Wisconsin Teacher Union Conflict: Milwaukee vs. Madison, Green Bay, Racine & Kenosha

Leaders of the Madison Teachers Inc. union were among those who signed a letter dated Tuesday telling Milwaukee union officials that the legislation would harm public employees and the recall effort.

"Such legislation will enable Governor Walker to claim victory of his policy to (rein) in public employee wages and benefits," said the letter, signed by MTI executive director John Matthews and president Peggy Coyne, along with their counterparts in Green Bay, Racine and Kenosha. "Allowing Governor Walker to make such a claim just before the recall election will prove detrimental to recalling him and, therefore, will only enhance his ability to further harm all Wisconsin public employees."

Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie said that without the concessions, members of the Milwaukee union may lose their jobs.

"The latest letter from public sector union bosses shows clearly that Democrats and their allies put their politics before everything else, even their own members' jobs," Werwie said in a statement.

Milwaukee Public Schools and the Milwaukee teachers union would get 30 days to negotiate salary or fringe-benefit concessions from employees, under a bill the Legislature sent to Gov. Scott Walker on Wednesday.

After a lightning-fast circuit through the Legislature on Tuesday and Wednesday, the bill cleared both houses on a voice vote with no debate. Walker favors it, but leaders of several other teachers unions in large cities criticized the move because they say the action initiated by MPS and the Milwaukee Teachers' Education Association could undermine the Walker recall effort. Because the bill was passed on voice votes in both houses, there was no roll call that would identify which lawmakers supported the bill or opposed it.

The bill is intended to allow the state's largest district and its teachers union to open up the teachers' contract for 30 days to discuss potential economic concessions because of an extra $10 million payment the district needs to make to the City of Milwaukee's pension system. The city informed the district in January that it needed the payment because of a downturn in the stock market.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at March 16, 2012 1:54 AM
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