Act 10: Teachers unions shift focus, mission

Patti Zarling

USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

2/14/2016

Green Bay area teachers unions have taken on new — if diminished roles — in the five years since a Wisconsin law curbing their authority was set in motion.

Faced with a $2.7 billion budget shortfall in early 2011, newly elected Republican Gov. Scott Walker proposed providing school district officials with "tools" to help them control costs: stripping government workers unions of most of their collective bargaining power and requiring public workers to pay more for health insurance and benefits. He also trimmed state aid to schools.

His introduction of Act 10 on Feb. 11 of that year took public workers by surprise. They quickly organized protests at the sate Capitol that drew thousands of teachers, their families, union members and other supporters  from throughout Wisconsin. The first major protest took place five years ago Monday.

Those against the governor's proposal also carried signs near the Green Bay School District offices, as well as Chappell Elementary School when Walker made an appearance there. Students at Bay Port High School in Suamico walked out of school to show solidarity with teachers.

"It definitely was a shock to me," said Lori Cathey, president of the Green Bay Education Association. "How could we go from a state that was so pro-education to one that saw teachers as the problem, that we are sucking up taxpayer money? That was kind of a huge blow."

The measure passed despite the largest protests Madison had ever seen, and Walker later survived a historic recall election.

Today, teachers and their unions have adjusted to the new status quo. Union leaders say they have lost significant numbers of members since Act 10, which made membership voluntary, but they also say the governor's actions have led them to be proactive in touting the importance of good schools and strong teachers.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state's largest teachers organization, lost almost half its members, from 97,000 before Act 10 to about 50,000 today. The Green Bay chapter retained about three-fourths of its 1,800 members, Cathey said.

In addition to voluntary membership, Act 10 also added new requirements for unions to recertify. The rules now say local unions must hold an election — at their own expense — each year to recertify and become the bargaining authority for teachers. Union members who do not cast ballots are counted as "no" votes.

The GBEA has recertified each year, Cathey said. For this school year, about 75 percent of GBEA members favored recertification. Just seven members placed ballots with a "no" vote, the rest were no-shows, she said.

"I think that shows amazing support for our organization," Cathey said. "They see we have an amazing relationship with the Green Bay School District. We are able to work with the school district on issues, and it isn't adversarial."

Continuing role

WEAC spokeswoman Christina Brey said local unions still play a role throughout the state, even if some choose not to recertify.

"They've created so many hoops for us to jump through," Brey said. "It's clear the motive was to destroy unions, but we're still here."

But the influence of unions has diminished in Madison. WEAC spent about $2.3 million on lobbying in the two legislative sessions leading up to the passage of Act 10. But by 2013-14 the union spent just $175,540, and so far has spent $93,481 in 2015-16.

Union leaders say they instead are focusing on local communities. The associations also invest in training and other support services for members.

"We offer professional development for things like license renewal, classroom management or teacher effectiveness," said Cathey, who also is a Wisconsin representative on the National Education Association's board and was in Washington, D.C., last week. "In the past it was more about politics, but now it's more community oriented.We want to talk about our schools and share who we are with the community."

Despite drops in membership numbers, Cathey said GBEA is more active than before Act 10.

"In the election for our board of directors, usually there might be one or two people running, and now we have six," she said. "There are a huge number of people stepping up. And it's not just the same people, it's new people."

In the wake of Act 10, GBEA worked with the district to develop a new handbook, which replaced contracts, and kept items such as "just cause" meaning teachers could not be fired without reason.

"That was huge," she said.

Like other communities, Green Bay teachers are leaving the district for new opportunities more often. In the past, Cathey said seniority and pay often kept teachers within one district.

"You see it especially with new teachers or those with a specialty," she said. "Special ed teacher, bilingual, or tech ed. In an open market, if they can make $5,000 a year more, or for psychologists $25,000 a year more, it's hard to argue against it."

Ned Dorff, who teaches first and second grade at Green Bay's Aldo Leopold School, remains a GBEA member.

"I'm a member because unions support their members by staying up to date on changing state and federal legislation, negotiating our contracts, helping us through special circumstances like maternity and paternity leave, and helping mediate conflicts among personnel," he said. "It's easy to feel lost or alone without the expertise and support of our union staff."

He also participated in protests in Madison five years ago.

"I remember being really shocked, and really concerned about my family's financial future," he said. "That was just about the time my wife and I got married."

His wife also was a teacher, but after Act 10 and the birth of their first child, Dorff said they agreed that, with the cost of child care, she would drop out of teaching.

"A lot of people think we make lots of money," he said. "We have a family of four, and we don't go out, we don't drink, we don't have cable. And still we aren't putting away money for our kids' college.

"We get into this because we love kids and teaching, not to make money."

Many teachers were disheartened during the debate before and after Act 10's passage, Cathey said.

"I think five years ago teachers really felt under attack, but I think things have changed," she said. "I think now everyone sees we all want to do what's best for kids."