CZ Szafir Libby Sobic: Presidential candidate — and 2020 Democrat frontrunner — U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren released her vision for K-12 education in America this week. While the document contains plenty of hyperbolic language (combating the “corruption” associated with charter schools), Warren, who likes to say “she has a plan for that”, does offer policy … Continue reading Elizabeth Warren Has a Plan to Hurt Wisconsin Schools →

mp3 audio – Machine Transcript follows [Better transcript, via a kind reader PDF]: I’m Carousel Baird and we have a fabulous and exciting show lined up today. Such a fabulous guy sitting right across from me right here in the studio. Is Madison metropolitan school district current superintendent? She still here in charge of all … Continue reading Departing Madison Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham WORT FM Interview →

David Blaska: Nichols is in a dither because the Legislature — meeting after the 2018 election in which Democrat Tony Evers defeated Scott Walker — passed legislation curbing the new governor’s powers. (Among other things: to prevent the new governor from rescinding Medicaid work requirements without legislative approval and to withdraw Wisconsin from multi-state lawsuit … Continue reading Commentary in our three branch government systeM →

Mike Lilley, via a kind reader’s email: The NJEA Gains Laws That Secure Taxpayer Funding With great deliberation and persistence over many years, the NJEA used its political clout to construct a funding system that funnels taxpayer dollars directly into its coffers. This expertly designed legislative regime had three1pillars: exclusive bargaining authority, agency fees and … Continue reading NJEA: The Taxpayer Funded Special Interest →

Negassi Tesfamichael: However, the group said support dipped once additional information on current spending levels and other information about the budget was included. The poll found only a third of respondents supported Evers’ proposal to freeze the growth of private school vouchers and independent charter schools. The poll found a majority of support for public … Continue reading Wisconsin K-12 Tax & Spending Growth Sentiment →

David Blaska: I met many people throughout the city (and reconnected with sister Jane). Gratified at the many educators, teaching support staff, and mainstream Democrats who said they voted for me. Another shout-out to liberal downtown Madison blogger Greg Humphrey. That took courage. We started a long overdue conversation in this community. That will continue. … Continue reading 2019 Madison School Board Election Result Commentary →

Bob Wickers and Sam Coleman: These are legitimate questions that none of us can answer. Even though taxpayers will have to fund whatever agreement is ultimately reached, the public knows virtually nothing about the proceedings. They won’t see any details until a final contract is approved, and they will likely never know about the offers … Continue reading Collective bargaining needs some sunshine →

Chris Rickert: The questionnaire also includes several questions about teachers’ ability to have a say in their compensation and working conditions, and asks whether the candidates “support the reinstatement of collective bargaining rights for all public employees (currently prohibited by Act 10)?” Act 10 is the controversial 2011 law passed by Republicans that stripped most … Continue reading Madison Teachers Union and the 2019 school board election: Commentary, Spending and Academic Results →

Negassi Tesfamichael: Propelled by an 80 percent turnout rate, Madison Teachers Inc. won its annual re-certification election Monday, according to results released by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. Most public sector unions in the state are required under Act 10 to participate in annual certification elections in order to retain their standing as labor representatives … Continue reading Madison’s teachers union wins re-certification election →

Molly Beck: Gov. Scott Walker said he wants Wisconsin high school students to graduate at a rate higher than any other state in the nation by the end of his third term should he be re-elected this fall. Walker, who in an interview late Monday called himself “an education governor,” set the goal to coincide … Continue reading Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker sets goal of topping nation in high school grads in four years →

Elizabeth Ross: This study examines all 50 states’ and the District of Columbia’s requirements regarding the science of reading for elementary and special education teacher candidates. Chan Stroman: “Report finds only 11 states have adequate safeguards in place for both elementary and special education teachers.” Make that “10 states”; with Wisconsin PI 34, the loophole … Continue reading Strengthening Reading Instruction through Better Preparation of Elementary and Special Education Teachers (Wisconsin DPI, lead by Tony Evers, loophole in place) →

Matthew De Four: It wasn’t until the end of Wednesday night’s Democratic gubernatorial forum at the Madison Public Library that someone took a swing at the candidate who has led in all of the polls. Former party chairman Matt Flynn in his closing statement called State Superintendent Tony Evers “Republican lite” and criticized him for … Continue reading At Democratic forum Matt Flynn says Scott Walker will eat Tony Evers for lunch →

Joanne Jacobs: “We’re becoming more political, not less political,” American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten declared at the union’s annual convention, which featured speeches by Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders and an award for Hillary Clinton. The NEA, at its convention, gave awards to former First Lady Michelle Obama and former NFL quarterback Colin … Continue reading Commentary on Piblic sector teacher unions, Politics and Janus →

Amber Walker: Critics were also concerned about Madison Prep’s operating costs — totaling $11,000 per student — and its reliance on non-union staff in the wake of Wisconsin’s Act 10, a state law that severely limited collective bargaining rights of teachers and other state employees which passed early in 2011. Caire said despite the challenges, … Continue reading “And I am going to call it Madison Prep.” →

Arthur Laffer and Steve Moore: The Illinois crisis is so severe that paying the promised pensions would require a 30-year property-tax increase that would cost the median Chicago homeowner $2,000 a year, according to a study from three economists at the Chicago Fed. Not a penny of that added tax money would pay for better … Continue reading K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: By limiting the power of public unions, Janus may help them (States) avert fiscal disaster. →

WILL: on K-12 Education Reform In almost every context, words matter. Public opinion on particular issues can shift greatly depending on the language used, and K-12 education reform is no exception. To help further understand this, the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty commissioned Research Now Survey Sampling International to conduct a statewide survey experiment … Continue reading WILL Messaging Experiment & Public Opinion Poll on K-12 Tax & Spending →

Cody Miller, via a kind reader: I’ve been a member of the New Jersey Education Association (NJEA) — one of the nation’s most powerful state teachers unions — since I started working in education a year and a half ago. I’ve been an advocate for education my entire life, served on a board of trustees … Continue reading I’m an NJEA member: With Supreme Court ruling, now I can use money from union dues on what I want →

Alan Borsuk: Teachers and the teachers’ union. Don’t expect a happy workforce. The union has turned up the volume on its unhappiness and it remains a powerful force, even without the bargaining powers it had before Act 10, which dramatically curtailed collective bargaining for most public employees, including teachers. Beyond the union itself, it won’t … Continue reading 10 Topics for the Next Milwaukee School Superintendent →

Daniel DiSalvo and Stephen Eide: Blue-state Democrats have denounced last year’s tax reform as a partisan attack. Thanks to the new $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes, households in places like California and New York will soon feel the stinging cost of big government. This will make raising taxes more difficult, which … Continue reading K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: State Finance and Mandatory Union Agency Fees →

Dave Zweifel: The MTI case was a narrow one. Like all public unions, thanks to Scott Walker’s infamous Act 10 MTI has to hold an annual certification election supervised by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission to continue representing workers. But Act 10 requires approval of not the majority of those voting, but a majority of … Continue reading Commentary on Wisconsin Teacher Union Certification Election Data →

Alana Samuels: Lately it seems that, every week, a new group of media employees votes to join a union. On Tuesday, a majority of employees at Slate voted to join the Writers Guild of America, East. This came a few days after newsroom employees of the Los Angeles Times voted to join the NewsGuild–Communications Workers … Continue reading Organized Labor’s Growing Class Divide →

Eric Levitz: The GOP understands how important labor unions are to the Democratic Party. The Democratic Party, historically, has not. If you want a two-sentence explanation for why the Midwest is turning red (and thus, why Donald Trump is president), you could do worse than that. With its financial contributions and grassroots organizing, the labor … Continue reading Democrats Paid a Huge Price for Letting Unions Die →

Jonathan Adler: This paper presents the first analysis of the effect of teacher collective bargaining on long-run labor market and educational attainment outcomes. Our analysis exploits the different timing across states in the passage of duty-to-bargain laws in a difference-in-difference framework to identify how exposure to teacher collective bargaining affects the long-run outcomes of students. … Continue reading The Effects of Collective Bargaining in the Public Sector →

Anne Chapmen & Rob Henken: In April 2016, the Public Policy Forum published Help Wanted: An analysis of the teacher pipeline in metro Milwaukee.2 This was the third in a series of reports on public school educators in the Milwaukee area. Help Wanted set out to better understand how the public teacher workforce in the … Continue reading An update on teacher workforce trends in metro Milwaukee →

Molly Beck: Six years after Gov. Scott Walker and state Republicans made labor unions’ ability to retain members much more difficult, fewer than half of the state’s 422 school districts have certified unions. In the latest certification election — held in November and required by Walker’s signature 2011 legislation known as Act 10 — staff … Continue reading Fewer than half of Wisconsin school districts have certified teachers unions →

Molly Beck: Overall, Walker proposed $11.5 billion for schools, including the $649 million increase. A spokesman for budget committee co-chairwoman Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said the Joint Finance Committee reduced the increase to $639 million because of reductions to funding proposed by Walker for rural school districts and for schools in the Milwaukee School … Continue reading Redistributed Wisconsin K-12 tax dollars grow in latest legislative plan →

C.J. Szafir and Libby Sobic , via a kind email: Today state legislators all over the country are deciding how to comply with ESSA. When the last deadline for submitting proposals arrives this September, we may see a crop of promising plans for the future of K-12 education. Yet in Wisconsin, the planning process has … Continue reading Wisconsin Educrats Have a Proposal—but It’s Dull and Conventional →

Will Flanders and Rick Esenberg: Let’s look at the long run and the short run. Since 1993, per-pupil spending, after adjusting for inflation, has increased by 7.2%. Although measures of student performance have been flat over that time period, the long-term trend in spending has clearly been up. And the short term is no different. … Continue reading Money isn’t the problem facing Wisconsin schools →

Molly Beck: The law, known as Act 10, required local governments who offer a state health insurance plan to their employees to pay no more than 88 percent of the average premiums. Walker’s 2017-19 state budget will now require the same of all school districts, regardless of which health insurance plans they offer. That spells … Continue reading Commentary on Redistributed State Tax Dollars and Madison’s $450M+ School Budget ($18k/student) →

Tony Evers (PDF): 1. Why are you running for State Superintendent of Public Instruction? I’ve been an educator all my adult life. I grew up in small town Plymouth, WI. Worked at a canning factory in high school, put myself through college, and married my kindergarten sweetheart, Kathy-also a teacher. I taught and became a … Continue reading Wisconsin DPI Superintendent Tony Evers Responds to Madison Teachers’ Questions →

As Stanford University economic researcher Barbara Biasi explains in a new study (which is awaiting peer review), Act 10 created a marketplace for teachers in which public-school districts can compete for better employees. For instance, a district can pay more to recruit and retain “high-value added” teachers—that is, those who most improve student learning. Districts … Continue reading “lead to a small increase in average quality of the teaching workforce in individual-salary districts.” →

Dave Umhoefer and Sarah Hauer: But the steep decline in the number of teacher candidates started before Act 10’s passage, it follows a national trend, and Wisconsin is faring better than its neighbors, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel examination found. Experts say root causes of the drop include tougher training and licensure requirements and tight school … Continue reading Schools face tougher task in finding teachers →

It is unfortunate two recent articles on the upcoming Madison School District tax & spending increase referendum lack data, such as: Total Spending for the current budget ($449,482,373.22 more) – about $18,000/student. Chicago spends about $14,336/student, Boston $20,707 and Long Beach $12,671/student. Historic Spending Changes (spending increases every year) Academic Outcomes vs. Spending Comparison with … Continue reading Commentary (seems to lack data…) on Madison’s K-12 Tax & Spending Increase Referendum →

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel The report by Dave Umhoefer and Sarah Hauer was the result of a study of the five-year impact of Act 10 during a nine-month O’Brien Fellowship in Public Service Journalism through the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University. Among the report’s findings: Teachers are moving from district to district, creating a year-round … Continue reading Commentary on Wisconsin K-12 Tax and Spending Policies →

Dave Zweifel: Many in Wisconsin are convinced that the teacher shortage here stems from Gov. Scott Walker’s and the Republican Legislature’s Act 10, the 2011 legislation that not only made it illegal for teachers’ unions to bargain, but required them to shoulder part of the load for their benefits, which resulted in take home pay … Continue reading Teacher shortage is payback for anti-teacher attitudes →

Doug Erickson Tommy Badger Aug 30, 2016 8:51am Our school board is living in the past. The state is not going to raise financial support for public schools. Our school board was given tools to make changes to operate in the new Republican reality. They refuse to use these new tools and continue to expect … Continue reading “”The measure would allow the district to permanently exceed state-imposed revenue limits by $26 million each year into perpetuity. “ →

Liam Dillon: California’s largest teachers union has given more than $13 million to the effort to extend income tax hikes on California’s highest earners, according to newly released state campaign finance reports. The report shows the California Teachers Assn. gave $3 million between April and June this year, in addition to the $10 million the … Continue reading California State teachers union has given more than $13 million to extend income taxes on wealthy Californians →

Madison School District PDF: We also know that MMSD has no extra factors to boost local revenues. Extra revenue factors, such as unused levy authority, General Fund Balance reserves, before considering a referendum to exceed the revenue limit, it is necessary to understand the tax levy forecast before any additional taxing authority. We have identified … Continue reading On the Proposed Madison Schools’ Tax & Spending Fall, 2016 Referendum →

Steven Walters: The UW-Madison political science professor, an Ozaukee County native, was stunned by what northern Wisconsin residents told her in diners, coffee shops, back rooms and barns between 2007 and 2012. “I did not expect to hear it, but many of the people I listened to in rural areas exhibited a multifaceted resentment toward … Continue reading K-12 Tax & Spending Climate: Rural Wisconsin is red and angry →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter (PDF), via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email: (By Andrew McCuaig, English teacher, LaFollette High School) Joining a union is an act of faith: a belief that people coming together with similar daily work lives can have an impact on those people who may have goals that don’t take into account … Continue reading “Why I’m Sticking to the Union – and Others Should Too” →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): While Act 10 limits bargaining to base wages only, all other issues and conditions of employment are addressed as part of the Employee Handbook development process. Last year, MTI worked with MMSD administration and the Board of Education to establish a new collaborative process … Continue reading Employee Handbook Discussions to Be Scheduled →

Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): On March 7, MTI Executive Director Doug Keillor and MTI Office Manager Yvonne Knoche presented the recommended 2016-17 MTI Budget to MTI’s Finance Committee. The Committee unanimously approved the recommendation. In acknowledgment of the financial uncertainties ahead, the Budget recommends a 20% reduction in MTI expenditures … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. Budget Reductions →

Benjamin Lindy: This Note uses the 1999 sunset and 2003 reauthorization of New Mexico’s public employee collective bargaining law to estimate the causal effect of teacher collective bargaining on student achievement. This Note finds that mandatory teacher bargaining laws increase the performance of high-achieving students while simultaneously lowering the performance of poorly achieving students. After … Continue reading The Impact of Teacher Collective Bargaining Laws on Student Achievement: Evidence from a New Mexico Natural Experiment →

The Supreme Court: Every year, Petitioners are required to provide significant support to a group that advocates an ideological viewpoint which they oppose and do not wish to subsidize. Abood’s authorization of this clear First Amendment violation should be overturned, both to end this ongoing deprivation of basic speech and association rights, and to restore … Continue reading Oral Arguments: Rebecca Friederichs vs California Teachers Association →

Christina Beck: The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on Monday in Friedrichs v. the California Teachers Association, a case that has the potential to dramatically change the future of organized labor in the United States. This case is the result of years of effort by 10 California teachers led by Rebecca Friedrichs, a longtime … Continue reading Will the Supreme Court deal a blow to public-sector unions? →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email: Given the unique and retaliatory provisions of Act 10 that: Any person eligible to vote in the recertification election who does not vote is counted as a NO vote; To prevail in the election, a union must receive affirmative votes from 51% of those eligible … Continue reading MTI Files Suit Against WERC →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email: “In solidarity, we move forward together” came through loud and clear as MTI-represented District employees in all five (5) MTI bargaining units voted overwhelmingly to recertify MTI as their representative. Of those voting, the teacher unit voted 98.51% to recertify (as compared to 98.46% last … Continue reading MTI-Represented Employees Again Vote Overwhelmingly for Recertification →

“I would guess, frankly, that no other school district union in the country has had a leader who has served as long as John,” Bellman said. “Because a union is democratic, his longevity is vivid evidence of the way he’s perceived by the people he serves. His ability to interact with members, to serve them, … Continue reading John Matthews, longtime head of Madison teachers union, to retire in January →

Patrick Marley: The union Madison Teachers Inc. on Nov. 10 sought documents under the open records law that would show who had voted so far in the election that ran from Nov. 4 to Nov. 24. On June 16, the commission’s chairman, James Scott, denied the request, saying the ballots were in the hands of … Continue reading Madison Teachers Union Seeks Names Of Members Who Voted In Recent Recertification Election →

Doug Erickson: Of the 2,838 Madison School District teachers eligible to vote, 86 percent cast a ballot to recertify the Madison Teachers Inc. union, according to the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, the state agency responsible for administering collective bargaining laws. The 20-day voting period ended at noon Tuesday. Much more on Madison Teachers, Inc. and … Continue reading Madison Teacher’s Union Recertification Vote →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): The present condition of politics in education is gloomy. School workers report high levels of stress, health problems, and thoughts of abandoning their career. Numerous teachers in Wisconsin already have, and it’s caused a teacher shortage nationwide. Many pinpoint the source – a lack … Continue reading What the Right Couldn’t Take: MTI’s Ability to Collaborate →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Getting Organized! MTI now has over seventy-five (75) Member Organizers including teachers, educational assistants, clerical-technical employees, substitute teachers, and retired MTI members who are committed to helping the next generation maintain their Union. Member Organizers are volunteers who serve as point persons in their … Continue reading High Voter Turn-out Necessary for MTI Recertification Elections →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Over the past few weeks, discussions have been occurring throughout the District about MTI’s upcoming MTI Recertification Elections. One of the most frequently asked questions by newer staff, those who are not aware of MTI’s many accomplishments on behalf of District employees, is “what … Continue reading What’s at Risk Without MTI? →

Madison Teachers, Inc. (PDF), via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email After many days of detailed analysis with MMSD, the parties have agreed as to whom is eligible to vote in each of the five (5) upcoming MTI bargaining unit recertification elections. All MTI- represented employees who were identified as having actively worked for the District … Continue reading MTI Recertification Election Procedures Set →

Mike Antonucci: Now a case awaits hearing by the U.S. Supreme Court that could dramatically change this picture. The Far Left periodical In These Times calls Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association the case “that could decimate American public sector unionism.” Perhaps that’s simply an ideological overstatement. Nonetheless, the case, if decided for the plaintiffs, could … Continue reading Teachers Unions at Risk of Losing “Agency Fees” →

Wisconsin’s stürm and drang over “Act 10” is somewhat manifested in Madison. Madison’s government schools are the only Wisconsin District, via extensive litigation, to still have a collective bargaining agreement with a teacher union, in this case, Madison Teachers, Inc. The Madison School Board and Administration are working with the local teachers union on a … Continue reading Madison’s Schwerpunkt: Government School District Power Play: The New Handbook Process is worth a look →

Madison Teachers, Inc., via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Of the grievance procedure, MTI Legal Counsel Lester Pines said: “I congratulate MTI and its sister Unions of District employees (AFSCME and The Building Trades Council) for achieving an agreement that the Independent Hearing Officer will be mutually selected by the Union and the District … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. Commentary on the Proposed “Handbook” →

Madison Teachers, Inc. via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): The only guarantees in life are death, taxes and MTI’s powerful advocacy for Union members, public schools and education. That amended saying is one that holds true as much now as it ever has. We know that we are facing a year filled with many … Continue reading A Message from MTI President Andrew Waity →

Madison Teachers, Inc. via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): The anti-union legislation passed in 2011 at Governor Walker’s request requires public sector unions to undergo an annual recertification election for the union to maintain its status as the representative of all workers covered by the union. MTI has again filed petitions with the Wisconsin … Continue reading Renew Your Commitment to MTI: Recertification Elections Again this Fall →

Chris Rickery: At the top of that list might be the district’s decision to continue basing pay and some employment decisions on seniority and degree attainment, even after 2011’s Act 10 would have made it easy to end those practices. Research has generally found that teachers with advanced degrees don’t improve student performance, and past … Continue reading Status Quo Reigns: Commentary On Madison’s K-12 Governance Atrophy →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter (PDF), via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email: Longtime MTI activist Peg Coyne (Black Hawk), who was elected a year ago to her third term as MTI President, has decided to retire at the conclusion of the school year. Coyne also served as Union President for the 2011-12 and 2013-14 school … Continue reading MTI President Peg Coyne Retires; President-elect Andy Waity Assumes Presidency →

Heather Cox Richardson: Movement Conservatives made Reagan’s anti-intellectualism an article of faith. Although George W. Bush held degrees from both Yale and Harvard, his supporters portrayed him as an outsider from Texas, cutting brush on his newly purchased Texas ranch. Movement Conservative personalities increasingly made whipping boys of members of the “liberal academy,” with hosts … Continue reading They really are the party of stupid: The real story behind Scott Walker’s war on higher education →

Deirdre Hargrove-Krieghoff (PDF): We know that our vision as a District doesn’t come to life without a thriving workforce. That is why we are working hard to provide our employees with the resources and support they need to do their best work. To be successful for all students, we must be a District that attracts, … Continue reading Development of the Madison School District Employee Handbook →

Madison Teachers, Inc., via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): MTI Executive Director John Matthews and MMSD Asst. Superintendent for Finance Mike Barry, along with District HR Director Deirdre Hargrove-Krieghoff and Benefits Manager Sharon Hennessy, have met with representatives of the three firms (Unity, GHC and Dean Health) which provide health insurance for District employees, … Continue reading MTI & District Working to Freeze Health Insurance Premiums →

David Blaska Voters just approved a $41 million spending referendum. Now the Madison Metro School District says it needs to cut $10.8 million to cover a deficit. This is after rewarding its unionized teachers and support staff with a 2.5% pay increase in the budget approved late last year. Who is running this store? Hint: … Continue reading Commentary on Madison Schools’ Governance, Priorities & Spending →

Madison Teachers, Inc Newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Attention is called to two significant changes regarding the transfer process for members of MTI’s teacher bargaining unit. While surplus can be declared up to July 1, this year the District acted early. Thus, reassignment from surplus is expected to be substantially completed before … Continue reading Changes in the Madison Teacher Transfer Process →

Alan Borsuk: Fatigue, indifference, apathy, resignation — they’re in the mix. There are supporters and loyalists, but, frankly, a lot of them are employees of the system. More important, so much of the power to make hefty decisions shaping MPS — and school districts in general — really lies in Madison and (to a declining … Continue reading Apathy & School Board Elections →

Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Plan now to attend one of the MTI ALL-MEMBER meetings scheduled for the week of March 23. Because of the importance of the Employee Handbook, MTI has scheduled meetings, hopefully one convenient to all members, on March 23, 24 and 26. Governor Walker’s 2011 Act 10 … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. “Employee Handbook” Planning Meetings →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter (PDF), via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email: Much like they did in enacting Act 10 a few years ago, Republican legislators once again adjourned the Committee hearing before all could be heard, and then voted to send the Right to Work Bill to the full Senate recommending that they adopt it. … Continue reading Right to Work is Not about Rights; it is Wrong for Wisconsin →

David Blaska: Like the Sun Prairie groundhog, the Madison school district’s teachers contract has come back to bite the taxpayer. The Madison Metropolitan School District is looking at a $20.8 million budget deficit next school year. Good Madison liberals worried about the state balancing its budget can now look closer to home. To balance the … Continue reading Commentary on Madison Schools Teacher Benefit Practices →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): It has been a long, well-planned attack. In 1993, in an action against their own philosophy; i.e. decisions by government should be made at the lowest possible level, the Republican Governor and Legislature began actions to control local school boards. They passed Revenue Controls … Continue reading Commentary on Wisconsin’s K-12 Tax, Spending & Governance Climate →

Madison Teachers, Inc., via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Buoyed by the election which provided Republican majorities in both the Assembly (+27 majority) and the Senate (+5 majority), conservative anti-worker/anti-union legislators have announced that they will introduce Right to Work legislation when the January session begins. Right to Work laws limit collective bargaining, make … Continue reading Divide and Conquer Part II: “Right to Work” is Dead Wrong →

Madison School District (PDF): We know that our vision as a District doesn’t come to life without a thriving workforce. That is why we have worked hard to provide our employees with the resources and support they need to do their best work. To be successful for all students, we must be a District that … Continue reading Madison Schools’ Teacher “Handbook” Process Plan →

Chris Rickert: Teachers who reach goals in the new compensation plan can also move up the pay scale faster than they were able to move up the old salary schedule, Busler said, while those not interested in reaching goals can expect nothing more than annual cost-of-living salary increases. But overall, the amount the district would … Continue reading Madison’s K-12 Governance: “the assembly line seems like an odd way to go” →

Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeanie Kamholtz email (PDF): Buoyed by the election which provided Republican majorities in both the Assembly (+27 majority) and the Senate (+5 majority), conservative anti-worker/anti-union legislators have announced that they will introduce Right to Work legislation when the January session begins. Right to Work laws limit collective bargaining, make it … Continue reading Divide and Conquer Part II: “Right to Work” is Dead Wrong →

Newsletter (PDF) via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email: “Love their Union” came through loud and clear as MTI-represented District employees in all five (5) MTI bargaining units voted overwhelmingly to recertify MTI as their Union. The teacher unit voted 2,624 to recertify (88% of the eligible voters), while the educational assistant unit (EA-MTI) voted 549 … Continue reading Madison Teachers Re-Certify their Union →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Getting Organized! MTI now has over two hundred (200) Member Organizers including teachers, educational assistants, clerical-technical employees, substitute teachers, security assistants, and retired MTI members who are committed to helping the next generation maintain their Union. Member Organizers are volunteers who have agreed … Continue reading Voter Turn-out Needed for MTI Recertification Elections →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter, via Jeannie Kamholtz (PDF): So far, one-hundred and fifteen (115) MTI members, teachers, educational assistants, clerical-technical employees and substitute teachers have stepped up to serve as MTI Member Organizers for MTI’s forthcoming recertification election. The Organizers will help to ensure that everyone in their school building/work site understands the importance … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. Recertification Plans →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): As previously reported, Governor Walker’s Act 10 requires public sector unions, except police & fire, to participate in an annual recertification election to enable Union members to retain representation by their Union. The election by all MTI-represented District employees will be conducted between … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. Recertification Campaign →

Jason Hart: Nearly half of all U.S. states allow public-sector union contracts to require mandatory dues as a condition of employment, based on a review of U.S. Department of Labor records, state labor laws and a National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation study from 2012. Many of these states and local governments automatically deduct … Continue reading State, local laws force public employees to pay labor unions →

Madison Teachers, Inc. via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Governor Walker’s Act 10 requires MTI to engage in a recertification election to retain its status as the representative of those covered by MTI’s collective bargaining units. This year’s election will be conducted between noon November 5 and noon November 25. Voting will be via … Continue reading Advocating Madison Teachers, Inc. Recertification →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Governor Walker’s Act 10 requires public sector unions, except police & fire, to engage in annual recertification elections, in order to retain their status as the representative of the employees in their bargaining unit. Even though MTI’s certification goes back to 1964, and … Continue reading Vote YES to RECERTIFY MTI – November 5-25, 2014 →

Chris Rickert District spokeswoman Rachel Strauch-Nelson acknowledged that some teachers had been evaluated “inconsistently” but noted that the new evaluations, while time-consuming, will be limited to once every three years. School Board President Arlene Silveira also said the board has made it clear to Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham that evaluations are a priority and “the hope … Continue reading Commentary on Madison Teacher Evaluation Concepts →

Madison 2005 (reflecting 1998): When all third graders read at grade level or beyond by the end of the year, the achievement gap will be closed…and not before On November 7, Superintendent Art Rainwater made his annual report to the Board of Education on progress toward meeting the district’s student achievement goal in reading. As … Continue reading Madison’s Lengthy K-12 Challenges Become Election Grist; Spends 22% more per student than Milwaukee →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Members of MTI’s Board of Directors, Bargaining Committee and Union staff greeted the District’s 200+ newly hired teachers at New Teacher Orientation last Monday. Sixty- five have already joined the union. MTI Executive Director John Matthews addressed the District’s new teachers during Monday’s … Continue reading Madison Teachers, Inc. Greets New Hires →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Last fall, MTI asked the District to bargain Contracts for multiple years. They refused, and a Contract was negotiated for the 2014-15 school year. After hundreds of MTI members, sporting their MTI red shirts, attended two school board meetings in late May, the Board … Continue reading MTI Preserves, Gains Contracts Through June, 2016 →

James Wigderson, via a kind reader: We should not have been surprised when Democratic candidate for governor Mary Burke voted with the rest of the Madison school board to negotiate a contract extension with the teachers union. After all, it was just a month ago that Burke told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in a video … Continue reading Will the Madison School Board Prove Mary Burke Wrong (or Right)? →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter, via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Board of Education meetings on May 12 and 15 were a sea of red, as MTI members produced an overflow crowd, calling for Contract negotiations for the 2015-16 school year. Numerous MTI members, supported by four past-presidents on the Board of Education, State … Continue reading MTI (Madison Teachers, Inc) Red Fills Doyle Auditorium; Bargaining to Begin →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): The value of positive employer-employee relationships being highly valued in Madison and the surrounding area has moved the County of Dane and the City of Madison to continue to negotiate contracts with their employee unions. While the 2011 legislated Act 10 was designed … Continue reading MTI, AFSCME and Building Trades Petition for 2015-16 Contracts →

Madison Teachers, Inc. members fill the school board work group room, and the hallway outside. pic.twitter.com/UaIN004Pf7 — Molly Beck (@MollyBeckWSJ) May 12, 2014 Related: Collective Bargainain, Act 10 and Retired Ripon Superintendent’s 2009 speech to the Madison Rotary Club.

Madison Teachers, Inc. via a kind Jeannie Kamholtz email (PDF): Among the many excellent benefits available to MTI members, guaranteed by MTI’s various Collective Bargaining Agreements, is the additional worker’s compensation benefit, i.e., benefits greater than those provided by Wisconsin Statutes. Wisconsin Statutes provide a worker’s compensation benefit for absence caused by a work-related injury … Continue reading What Does Your MTI Contract Do for You? Worker’s Compensation →

Madison Teachers, Inc. Solidarity Newsletter via a kind Linda Doeseckle email (PDF): Does it matter to you when school begins in the fall? How about when and how long winter or spring break is? And, how about when the school year ends? Have you thought about how many days you work for your annual salary, … Continue reading What Does Your MTI Contract Do for You? School Calendar →