Here is my column that ran in the Washington County Daily News last week. With all of the amazing news this week, we need to fight against Evers’ anti-education agenda so that our kids are smart enough to read and understand SCOTUS’ opinions for themselves.
Governor Tony Evers is famously opposed to using emails, having once told a reporter, “if I do one email a day, that’s an extraordinary day.” His staff, however, is not as uncomfortable with the newfangled 20th-century technology. Empower Wisconsin, a Wisconsin conservative news hub, recently acquired 256 pages of emails between Evers’ staff and the leaders of WEAC, the state teachers union. The emails reveal a familial relationship that confirms much of what we already knew, but also portends some of the disastrous policies that Evers may push if he is reelected.
What we have always known is that Tony Evers is a puppet of WEAC. Evers is a creature of the state’s government education bureaucracy and WEAC has been a major rhetorical and financial supporter of the governor for his entire political career. The emails confirm WEAC’s continued ownership of the governor. The emails are from the period in late 2020 when the Evers administration was bungling their way through the state government’s response to the pandemic. Several times, the emails show that Evers was making sure to keep WEAC involved and informed of the policy negotiations. WEAC’s president was invited by Evers to a live phone call to discuss policy matters. Given Evers’ continued stubborn averseness to even pick up the phone and call the Republicans in the Legislature, it is telling that Evers is willing to engage detailed policy discussions with the president of the teachers union. One wonders if Evers recorded that conversation as he did when he spoke with Republicans several years ago.
Evers also gave WEAC preemptive information long before he told the public. He gave WEAC a heads-up about vetoes before announcing them. When Evers was negotiating public policy with Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, Evers forwarded the draft legislation to WEAC to get their input.
It is clear that Governor Evers is a wholly owned subsidiary of WEAC who does not make a move without their input and direction, but the emails also tell us something about WEAC.
In late 2020, WEAC strongly pushed then Secretary-designee of the Department of Health Services Andrea Palm and Governor Evers to use state power to close all government schools. WEAC was flabbergasted that, “School districts across the state are caving to community pressure to remain open.” WEAC cannot stand by while local school boards listen to their constituents.
By this time in the pandemic, we already knew that the virus is a minimal risk to children and could already see the terrible impact school closures were having on our children’s education and mental health, but WEAC pushed for it anyway. Their concerns were, and are, not for the children. Their concerns are for money and power.
Given that WEAC’s motives are sordid, and they own Governor Evers, it is worth looking at WEAC’s top priorities that Evers may advance in a second term. Conveniently, Evers asked WEAC for their top five policy priorities. WEAC responded with their top four priorities. Even WEAC is failing at math and following directions.
WEAC’s first priority is to “remove all restriction related to compensation issues.” Currently, Act 10 limits compensation negotiations to the rate of inflation. Given that we are seeing over 8% inflation in Biden’s economy, WEAC would push for even more spending with which to burden the taxpayers of Wisconsin.
WEAC’s second priority is to place all government employees in the state health plan. In theory, this could be positive, but the emails also show that WEA Trust, the corrupt health insurance company owned by the teachers union, was an insurer for the state plan. Prior to Act 10, unions would negotiate into their contracts that the district was required to use WEA Trust. Then WEA Trust would charge above market rates. The union owns WEA Trust and forced school districts to use them at inflated rates. WEAC’s priority was to funnel more taxpayer money into WEAC via WEA Trust. Thankfully, Republicans in the Legislature would not support such a mandate and WEA Trust, unable to compete on a level playing field, has since exited the health insurance market.
WEAC’s third priority is to put a “just cause” provision in state law for government employees. Under current law, Wisconsin is an “at will” state where employers can end someone’s employment for any reason, or no reason, as long as it is not discriminatory. WEAC wants school districts to only be able to terminate teachers with just cause in order to prevent the “possibility of employee layoffs tied to budget shortfalls.” In other words, in an era of declining enrollment and people moving their kids out of government schools that failed them during the pandemic, WEAC wants to prevent school districts from reducing staff to be in line with lower enrollments. WEAC wants taxpayers to continue paying for government employees when there is not enough work to justify their jobs.
WEAC’s fourth priority is to eliminate the annual recertification requirement. This was a requirement from Act 10 that requires the employees of a government school district to recertify the union every year. Before Act 10, a local teachers union was perpetual even if the employees of that district had never voted for it. Under Act 10, the employees of a district must vote to have a union every year. The law holds unions accountable to ensure that they are serving their members. WEAC would rather that local unions be more accountable to WEAC than their constituent members.
WEAC’s Wisconsin is one of higher spending, less accountability, and more taxpayer money being funneled into WEAC to fuel their leftist activism and Tony Evers shares WEAC’s vision for Wisconsin. Wisconsin cannot afford another term of Tony Evers.
>Currently, Act 10 limits compensation negotiations to the rate of inflation
In other words, the best that a worker can hope for is staying even. And that is only if they receive the absolute most allowed under state law…so for most years, they are basically losing money.
>Before Act 10, a local teachers union was perpetual even if the employees of that district had never voted for it
That is not true at all. Decertification of a union has always been an option for the members, even before Act 10. And there is lot more to the story than just annual re-certs.
Scott Walker would never have won the Governors office if he had to face the same stringent election requirements he imposed on most of the public sector unions. The GOP knew that this was too much of a barrier for most organizations to overcome, which is why they kept their own union donor base (police&fire) exempt from those strenuous & highly unusual hurdles.
the best that a worker can hope for is staying even.
No.
The worker can find a better job.
Never thought of that, didja??
Learn to code, champ.
which is why they kept their own union donor base (police&fire) exempt
THAT is true. And the funny part is that the Firemen’s Union is actually hard-core Leftist.
Decertification of a union has always been an option for the members, even before Act 10.
*Horselaugh here*
The intimidation and disgusting personal attacks on those NOT favoring the Union were and remain horrible. Until about 1980 or so, the Union was legit. Then, quickly, it went all Jimmy Hoffa and UAW: mafia fascism to members, price-gouging to the public.
It remains mafia-fascistic to the smaller and smaller active membership.
Happens to most monopolies, even Governments. They get fat AND rotten. Then shit happens!
>The worker can find a better job.
That is the ultimate goal of Act 10 – to make public sector work so shitty that good workers will find jobs elsewhere, thus resulting in gov’t “failing”.
>The intimidation and disgusting personal attacks on those NOT favoring the Union were and remain horrible
Worse than what happened in Bay View to those who favored the Union?
>Until about 1980 or so, the Union was legit. Then, quickly, it went all Jimmy Hoffa blah blah blah
Jimmy Hoffa was long gone before the 1980’s even started.
Learn to history, kiddo.
Do your friends consider you to be intelligent?
*sigh*
I want this comment to serve as an oasis of sanity in Dad29’s desert of foolishness. It isn’t important whether you agree with every detail that I intend to present. What matters is that you begin to realize that my position is that I appear to have gotten ahead of myself here. This disagreement merely scratches the surface of the ideological chasm festering between me and him. The only rational way to bridge this chasm is for him to admit that even if one is opposed to revolting colonialism (as I myself am) then, surely, some lickerish wisenheimers actually feel that he can succeed without trying. As quarrelsome-to-the-core as that sounds, it’s pretty standard dad29 nuttery. But he, never one to stop even when he’s reached the outermost edge, has proceeded to go right off the deep end this time by insisting that he’s the foremost truth-teller of our time. That lie is not merely false but obviously false. In fact, it is so obviously false that it would require actual stupidity—or some willed equivalent—to believe it.
There is such a thing as truth. Someday, you should attempt to get acquainted with it.
As to the purpose of Act 10: mediocre or less-than-mediocre was the standard for hire in Government for decades before Act 10 was passed.
And please: try to learn English syntax AND how to make your point in less than 200 words of which 150 are polysyllabic dross.
June 22 he was asked to back up a similar statement about Act 10. Bitchboi chose to ignore the request and instead continue spewing fake news.
>Do you have any fact based evidence that Act 10 had any negative effect on teachers or schools or students?
Seems to me he was one of those drama teachers taking a sick day to march on the capital way back when Act 10 was signed… Probably banging his 5 gallon home Depot drum with the other losers.
Drama he/she/it has!!
Due to his boorish and boring commentary, I usually ignore the messages from Jason. He has demonstrated that he is not here to have a good faith discussion, but rather is simply looking for someone to insult and call names. He’ll make up facts&figures out of thin air while refusing to provide any sort of sources for his inane claims, and is constantly peppering his comments with violent outbursts and prejudice-based assumptions. His sense of entitlement to my labor, constantly demanding that I “dance” for him whenever he fancies a tango, is outlandish and outrageous…behaving in the same exact manner as one of those creepy incel guy who still hasn’t learned that “no means no”.
Before you rant at me about why every point I’m bringing up is false without even taking the time to read my points, let me just say that the baleful influence of savagism is plainly evident in the palpable one-sidedness of Jason’s notions. As you read these words, bear in mind that there are many points of general dissatisfaction and dispute that should not, on any account, be overlooked in the discussion of the subjects here presented.
It should be intuitively obvious even to the most casual observer that Jason’s feelings guide his interpretation of reality. In other words, it’s not hard to know what to expect from Jason and his compadres. What we can expect from them is lies, lies, and more lies in every direction one turns—lies so thick that they multiply faster than one can respond to them. Is there anyone else out there who’s noticed that Jason’s and his posse are always trying to suppress free speech to make up for the facts not being on their side? Let’s be honest here: Jason is careless with data, makes all sorts of causal interpretations of things without any real justification, has a way of combining disparate ideas that don’t seem to hang together, seems to show a sort of pride in his own biases, gets into all sorts of pharisaical speculation, and then makes no effort to test out his speculations—and that’s just the short list!
Jason insists that there is no evidence showing the negative effects of Act 10, but that only demonstrates how tight and tiny his personal news bubble actually is! While a discussion with him does not spark joy for me, the following links are provided for the Casual Reader who wishes to learn more about this issue:
https://spectrumnews1.com/wi/milwaukee/news/2021/06/28/-act-10-took-away-our-voice—one-decade-in–public-employees-still-seeing-the-law-s-effects
https://www.wkow.com/features/scars-are-still-there-act-10-left-its-impact-on-wisconsin/article_3becc220-4641-505c-98e5-b7e3fbd9298d.html
https://www.chalkbeat.org/2017/11/16/21105148/gutting-wisconsin-teachers-unions-hurt-students-study-finds
https://madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/10-years-later-wisconsins-act-10-has-produced-labor-savings-but-at-a-cost/article_04022e81-82ba-5c23-88f9-25070c031f7c.html
>He has demonstrated that he is not here to have a good faith discussion, but rather is simply looking for someone to insult and call names.
Lie
>He’ll make up facts&figures out of thin air while refusing to provide any sort of sources for his inane claims,
Lie
> and is constantly peppering his comments with violent outbursts and prejudice-based assumptions.
True to certain liars and trolls.
>His sense of entitlement to my labor, constantly demanding that I “dance” for him whenever he fancies a tango, is outlandish and outrageous…behaving in the same exact manner as one of those creepy incel guy who still hasn’t learned that “no means no”.
Using a mirror when you wrote that, eh Penny?
>Jason insists that there is no evidence showing the negative effects of Act 10,
Lie.
What your puny brain failed to understand… is you made the statements about negative effects of Act 10 and the ulterior motives of the GOP leadership behind Act 10… and I requested some proof, which you ignored for near a week. BTW, your links…
Link 1 – Feelings and opinions that do not support your statements about Act 10. Chad Burkoltz saying “Moral is probably as low as hes ever seen it”. Here’s a fact I found in your article… “According to a Wisconsin State Journal analysis, Act 10 did produce billions of dollars of savings in state and local government costs, much of which was put toward tax cuts.”
Link 2 – Feelings and opinions that do not support your statements about Act 10. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi “thinks its pretty clear”, “I think after this happened” No facts, nothing.
Link 3 – Feelings and opinions that do not support your statements about Act 10. Chalkbeat links to a study in which The author shows their bias clearly… t”This paper seeks to identify the short-run impact of a weakening of teachers’ unions on student achievement by exploiting a natural experiment that took place in Wisconsin following the
enactment of Act 10. ”
Link 4 – Feelings and opinions that do not support your statements about Act 10.
Just to remind you, you’re on record saying
>That is the ultimate goal of Act 10 – to make public sector work so shitty that good workers will find jobs elsewhere, thus resulting in gov’t “failing”.
and
>Sounds as if you are saying the people who take care & maintain our cities, counties, state & country should be punished for doing so.
Quick Penquin refresher:
>I was asking your own opinion, and did not know you are speaking on behalf of an organization/group. Just to be clear, what group(s) are you the spokesperson for?
>In other words, it’s not hard to know what to expect from Jason and his compadres.
>Is there anyone else out there who’s noticed that Jason’s and his posse are always trying to suppress free speech to make up for the facts not being on their side?
So just to be clear, who are Jason’s compadres and posse?
He doesn’t know. He wouldnt be included. He’s just mad at me because I value my time enough to call a spade a cunt liberal union thug instead of twasting my time. I knew from his previous visits here what a stain collector he is. He thinks that because the comment history is short lived on this blog that his past isnt remembered, but he thinks all conservatives are idiots due to his far too personal bias. Union public servants – like him – who are still triggered about Act 10 after all these years have mental health problems.