In February 2011, Gov. Scott Walker "dropped the bomb" that was meant to cripple Wisconsin's public-sector unions. Act 10, which eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public worker unions, has taken a toll on Wisconsin's labor movement, but Madison Teachers Incorporated (MTI) might be the exception. The scrappy union has managed to survive and, according to some, thrive in the post-Act 10 era.
That might be due to the fact that Madison teachers still work under a contract, rushed through in a marathon session in March 2011 before Act 10 went into effect. That contract covers MTI's approximately 2,700 members in five bargaining units (teachers, non-supervisory professional staff, educational assistants, clerical/technical personnel, substitute teachers and school security assistants) until June 20, 2014.
MTI Executive Director John Matthews says the union is also bolstered by a 2011 decision by Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas upholding an MTI challenge to Act 10. "MTI has been able to provide its members services as if Act 10 does not exist," Matthews wrote in an email.
Having a contract is key to the union's backbone, and some MTI officials and members are hopeful that Madison's new school superintendent, Jennifer Cheatham, will bargain a "successor contract." Matthews calls Cheatham a "breath of fresh air," adding that she has been responsive to the union's request to bargain once again.
Despite the GOP's assault on workers' rights, Matthews believes unions have public support in Madison. "The majority of people understand that employees have something to offer in the workplace," says Matthews.
Matthews says Cheatham and the school board understand that respecting the right to bargain helps the district attract and retain high-quality workers. "I'm very satisfied that the board of education and the superintendent understand the value of collective input from both sides," says Matthews. "We have 50 years of that kind of cooperation in Madison."
Cheatham, who has been on the job just five months, says she has been "excited about the level of talent" among teachers in the district. "I think we've got a group of people who can get the job done."
She says she asked everyone, including Matthews, to give her time to get up to speed before determining whether she and the board would agree to bargain a successor contract. Now, she says, "we're very close."
Sticking with the union
One of the gut punches to labor in ACT 10 was prohibiting the longstanding practice of payroll deductions of union dues.
In February, for example, the Teaching Assistants Association (TAA) at UW-Madison announced it was laying off staff because its membership had dwindled from 2,000 to 650 when it could no longer count on the automatic collection of union dues.
MTI's contract, however, still allows for dues to be deducted automatically. "Our union has not reduced staff or services to members," says Matthews.
Walker has said ACT 10 gives struggling local governments the "tools" they need to rein in spending and was necessary to counteract the power of public unions. The governor's press office did not return calls seeking commment on whether MTI is skirting Act 10's essential provisions by continuing to deduct union dues and operating much as it did before Act 10.
Madison teachers, however, did not escape the financial hit dealt public workers, who since Walker took office have had to increase their contributions to health care and retirement accounts. Despite having less take-home pay, many local teachers believe that their union dues are well spent, especially when it comes to negotiating working conditions.
"I feel really protected at this point," says Barbara Chusid, a 25-year veteran who teaches music at Marquette and Franklin elementary schools. "The union is protecting the kids, it's protecting me, it's protecting the music."
Chusid says she has always found MTI to be responsive and efficient in negotiating leaves or clarifying her rights when it comes to shuttling back and forth between two schools. She pulls out her union card and reads: "If this discussion could in any way lead to my being disciplined or terminated or cause an effect on my personal working conditions, I request that my MTI staff representative be present at this meeting." The card is comforting, says Chusid, because it means the union has her back.
Chusid says her faith in MTI's political judgment also gave her the confidence to walk out after Gov. Scott Walker unveiled his collective bargaining plans. "If I didn't have the confidence I have in the union, I wouldn't have walked out without any notice," says Chusid.
Worried about future
Meanwhile, MTI members wait and fret about the future. Rebecca Oglum, a third-grade teacher who has taught for seven years at Lowell Elementary, says teachers already feel bombarded with new initiatives, and the last contract left elementary teachers feeling squeezed for planning time.
"It made us worried about what will happen if we don't have a contract," says Oglum.
Teachers share horror stories about what has happened in districts that are no longer protected by contracts, she adds: "With MTI, we've been lucky. In other districts, teachers have been told you can't wear that color shirt to work. If we don't get it [a contract], then we'll just have the staff handbook."
According to an Aug. 11 Associated Press article, the state teachers union, the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards reported an uptick in terminations and non-renewals of teacher contracts since Act 10 eliminated some job protections, including the right to appeal a firing to an arbitrator.
Matthews says job protections are still in place in Madison schools because of the contract and the district's "respect for workers' rights." According to Matthews, the problem with the handbook approach is that districts can make arbitrary rules. For example, at a 2011 school board meeting in New Berlin, crowds booed teachers who protested a staff handbook that added unpaid working hours, eliminated most overtime, banned coffeemakers and microwaves, and required skirts to be worn "below the knee."
Kathy Mack, a 17-year veteran who teaches third grade at Marquette Elementary, says the prospect of working without a contract under Act 10 would be daunting. "What it feels like to me is that as professionals we're not being valued," she says.
Later this year, the Wisconsin Supreme Court will take up Madison Teachers Inc. v. Scott Walker. The high-profile lawsuit, filed along with city of Milwaukee workers in Public Employees Local 61, argues that Act 10 violates the constitutional right to equal protection. In September 2011, Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled for the plaintiffs, holding that many of Act 10's provisions are unconstitutional.
Matthews says he hopes the Supreme Court will sustain Colas' ruling. "That would protect the right to assemble and the freedom of speech and the right to coordinate with other groups. That's all in the best interest of the citizens."
Karen Vieth, a teacher and MTI faculty representative at Sennett Middle School, says the district does not need to wait for a court decision to negotiate a new contract. "Right now the district has in its power the opportunity to sit down and collectively bargain with MTI," she says.
Cheatham says a decision on that will be coming soon.
"I'm very committed to working closely and collaboratively, not only with the union but with our workforce generally," she says. "We believe that children will not be able to thrive in the classroom unless the adults are thriving professionally in our school district. I feel very strongly about this."