Memo to Gov. Greitens: Heres how to KILL the middle class
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Supporters of the so-called “right-to-work” say it’s not about killing unions, but bringing more industry, thus jobs, to Missouri. We know the latter is not true because site selection experts don’t consider RTW in the top 10 reasons companies select new plant sites. This excerpted article shows the real impact on ALL Wisconsin workers. Missouri workers be warned, it’s just around the corner here.)
Back in 2009, Rick Erickson was happy with his job as a teacher in one of the state’s northernmost school districts on the shores of Lake Superior. He made $35,770 a year teaching chemistry and physics, which wasn’t a lot of money, but then again, he received stellar healthcare and pension benefits, and could talk honestly with administrators about what he needed as a teacher every two years when his union sat down with the school district in collective bargaining sessions.
Then, five years ago, Wisconsin passed Act 10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill,(in Missouri, we call it the “paycheck deception” bill) which dramatically limited the ability of teachers and other public employees to bargain with employers on wages, benefits, and working conditions.
After Act 10:
Erickson saw his take-home pay drop dramatically: He now makes $30,650.
His wife is a teacher, too, and together they make 11 percent less than they did before Act 10.
The local union he once led — the Bayfield Education Association — is no longer certified to collectively bargain, so he can’t formally negotiate with the school district for things like prep time and sick days.
He pays more for health care and his pension, and he says both he and his wife may now not be able to retire until they are much older than they had planned.
“We still haven’t recovered from Act 10,” Erickson, who was Wisconsin’s 2014 High School Teacher of the Year, told me. “It’s definitely changed things.”
http://labortribune.com/memo-to-gov-greitens-heres-how-to-kill-the-middle-class/