What is the status of the ‘budget repair’ bill? When will it become law?
As of right now – May 20 – the budget repair bill is not law, because a District Court has issued an injunction preventing it from taking effect. That injunction could be lifted by the Supreme Court, which would likely make the law effective, or the injunction could be extended to some point in the future. The legislature can still revote, and pass the bill again, this time after giving the proper notice, and that would likely make the law effective. While no one knows for sure what will happen, or when, we expect the bill to become effective some time in June of this year.
As you probably already know, when the bill becomes effective all public employees, including Tech College faculty and support staff, will be subject to the increased costs for pensions and health care. The budget repair bill also rescinds most of public employees’ legislative right to bargain, leaving only the right to bargain very limited wage increases.
However, being a union has never been about the legislative ‘right to bargain’. It’s about our collective voice and our ability to work together collectively to bring about change. We will still have the ability to organize ourselves on our campuses and work places to advocate for ourselves on many important issues. Since the law is not in effect, our union is bargaining under the existing law. If the union and College can reach an agreement before the law takes effect, that agreement would be a legitimate contract. But as you know, the College’s Board has not been willing to come to agreement with the union so far, in spite of considerable concessions offered by both unions, and we don’t see then changing their mind anytime soon.
If the College refuses to come to an agreement, and the law takes effect, how will bargaining work under the new law with such severe restrictions?
Even with such ridiculous restrictions, Tech College unions can still advocate and organize around issues, and demand to meet to discuss these issues with administrations. We will have the ability, as a union, to meet with administration and come to an understanding around almost every issue that a legal collective bargaining agreement would cover.
There is a long history of this kind of “negotiation” both nationally and in Wisconsin, in which teachers and other public employees negotiated binding agreements with their employers prior to gaining legal bargaining rights in 1959. In such a system, our right to bargain comes not from legislation, but from our union’s mandate. Such a mandate comes from wide-ranging support for the union in its activities and its positions vis-a-vis the College. It will also require a high membership rate going forward – we must be able to show that our union is the voice for faculty and support staff at WITC.
Why should I continue as a member in the union if we no longer can bargain as we did before?
As discussed above, even without full bargaining rights, we can still meet, negotiate, and advocate on issues with administration. We intend to do that. But beyond that, our union is our vehicle for making the political change needed to move forward from Walker’s power grab. Our plan is to build on the energy of the rallies and protests in our community, in Madison, and all around the state over the last several weeks. In the next few months, we’ll participate in several recall campaigns to win a Senate majority that will support collective bargaining and workers’ rights. We’ll continue to strengthen our coalition with other unions, organizations, and citizens who stand with us for our rights. And we’ll pursue a long-term campaign to reclaim real bargaining rights and protect the high quality, accessible technical education that Wisconsin is known for.
Why should I still pay dues after getting a substantial pay cut?
This is definitely a hard time to be a public employee – we’re all facing anywhere from an 8 to 12% pay cut because of the Governor’s budget repair bill. But unless we come together right now, we’ll never have the ability to regain our full bargaining rights and bargain again for fair compensation and benefits, and we won’t have the membership we need to negotiate with the administration from a position of strength. We need to pool our efforts, our experience – and our resources – to have the power we’ll need to restore Wisconsin’s commitment to worker rights.
How will I pay dues, if it’s not possible to pay them through payroll deduction?
Our Local is working on ways to make paying your dues as easy and safe as possible. You will likely have the option of paying through a bank draft – a regular deduction from your checking account at your bank – or by using your credit card. Either way, you can rest assured your financial information will be treated safely and securely. By paying your dues, you’ll be doing your part to keep our union strong and vibrant, and to make sure Walker’s plan to penalize public employees while giving breaks to his corporate buddies doesn’t succeed.
Now is the time to recommit as a member of the union and help us protect what we’ve earned at WITC.
Wisconsin Indianhead Federation of Teachers
Monday, May 23, 2011
Questions&Answers about union dues
Questions and Answers about Dues
AFT-W Local 395, WITC May 2011
With all the changes that we and our union are now facing, we’ve received many questions from members about the future of the union. Some of these questions are about union dues. Your union dues are an important investment in the future of our union, and we take our stewardship role with dues money very seriously. It’s important that members understand how their dues are used and why they’re needed to help build our union.
How are our dues set?
Dues rates are set by members of the union. State and national dues are set by members at state and national conventions. Our local dues were set when we wrote our constitution. We set the local rate to allow us to have the resources needed for our local union in good times and in bad times.
How much are our dues?
Full dues are $23.00/twice-a-month ($46 month), and half-dues are $11.50/twice-a-month.
Where does our dues money go; what are our dues used for?
The basic idea of a union is about uniting people and resources to make us stronger. Dues are one of those resources. They help pay for everything we do, including negotiating contracts, representing employees in disputes, training members on how to be effective leaders and organizers, communicating with members about our work and educating members about workplace as well as legislative issues that are important to us and that affect our jobs and our pocketbooks. Our dues pay for the assistance we get from our AFT-W staff and for the research and training that AFT is able to provide.
Dues go to national AFT, to AFT-Wisconsin, to the local union, and also to the area AFL-CIO, the umbrella union organization.
The national part is about $16/month. We get all kinds of support from AFT National, including research, organizing and legal help, educational conferences, training programs and more. During the current struggle here in Wisconsin, National AFT has been supporting us more than ever, with additional staff and money to help us in the fight against Walker’s anti-public employee campaign.
AFT-Wisconsin gets about $23/month. This pays for field staff that work with our local unions to negotiate agreements and resolve workplace disputes and problems and build local union strength, communications, legislative work, as well as training and educational programs for members.
About $1/month goes to the area AFL-CIO, to support and help coordinate union activities and programs in our region of the state. These may be about legislative issues important to working families, or training and support programs for a variety of unions.
The balance stays in our local union treasury to support expenses related to sending our own members to training programs and conferences and pay for local expenses related to meetings, events, negotiations, arbitrations, etc.
Can dues be lowered, since we won’t be able to bargain under the new law?
There are plenty of things our union will be doing even if we lose many bargaining rights under the ridiculous new law. Read on to see what some of those things are. As for reducing dues, dues levels are set by union members at conventions, both at the state and national level. So, state and national dues levels could be changed at a future convention. But keep in mind, we’ll be using more national resources than ever before as we fight to win back our rights in Wisconsin. And AFT-Wisconsin, our state union, will be right in the middle of that fight, and at the same time working to protect our working conditions. Is this the time to be thinking of reduced dues? Our local union can and will look at our local level of dues, but again, we want to be sure we have the resources we need for the fight ahead.
Under the new law, we can’t really bargain. What will our dues be used for?
If and when that bill does become law, we can still meet, negotiate, and advocate on issues with administration. We intend to do that. And we intend to continue to educate and communicate with our members about workplace issues, and train members to be effective advocates at work without bargaining rights. We’ll continue to organize our members and mobilize them to action so our voices are heard at work.
Beyond that, our union is the best vehicle for making the political change needed to move forward from Walker’s power grab. Our plan is to build on the energy of the rallies and protests in our community, in Madison, and all around the state over the last several weeks. In the next few months, we’ll participate in several recall campaigns to win a Senate majority that will support collective bargaining and workers’ rights. We’ll continue to strengthen our coalition with other unions, organizations, and citizens who stand with us for our rights. And we’ll pursue a long-term campaign to reclaim real bargaining rights and protect the high quality, accessible technical education that Wisconsin is known for.
Are dues used for political contributions?
No. Union dues are never used as contributions to either political candidates or political parties. When our statewide union, AFT-Wisconsin, makes any contributions to candidates or parties, those contributions are made with money that has been voluntarily contributed by members in addition to their dues.
Some of our union dues are used for education on specific legislative and political issues. In the past, the union has used money to support increases in public services and funding for higher education, along with supporting legislation that promotes and protects bargaining rights for public employees. In the near future, our union will certainly be using some of our dues to educate our members about how we can win back our bargaining rights that have been taken away by Governor Walker, and how we can help pass legislation to restore adequate funding to our colleges and communities. This political work is important because we have learned that politics – and elections – do matter and do make a difference in our wages and benefits.
Who decides what our union’s political position will be?
The members of AFT-Wisconsin, through our Committee on Political Education (COPE), determine what the political positions of the union will be on statewide issues, and who, if anyone, AFT-Wisconsin will support in elections. COPE is open to all AFT-Wisconsin members, and includes a number of members from Tech Colleges. If you’re interested and want to join, please let us know.
For more information, please contact
Local 395 President Todd Larson at todd.larson395@gmail.com
AFT-W Local 395, WITC May 2011
With all the changes that we and our union are now facing, we’ve received many questions from members about the future of the union. Some of these questions are about union dues. Your union dues are an important investment in the future of our union, and we take our stewardship role with dues money very seriously. It’s important that members understand how their dues are used and why they’re needed to help build our union.
How are our dues set?
Dues rates are set by members of the union. State and national dues are set by members at state and national conventions. Our local dues were set when we wrote our constitution. We set the local rate to allow us to have the resources needed for our local union in good times and in bad times.
How much are our dues?
Full dues are $23.00/twice-a-month ($46 month), and half-dues are $11.50/twice-a-month.
Where does our dues money go; what are our dues used for?
The basic idea of a union is about uniting people and resources to make us stronger. Dues are one of those resources. They help pay for everything we do, including negotiating contracts, representing employees in disputes, training members on how to be effective leaders and organizers, communicating with members about our work and educating members about workplace as well as legislative issues that are important to us and that affect our jobs and our pocketbooks. Our dues pay for the assistance we get from our AFT-W staff and for the research and training that AFT is able to provide.
Dues go to national AFT, to AFT-Wisconsin, to the local union, and also to the area AFL-CIO, the umbrella union organization.
The national part is about $16/month. We get all kinds of support from AFT National, including research, organizing and legal help, educational conferences, training programs and more. During the current struggle here in Wisconsin, National AFT has been supporting us more than ever, with additional staff and money to help us in the fight against Walker’s anti-public employee campaign.
AFT-Wisconsin gets about $23/month. This pays for field staff that work with our local unions to negotiate agreements and resolve workplace disputes and problems and build local union strength, communications, legislative work, as well as training and educational programs for members.
About $1/month goes to the area AFL-CIO, to support and help coordinate union activities and programs in our region of the state. These may be about legislative issues important to working families, or training and support programs for a variety of unions.
The balance stays in our local union treasury to support expenses related to sending our own members to training programs and conferences and pay for local expenses related to meetings, events, negotiations, arbitrations, etc.
Can dues be lowered, since we won’t be able to bargain under the new law?
There are plenty of things our union will be doing even if we lose many bargaining rights under the ridiculous new law. Read on to see what some of those things are. As for reducing dues, dues levels are set by union members at conventions, both at the state and national level. So, state and national dues levels could be changed at a future convention. But keep in mind, we’ll be using more national resources than ever before as we fight to win back our rights in Wisconsin. And AFT-Wisconsin, our state union, will be right in the middle of that fight, and at the same time working to protect our working conditions. Is this the time to be thinking of reduced dues? Our local union can and will look at our local level of dues, but again, we want to be sure we have the resources we need for the fight ahead.
Under the new law, we can’t really bargain. What will our dues be used for?
If and when that bill does become law, we can still meet, negotiate, and advocate on issues with administration. We intend to do that. And we intend to continue to educate and communicate with our members about workplace issues, and train members to be effective advocates at work without bargaining rights. We’ll continue to organize our members and mobilize them to action so our voices are heard at work.
Beyond that, our union is the best vehicle for making the political change needed to move forward from Walker’s power grab. Our plan is to build on the energy of the rallies and protests in our community, in Madison, and all around the state over the last several weeks. In the next few months, we’ll participate in several recall campaigns to win a Senate majority that will support collective bargaining and workers’ rights. We’ll continue to strengthen our coalition with other unions, organizations, and citizens who stand with us for our rights. And we’ll pursue a long-term campaign to reclaim real bargaining rights and protect the high quality, accessible technical education that Wisconsin is known for.
Are dues used for political contributions?
No. Union dues are never used as contributions to either political candidates or political parties. When our statewide union, AFT-Wisconsin, makes any contributions to candidates or parties, those contributions are made with money that has been voluntarily contributed by members in addition to their dues.
Some of our union dues are used for education on specific legislative and political issues. In the past, the union has used money to support increases in public services and funding for higher education, along with supporting legislation that promotes and protects bargaining rights for public employees. In the near future, our union will certainly be using some of our dues to educate our members about how we can win back our bargaining rights that have been taken away by Governor Walker, and how we can help pass legislation to restore adequate funding to our colleges and communities. This political work is important because we have learned that politics – and elections – do matter and do make a difference in our wages and benefits.
Who decides what our union’s political position will be?
The members of AFT-Wisconsin, through our Committee on Political Education (COPE), determine what the political positions of the union will be on statewide issues, and who, if anyone, AFT-Wisconsin will support in elections. COPE is open to all AFT-Wisconsin members, and includes a number of members from Tech Colleges. If you’re interested and want to join, please let us know.
For more information, please contact
Local 395 President Todd Larson at todd.larson395@gmail.com
Thursday, May 5, 2011
Ways to Stay Informed
- Thursday, May 5th @ 7 p.m.UWBC - 228 Ritzinger. Lecture by Dr. Eric T. Kasper. Happy Law Day! In observance of this, I will be giving a lecture titled "Zealous Representation and the Rule of Law: Defense Attorneys with Unpopular Clients from the Boston Massacre to the War on Terror." This ties into this year's national Law Day theme, the legacy of John Adams. Free pocket copies of the U.S. Constitution will be distributed.
- Friday, May 6th @ 6 p.m. UWBC Gymnasium. A budget dialogue between Rep. Roger Rivard, R-Rice Lake and state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, is Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at the UW-Barron County gymnasium. Comments and questions from the public will be welcome.
- Saturday, May 7th @ 8 a.m.Chippewa Falls. Wisconsin Workers' Fishing Opener and Boat ParadeThis year marks the 46th annual WI Governor's Fishing Opener - to be held at Lake Wissota, near Chippewa Falls, WI, on Saturday, May 7. But Wisconsin Workers are planning a fishing opener of their own! All workers are invited to join in fishing from 8:00am-11:00am, a boat parade at 11:00 am, and a cookout at noon. Let's show our governor a thing or two about fishing, eating, and enjoying the outdoors!
- Wednesday, May 11th @ 6 p.m. Concourse Hotel, Madison. Budget Townhall MeetingJoin fellow public employees from the Madison area to discuss the impact of Walker’s state budget and a strategy for moving forward.
- Saturday, May 14th @ 2:30 p.m. Capitol Square, Madison. We Are One RallyPublic service advocates, civil rights supporters, and other citizens from across Wisconsin will join in Madison to make our voices heard.
- Saturday, May 21st @ 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.Northern Wisconsin State Fairgrounds, Chip Falls. Fighting Bob Fest North The program consisting of our featured speakers will happen from 9am to 5pm. The beer tent and music entertainment will go through the early evening.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Budget Dialogue between Rep. Roger Rivard and Sen. Bob Jauch
A budget dialogue between Rep. Roger Rivard, R-Rice Lake and state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, is Friday, May 6 at 6 p.m. at the UW-Barron County gymnasium. Comments and questions from the public will be welcome.
Dr. Frank Emspak to Speak in Ridgeland, Wisc! Forging a Prosperous Working Class: The Union Movement and the Wisconsin Idea
Sure, we are all ‘Middle Class’ now, but how did we get here? And what does our own history teach us to think about recent efforts to divide workers, public from private, union from non-union and one from the other? Are you aware that Wisconsin was a leader in recognizing the right of public workers to organize? Are you curious about why Wisconsin’s public workers have reacted so strongly against proposals to deny them the right to collectively bargain over working conditions? Are you wondering how we should move forward?
This part of the Hay River Review free lecture series--join us on Saturday, May 7 at 7 p.m. at the Ridgeland Community Center
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