photo courtsey of activerain

While the governor was delivering this sobering dose of reality to citizens the South Central Federation of Labor of Wisconsin, a conglomeration of 97 unions in Dane, Dodge, Sauk, Columbia, Jefferson and Iowa counties, called for a general strike a la Europe if the budget repair bill were to pass.

Delegates from the labor federation voted unanimously for the resolution that lays the groundwork for a general strike. This type of strike could affect schools, governments and private businesses. A committee is being formed to contact unions in Europe that have experience conducting and coordinating general strikes.

The South Central Federation of Labor of Wisconsin is poised to strike even if other unions in the state or country don’t jump on the bandwagon.

After nearly eight straight days of protests in Madison, the demonstrations are running out of steam. This is likely the result of a weekend blizzard, a drop in public opinion, and the ensuing stalemate between a stalwart Governor Walker and the fourteen missing Democrat Senators hiding out in Illinois. But world events have put the protests in Madison on the back burner. Attention has shifted to turmoil in Libya, earthquakes in New Zealand, and Somali pirates. The round-the-clock media coverage has diminished and that might be the final dagger in the heart of the pro-union demonstration.

Yes, the college students remain camped out in the Capital rotunda. The campus communists, socialists, and anarchists strive to remain relevant, but the movement that galvanized public employees to flock to Madison all last week is faltering. The teachers balked on Monday when WEAC president Mary Bell ordered teachers back to work this week.

AFSCME claims they halted the busses because  ”action is spreading out across the state.” Sure sounds like they just can’t fill busses anymore.

Events could change very quickly and the crowds could be back in the street, but on this brisk Wednesday morning, Madison is pretty quiet.

photo courtesy of Catalyst

Personally, we all understand the consequences of having no money and not being able to pay back what we owe. But we’ve been conditioned by our government that somehow this public debt is different. Our national debt is in the trillions and rises $4.13 billion per day. Does anyone even understand who we owe, how we’ll pay it back or how our federal government can function? And unlike the federal government, states are required to balance their budgets.

The largest part of Governor Walker’s budget repair bill is being overlooked: the component that would restructure $165 million in state-issued bonds that come due in May. If these bonds were reissued it would push this payment into the future and free up that $165 million for immediate uses. If the budget repair bill isn’t passed by Friday, it will be impossible to refinance the bonds in time for the state to meet its bills for the fiscal year that runs until June 30.

What the protesters seem unable to understand is that one way or another Wisconsin has to find some money. If this bill fails, the governor has already said that layoff notices to state workers could start as early as next week. The governor has estimated at least 1500 jobs would need to be eliminated. Other analysts have found that the number might need to be as high as 6000 to achieve the same budget savings passing the budget repair bill would achieve. The cold hard reality is that without the proposed reforms in public-employee compensation and bargaining, thousands of public employees will lose their jobs.

Alternatively, if Wisconsin were to follow a Democrat idea of taxing its way out of a deficit, it would require income tax hikes of over 50 percent to patch the $3.6 billion hole! Wisconsinites are already one of the highest taxed people in America, there is no way the population would stand for this approach.

Gov. Walker is in between a rock and a hard place. Todd Berry, president of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, a non-partisan organization, summed it up saying, “This state has been conducting budget balancing maneuvers for 15 years and we’ve exhausted our options.”

Fourteen Wisconsin Democrat senators skipped town last week in order to prevent the State Senate from voting on Governor Scott Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. In order to call a quorum to pass fiscal bills, twenty senators must be present to vote. With nineteen Republicans ready to vote in favor of the Budget Repair Bill, only one Democrat is needed to pass the bill.

As the showdown continues, might Governor Walker’s tactic lure at least one Democratic senator back in need of a paycheck? With salaries around $50,000 per year for state senators, it will be awfully tempting.

Stay tuned.

Photo Credit: Gateway Pundit

At the Madison rally on 2/19/11, doctor’s were signing fake excuses for teachers. I am not a teacher, but I managed to get a note. They did not ask for any identification or where I might teach. They were literally handing these out to anyone and everyone.

Media Trackers confronts a doctor in Madison who is assisting teachers by signing fraudulent doctor’s excuses. There were at least four different doctors in white coats signing sick forms.

On Friday, the Milwaukee Public School District was forced to close the doors of all its 184 schools after more than 600 teachers called in “sick” in order to travel to Madison to engage in protests against Governor Walker’s Budget Repair Bill. The Milwaukee Public School District is the largest school district in Wisconsin with over 82,000 students and 184 schools.

photo by wn.com

Governor Walker’s Budget Repair Bill would require modest contributions to pensions and healthcare for teachers and other public employees, as well as restricting collective bargaining rights to wages only.

The average salary of a Milwaukee Public School District teacher is $56,095 according to the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction. Including benefits, the average compensation package for Milwaukee teachers is $86,297 per year.

If these 600 Milwaukee teachers are not docked pay, it could cost taxpayers nearly $186,983.32 to pay teachers to attend protests in Madison on Friday.

Of course the costs associated with Milwaukee teacher’s calling in “sick” and forcing schools to close is not all in dollars.

According to Census Bureau estimates, nearly 33% of of all children in the Milwaukee Public School system live in poverty. Essential services occur during the school day such as the administration of medicine and guaranteed meals.

On Friday, Milwaukee Public School teachers decided that maintaining their $56,000 salary and $30,000 benefits package are more important than the children of Milwaukee whom they claim to serve. It was more important to join the protests in Madison than administering medicine, feeding children, and educating students.

Note to Readers: The figures in this article were amended after a mistake was discovered. Thank you to our vigilant readers.

]]> http://mediatrackers.org/2011/02/sick-teachers-force-milwaukee-public-schools-to-close/feed/ 1 http://mediatrackers.org/2011/02/six-figure-compensation-the-norm-for-union-leaders/ http://mediatrackers.org/2011/02/six-figure-compensation-the-norm-for-union-leaders/#comments Fri, 18 Feb 2011 16:43:47 +0000 dena http://mediatrackers.org/?p=472 Quick, when you think of a union guy do you picture a hard-working, average Joe toiling day in and day out at his job or do you picture a sophisticated lobbyist earning well over six-figures?

photo courtsey of wallpapersphere

The stereotype of the union that so many of us hold is downright false. The Legislative Fiscal Bureau determined that the average compensation for a Wisconsin public employee this year is $76,500. And while that’s what the average Joe is earning, a really telling picture emerges when we look at Wisconsin Union leaders. While they rail against the “injustices” piled on the worker, they’re taking home compensation well over six-figures. This isn’t Grandpa’s union folks.

A Media Trackers analysis of 2009 Form 990s filed for local Teamster chapters found that over 22 people in just five chapters made over $100,000 at the local level. This doesn’t take into account that many of these individuals also are compensated at the national level. Additionally, for most of the leaders, this isn’t even their full-time job (from which they will draw another salary).

At the State Professional Education Info Council WEAC/NEA, executive director Michael Moore’s compensation package for 2009 was $160, 575. in comparison, Service Employee International Union (SEIU) president Michael Thomas’s salary of $86, 243 seems low by union standards.

A MacIver study of 990s showed inflated compensation at the powerful American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Council 24 SEPAC where its executive director Marty Beil pulled in $161,847 in 2008 while his assistant, Jana Weaver, made a respectable $138,553. AFSCME’s 24 2009 LM-2 showed that 16 of its field representatives made more than $90,000. Richard Abelson, Executive Director of ASCFME Council 48 in Milwaukee garnered $106,122 in 2009 according to the organization’s LM-2.

courtsey leighvalleylive

February 17, 2011, Milwaukee, WI– On Thursday, thirteen Wisconsin school districts had to close their doors due to the number of teachers calling in “sick.” In fact, many of the “sick” teachers showed up in Madison today to protest the Budget Repair Bill. At issue are their salaries and pension plans.

According to data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, the average teacher’s salaries and average fringe benefits appear to be very generous given the recent economic downturn. Media Trackers has compiled the information below for the school districts that were forced to close on Thursday.

Columbus School District $72,460

De Forest School District $69,201

Eau Claire School District $80,198

Edgarton School District $75,061

La Crosse School District $83,364

Madison Metropolitan School District $75,558

Mosinee School District $80,746

Oregon School District $66,942

Racine School District $88,453

Stoughton School District $72,830

Verona School District $77,214

Watertown School District $82,244

Wausau School District $85,478

Average Salary and Benefits for School Districts Closed On Thursday $77,673

Note to readers: The facts and figures in this article were double checked for accuracy and the average did change to $77,673. We apologize for this mistake as we always attempt to provide you with accurate facts and information.

]]> http://mediatrackers.org/2011/02/average-salary-of-sick-teachers-at-protest-is/feed/ 20