"). The recession devastated the state economy so much, that tax revenue fell by an astonishing 12%. But Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker had a plan to rectify the defect, however, his plan had destructive consequences. Scott Walker's plan, known as Act 10, was detrimental to the benefits of hard working state employees.

Act 10’s primary objective was to curb the state deficit by making unions fees optional, reducing income, slashing retirement benefits, and shortening sick leave for almost all public Wisconsin employees.

Thousands of citizens swarmed the capitol with righteous anger and demanded that the plan be rejected, they demanded an ousting of Governor Walker. The capitol building was flooded with protesters for three weeks, but in the end, their efforts were in vain. The measure passed, sealing the fate of teachers and other public employees.

One of the most negatively impacted professions was teaching. According to David Madland from the CAPA, "The average teacher salary decreased by over $1,200 between the 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 school years, while retirement and healthcare benefits dropped nearly $6,000.”

With Unions disappearing across the state, many teachers saw that their legally binding negotiated collective bargaining contracts were quickly replaced by handbooks, made by school administrators, that can be changed at anytime. Gary, a Wisconsin teacher, said “They handed it out and said, ‘This is the handbook.’ That's it...there are things in there that are good for us, but they could be taken away tomorrow.”

As the years passed, union membership rates sharply declined. According to Cnn Business, “Wisconsin unions went from representing 14.1% of workers in the state in 2011 to 9% in 2016.” Wisconsin went from one of the highest union membership rates in the country. To the lowest in the midwest (Bureau of Labor Statistics).
Likely inspired by Act 10, Mark Janus, a public worker from Illinois, filed a lawsuit against the State of Illinois because he felt that it was unjust for a union to charge him for union dues as a state employee. The controversial rulings on the case in lower courts were appealed all the way up to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided in favor of Mark Janus that Unions could no longer charge mandatory fees to public employees. Despite this, Union contracts with employers must cover all workers, even the ones who don't pay the fees. This unfair ruling incentives employees to not pay their union dues, since they will receive the benefits regardless if they pay the fees or not. This has proven hard for once strong unions to afford to survive under these new conditions.

Even though Scott Walker lost his reelection bid this month, Act 10 will forever be carved in stone. With the Supreme Court ruling against unions this year to enshrine Act 10 federally. The benefits of hardworking teachers and public employees will unfortunately be a thing of the past, not just for Wisconsin, but for the whole country.

Work Cited

“In the Aftermath of Act 10: The Changed State of Teaching in a Changed State.” Taylor and Francis Online, www.tandfonline.com/eprint/DGtFksmyInUyXHjEfAxF/full.

Madland, David, and Alex Rowell. “Attacks on Public-Sector Unions Harm States: How Act 10 Has Affected Education in Wisconsin.” Center for American Progress Action,

www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/economy/reports/2017/11/15/169146/attacks-public-sector-unions-harm-states-act-10-affected-education-wisconsin/.

“Union Membership Rates by State in 2016.” U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 23 Feb. 2017, www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/union-membership-rates-by-state-in-2016.htm.