Union Worker Protests In Wi

[hblask 1]

- I grew up in WI so I have lots of family there. My sister and her husband were teachers there. They were not hurting for money and only worked 9 months a year. They are now better off than me, who has been a programmer for decades.- My nephew is a teacher who can't get a job there because you can't fire crappy teachers.- The teachers are trying to argue out of both sides of their mouth: we are underpaid -- which implies that a free market would pay them more -- AND that they need the unions to make sure they get a fair wage. Which is it? You can't have both of those.- How many of the protesters were bused in from other states?- The state legislators that refuse to show up for work should be fired and replaced by the governor within 24 hours. That's nonsense.

[Balloon guy 158]

If teacher salaries were higher, the job would attract better teachers.

Because bad teachers won't work for more money?Or good teachers who care for kids and want to teach won't do it for less?You cannot pay a person enough to become good at their job. Not for a long period of time. They either are good and you compensate them, or they are not and no amount of money will change that.The teachers have chosen through unionizing to not allow anyone to receive more pay for being better at their job. So their solution is to raise the pay of all the bad teachers so that the good ones get their just reward?

[Balloon guy 158]

- I grew up in WI so I have lots of family there. My sister and her husband were teachers there. They were not hurting for money and only worked 9 months a year. They are now better off than me, who has been a programmer for decades.

Average work for a teacher is 32 weeks a year when factor in sick leaves, holidays etc.

- The teachers are trying to argue out of both sides of their mouth: we are underpaid -- which implies that a free market would pay them more -- AND that they need the unions to make sure they get a fair wage. Which is it? You can't have both of those.

My daughter went to private school and we paid ~$3,500 a year, small school with 15 kids per class. The teachers made about 2/3rd what they would have gotten in public school. But the kids in public school represent $10,000 a year, if we paid that in private school, the kids would eat lobster and steak for lunch, the teachers would all make $100K and the girl's volleyball team could afford a coach with a remote chance to be competitive.

[custom36 4]

I've been helping organize the protests for the last 3 days. I work tomorrow AM, then I'm going back for 3 more days. For me, today was life-changing. I spent the entire day behind the podium organizing everyone, leading chants, and talking with protesters and union leaders. If you know what I look like, you will likely see me on news reports. I 100% believe we are doing the right thing and that the 14 senators who walked out did the only thing they could and should stay out until Republicans cave. The next couple of days, when people don't have to work, are going to be gigantic. I can't wait.

[Balloon guy 158]

I've been helping organize the protests for the last 3 days. I work tomorrow AM, then I'm going back for 3 more days. For me, today was life-changing. I spent the entire day behind the podium organizing everyone, leading chants, and talking with protesters and union leaders. If you know what I look like, you will likely see me on news reports. I 100% believe we are doing the right thing and that the 14 senators who walked out did the only thing they could and should stay out until Republicans cave. The next couple of days, when people don't have to work, are going to be gigantic. I can't wait.

Believe it or not, I wish you good luck.I mean it ain't my tax dollars in WI after all...

[custom36 4]

Thank you BG.Even if this doesn't agree with your politics, we are still a blue state and I can tell you with ....85% certainty, that this is what the majority of Wisconsin wants.

[Balloon guy 158]

Thank you BG.Even if this doesn't agree with your politics, we are still a blue state and I can tell you with ....85% certainty, that this is what the majority of Wisconsin wants.

It's all the cold weather....

[loogie 115]

Because bad teachers won't work for more money?Or good teachers who care for kids and want to teach won't do it for less?

Because smarter people that would normally be working in other occupations would consider teaching instead.

[Balloon guy 158]

Because smarter people that would normally be working in other occupations would consider teaching instead.

Why would I want to be a teacher?Do you know how little they make?

[custom36 4]

- How many of the protesters were bused in from other states?

Very, very few. They've begun trickling in today, and more are coming this weekend. But this has been 99% Wisconsin.My alma mater is not Madison, but they (and other state schools) had thousands of students protesting there too. The entire state is on the same page right now.

[vbnautilus 48]

Average work for a teacher is 32 weeks a year when factor in sick leaves, holidays etc.My daughter went to private school and we paid ~$3,500 a year, small school with 15 kids per class. The teachers made about 2/3rd what they would have gotten in public school. But the kids in public school represent $10,000 a year, if we paid that in private school, the kids would eat lobster and steak for lunch, the teachers would all make $100K and the girl's volleyball team could afford a coach with a remote chance to be competitive.

uhhhthe private schools where I live range from 20K-30K per year.http://www.lamag.com/article.aspx?id=10674&page=4

[hblask 1]

Thank you BG.Even if this doesn't agree with your politics, we are still a blue state and I can tell you with ....85% certainty, that this is what the majority of Wisconsin wants.

I have dozens of family members in WI, and I can tell you with 85% certainty that the majority of the state wants the unions kicked out so that public employees receive market wages instead of above-market wages.

[hblask 1]

Very, very few. They've begun trickling in today, and more are coming this weekend. But this has been 99% Wisconsin.My alma mater is not Madison, but they (and other state schools) had thousands of students protesting there too. The entire state is on the same page right now.

I'm hearing stories from relatives about teachers giving students grade bumps if they come to the protests.Nice lesson plan.

[custom36 4]

I have dozens of family members in WI, and I can tell you with 85% certainty that the majority of the state wants the unions kicked out so that public employees receive market wages instead of above-market wages.

I'm hearing stories from relatives of teachers giving students grade bumps if they come to the protests.Nice lesson plan.

I don't know where you're getting this stuff from, but it's simply not true.

[hblask 1]

I don't know where you're getting this stuff from, but it's simply not true.

You realize the state has a population of over 5M, right? That the ten or twenty thousand at the capital is a tiny fraction of that?The state voted to throw the Dems out in the last election for this very reason. This is what Walker and the R's promised, it's what the voters wanted, and the voters are thrilled that someone is finally keeping their promise.Get your head out of the union propaganda machine and talk to an actual person with a regular job.

[custom36 4]

You realize the state has a population of over 5M, right? That the ten or twenty thousand at the capital is a tiny fraction of that?The state voted to throw the Dems out in the last election for this very reason. This is what Walker and the R's promised, it's what the voters wanted, and the voters are thrilled that someone is finally keeping their promise.Get your head out of the union propaganda machine and talk to an actual person with a regular job.

I actually teach actual people that have or had actual jobs (and I am not striking...I'm working tomorrow morning). I have republican friends that live in very republican parts of the state. Aside from this week, I've had little involvement with union activism (though much of my family is made up of machinists and police officers, admittedly).There were 30,000 yesterday, and many more today, as well as statewide protests.All you can really do is take my word for it. Republicans got voted in on social issues and promises of balancing the budget and because Jim Doyle, our Dem former governor, was an idiot. Unfortunately, many people that voted for them did not believe they would start union-busting. I've spoken to many people who voted for Walker and are now ashamed that they did.I am no propagandist. And I am no sheep. There's no conspiracy here - this is a massive shift in public opinion. If a vote were held today, this state would once again be very blue.

[custom36 4]

I can't tell you why people are dressing in gorilla suits. I have no idea what that's about.

[hblask 1]

I actually teach actual people that have or had actual jobs (and I am not striking...I'm working tomorrow morning). I have republican friends that live in very republican parts of the state. Aside from this week, I've had little involvement with union activism (though much of my family is made up of machinists and police officers, admittedly).There were 30,000 yesterday, and many more today, as well as statewide protests.All you can really do is take my word for it. Republicans got voted in on social issues and promises of balancing the budget and because Jim Doyle, our Dem former governor, was an idiot. Unfortunately, many people that voted for them did not believe they would start union-busting. I've spoken to many people who voted for Walker and are now ashamed that they did.I am no propagandist. And I am no sheep. There's no conspiracy here - this is a massive shift in public opinion. If a vote were held today, this state would once again be very blue.

30,000/5,000,000 = 0.6%I haven't done a count, but I think I have close to 20 relatives living in WI from all walks of life. The only ones who support the unions are the currently employed teachers. The unemployed teachers want the unions out so that qualified teachers can find jobs instead of keeping incompetent coddled teachers. The people with real jobs who overpay the teachers' salaries want the unions out.I saw a poll today: 56% support the governor, low 40s for the union. The R's won for a reason: WI is sick of overpaid bureaucrats dictating every aspect of their lives. That hasn't changed in two months since the election.

[Oggmonster 0]

Thank you BG.Even if this doesn't agree with your politics, we are still a blue state and I can tell you with ....85% certainty, that this is what the majority of Wisconsin wants.

This is what Wisconsin wants, or this is what Madison wants? Because Madison is basically the Berkeley of the midwest. Wisconsin recently elected a governor that openly ran on a platform of, "Unions are bankrupting the state and I'm going to do everything I can to balance the budget."

[custom36 4]

This is what Wisconsin wants, or this is what Madison wants? Because Madison is basically the Berkeley of the midwest. Wisconsin recently elected a governor that openly ran on a platform of, "Unions are bankrupting the state and I'm going to do everything I can to balance the budget."

But he ran against a guy that, like Doyle, was an idiot. Hell, I almost voted for Walker and I never vote republican. Unfortunately, the democratic party had gotten weak over the last 6 years. That's likely changing.Understand that this isn't all Madison people protesting. I saw thousands of shirts and signs today of people from Waukesha (republican city near Milwaukee), Green Bay, Eau Claire (near MN), La Crosse, Wausau, etc. This protest was hastily thrown together on Tuesday and has been gaining incredible steam since then. We've done a lot of on-the-fly organizing since then. I never expected anything like this. And it's only going to get larger.

[slink 1]

lol at the 9 1/2 work month per year. As a teacher I put in well over 2000 hours per year (averaging out to a 40+ hour work week x 50 weeks, figuring in the other 2 weeks as 'paid' vacation.We chose this profession, not for the pay, but to do something we love to do (mostly that, and summers off to spend time with my own kids). That said, the pay is adequate...until recently. Pay cuts (health care increases of 600% over the last 14 months-granted it was really, really low before the increases), and no raises since 2008, and none forthcoming for the foreseeable future.Granted, it would be nice for administrators to be able to get rid of the dead wood. But is this protest about that?As a conservative I am disconcerted about the flack received from the 'right' on this, and it has put me on the side of the unions on this issue.

[custom36 4]

lol at the 9 1/2 work month per year. As a teacher I put in well over 2000 hours per year (averaging out to a 40+ hour work week x 50 weeks, figuring in the other 2 weeks as 'paid' vacation.We chose this profession, not for the pay, but to do something we love to do (mostly that, and summers off to spend time with my own kids). That said, the pay is adequate...until recently. Pay cuts (health care increases of 600% over the last 14 months-granted it was really, really low before the increases), and no raises since 2008, and none forthcoming for the foreseeable future.Granted, it would be nice for administrators to be able to get rid of the dead wood. But is this protest about that?As a conservative I am disconcerted about the flack received from the 'right' on this, and it has put me on the side of the unions on this issue.

Thank you for teaching. I only teach college, but I've subbed district and know the incredible amount of work you guys do. I think it's something that's very tough to understand unless you've done it.

[slink 1]

Thank you for teaching. I only teach college, but I've subbed district and know the incredible amount of work you guys do. I think it's something that's very tough to understand unless you've done it.

Thanks for that. It's true that not many understand what it takes unless they've done it (probably true of most areas). Before I became a teacher, I also thought that most were lazy fat-cat unionists who only wanted to suck at the public teat.

[ol'number7 0]

Very, very few. They've begun trickling in today, and more are coming this weekend. But this has been 99% Wisconsin.My alma mater is not Madison, but they (and other state schools) had thousands of students protesting there too. The entire state is on the same page right now.

This is not true, you should acknowledge that

[custom36 4]

This is not true, you should acknowledge that

Lol, fine. Much of the state. Whatever.One aspect of this has been sorely under-reported, in my opinion: Yes, 14 democratic state senators walked out. But you know who was with them? 2 republican state senators. I haven't been able to find names yet (granted, I haven't looked hard), but they should be commended for standing up for what they (or the people they represent. hopefully both) believe in, despite the party line.