West Bend Teachers Union Continues Negotiations

Heh.

The teachers’ association is proposing a salary increase of 1 percent the first year, and 3 percent and 4 percent in contract years two and three, respectively.

   In both scenarios, eligible teachers would still see the pay increases associated with years of experience and educational development as determined by a professional salary schedule.

Huh.  I seem to remember being criticized for suggesting that the union representatives’ assertions that they would “work with” the district during the levy debate was crap.  Seems I was right. 

I found this interesting too:

“The teachers in West Bend are highly educated,” Wickland said. “More than a third have master’s degrees. Put that level of education out there in any other profession and you will find they are more highly paid than teachers.

It continues to baffle me that we base compensation for teachers on an arbitrary level of education.  Seriously… is it really necessary for most 2nd grade teachers to have a masters degree?  What is the tangible benefit of them having such a degree?  I work in a technical field where degrees, certifications, etc. are plentiful.  Nobody in our industry pays more for a particular certification or degree unless it is directly related to the job role and is a tangible requirement to doing the job.  Personally, I am considering another degree, but it won’t impact my compensation by one dollar.  I want to do it to position myself in my career.  The notion that I should automatically get paid more just for obtaining another degree is asinine. 

As for the district’s negotiating position… it’s OK, but weak.  They want a two year contract to line up with the state budget.  The union wants a three year contact.  The district’s position makes a heckuva lot more sense.  The district is proposing “no increase to teacher salaries in the first year, and a 2 percent increase the second year.”  Overall that would be a good outcome, but as a negotiating position it’s weak.  Since the union is asking for larger increases, the district should start with cuts and work to the middle. 

The one thing I have been disappointed with is that the district has not come out forcefully on these contracts.  Yes, the funding formula is causing issues and the district is ultimately subject to the parameters of binding arbitration, but the district has leverage that it isn’t using.  The district can fire staff.  I would love to see the district come out in public and tell the teachers that if they insist on large compensation increases, then some of them will be fired.  Period.  Does it mean that the remaining teachers will have to work harder?  Yes.  Welcome to the real world where employees all over town have been asked to do more for the same compensation.  And realistically, there are roughly 1,000 district employees for 7,200 kids.  That’s a 1 to 7 ratio (roughly).  Most of the private schools in town operate at about a 1 to 14 or 15 ratio - including administration - and provide an equal quality of education.  If the district can’t operate its staff more efficiently, then there’s a management issue that needs attention. 

I expect the teachers’ union to negotiate hard for compensation increases (despite comments to the contrary), but the district isn’t taking an equally hard stance.  Personally, I think that many of the teachers are more reasonable and are not being accurately represented by their negotiators.  The district should speak publicly to those teachers and not rely on the negotiators to accurately inform the union members of the district’s position.  Of course, all of this assumes that the district has a firm position.