With states around the country facing billions in budget shortfalls for the next few years, state governments around the country have been cutting from parts of the public sector in hopes of balancing their state budgets.
The latest example of this comes from Wisconsin’s Gov. Scott Walker, R-Wisc., and the introduction of Wisconsin Senate Bill 13.
SB 13 would end collective bargaining rights for public employee unions. Collective bargaining allows for unions to be able to negotiate with employers over wages, work hours, health care, etc.
On top of that, it will increase the amount of money that public employees have to contribute to their healthcare plans and pensions. Teachers, for example, will need to start contributing 12.6 percent of their pay to health care and 5.8 percent of their pay to their pension fund. SB 13 would also eliminate salary schedules and step increases in pay, replacing them with a merit based pay system.
Public employee unions across Wisconsin are not in favor of the bill and have turned out in the thousands to protest it this past week. The passage of the bill has been hindered by the state’s 14 Democratic senators, who have fled to Illinois, leaving only 19 Republican senators left, not enough for a final vote on the bill.
According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, in response to these mass protests, union leaders put forth an idea to concede to the increase in benefit contributions in order to retain their right to collectively bargain, but Walker would not budge, stating collective bargaining “[stands] in the way of local governments and school districts being able to balance their budgets.”
We live in desperate financial times, but we can only ask someone to bend so much before they break.
Walker should have accepted the plan put forth by union leaders. Allowing for public employee unions to collectively bargain was a small part of the bill to give up in order to reform how much public employees contribute to their benefit plans.
With Arizona facing a budget crisis comparable to Wisconsin’s, could the public employees and the teachers of Arizona have to face similar legislation if the state Legislature decides to implement the ideas proposed in Wisconsin’s SB 13?
In order to balance the budget in Arizona many things will need to be done, a small part of the puzzle is asking public workers to contribute a little bit more to their tax-payer supported benefit plans.
But we have to remember these are our teachers and that they are entrusted with the job of educating the minds of tomorrow. The brunt of the burden should not be placed on their shoulders. Solutions like fixing many of the state’s tax loopholes should be sought out as well.
Brian can be reached at bjutting@asu.edu
