Glue-3-27-15 - Kenosha Education Association

THE GLUE
Official Publication of the Kenosha Education Association
Teachers Substitute Teachers Education Support Professionals Noon Hour Supervisors
Circuit Court Decision in the matter of
KEA Collective Bargaining Agreements
tion that a trial court’s decision (Dane County
By Steve Urso, Interim Excutive Director
Circuit Court Judge Juan Colás, September 12,
In September of 2014, a motion was filed
Wisconsin Statutes. “
KEA is now free to appeal the decision of
2012), is precedential and has statewide im-
the Circuit Court. Obviously, the fundamen-
for summary judgment that had a hearing in
pact.” Accordingly, Judge Bastianelli found that
tal belief of KEA was that the parties, KEA
November, 2014. The motion sought a judg-
the collective bargaining agreements entered
and KUSD, were legally able to bargain the
ment that all collective bargaining agreements
into by the union defendants during November,
agreements as they did in November, 2013.
entered into between KEA and KUSD were in
2013 were contrary to the provisions of Act 10
Now, in March of 2015, well after the July,
violation of Wisconsin Statutes and were there-
and are therefore null and void.
2014 Supreme Court decision that Act 10 is
fore void and unenforceable. The motion also
In regards to the judgment seeking relief
constitutional, Kenosha County Circuit Court
sought a judgment that the actions of KEA, in
from the KEA for engaging in the restraint
rules the bargains entered into are void. This
entering into such collective bargaining agree-
of trade, the Court rejected that argument.
is hard to understand when the question of the
ments, were a restraint of trade in violation of
The Court said, “At the time the CBA’s were
constitutionality of Act 10 was before, but not
Wisconsin Statutes.
entered into, the State of Wisconsin via the
yet decided, by the Supreme Court. For some
In part, KEA attorneys argued that a
WERC, had informed the public, KUSD and
here at KEA, it appears a convenient excuse
declaratory judgment issued in Dane County
the defendant unions that they were able to
to now say the parties could not bargain when
had the effect of an injunction and, therefore,
collectively bargain. There is no question that
the State had told them through the WERC that
the agreements KEA and KUSD entered into
the collective bargaining agreements were
they could in the fall of 2013.
in November of 2013 were valid. Kenosha
on wages, and conditions of employment;
County Circuit Court Judge David Bastianelli
traditional areas of union activity. This activity
trust us, it is not. We will keep you abreast of
disagreed and stated, “The court has not found
is clearly exempt from anti-trust provisions
any decision on an appeal as that information
any decision that would support the proposi-
of Chapter 133, by virtue of ss 133.07 of the
becomes available.
If any of this sounds too bizarre to be true,
WEAC-RA and NEA-RA Delegates Elected
Thank you to all who ran and voted in last week’s election of local KEA delegates to the WEAC and NEA Representative Assemblies.
The KEA Elections Committee is happy to announce the winners of the positions to the WEAC-RA delegation: Melinda Duford, Kim
George, Jill Jensen, Valerie Ludlow, Henry Perez (ESP), Colleen Robson, David Speaks and Casimir Uchegbu. KEA President Anne
Knapp will also attend as a member of the WEAC Board of Directors.
Representing the KEA on the WEAC delegation to the NEA Representative Assembly this summer will be KEA President Anne Knapp,
Melinda Duford, Kim George and Henry Perez (ESP).
We thank these members for donating their time and abilities in representing the interests of the membership at these annual meetings
that establish the direction and the business of our state and national organizations for the coming year.
Vol. 43, Issue 28
kea.weac.org
www.nea.org
www.weac.org
March 27, 2015
I Started Out With Nothing...
And I Still Have Most of It!
By Scott Farnsworth, GLUE Editor
the American economy accompanied these
societal and economic trends by chance is
either naïve or turning a blind eye to reality.
The bottom line is that for nearly the past
forty years we have seen a repeated academic
As long ago as 2002, the New York Times ran
refutation – never mind the simple fact of
I have said it many times before, but at
a series of articles, “The Class Wars,” that
people’s day-to-day reality – of the “trickle-
times I feel as though the world really did come
showed that income inequality had become
down,” austerity theorist conviction that
to an end on New Year’s Eve, 1999 – and I was
more lopsided than it had been in the days
conservative economic principles will “raise
just too obtuse to notice… and the universe
of the infamous Robber Barons a century
all boats.” The bottom line is that for forty
has been slowly unraveling around me ever
earlier. Even earlier, at the end of the Reagan
years we have been driving an ever increasing
since! It becomes, ironically, the only rational
era, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran a series of
percentage of our population generally – and
explanation as to why so many people in so
articles that won its reporters (Donald Barlett
an even greater percentage of our children –
many leadership positions would continuously
and James Steele) a Pulitzer, which were then
into conditions of poverty (as John Kenneth
make the disastrous, counter-productive
collected into a book entitled – guess what
Galbraith observed, the surest form of birth
decisions that have been made for the past
– America: What Went Wrong? So, we have
control is affluence).
fifteen years. The deeper irony comes from the
taken some time to finally have the debate enter
realization that my fear is incorrect – because
the public discourse.
the downward spiral goes back much further
than fifteen years.
I am speaking, of course, about the steady
Enter, almost exactly one year ago, French
I know that you have heard me say this
before, but we must continuously make it
clear to those who wish to vilify teachers
economist Thomas Piketty with his Capital in
that economic status remains one of the
the Twenty-first Century and the latest and most
predominant factors in determining the
decline in the fortunes of the middle-class
factual analysis to date of the inherent flaws in
level of both educational preparedness and
in America that began with the damaging
our economic system, which has habitually and
academic success of a student. If there is such
“stagflation” of the late-Seventies and early-
historically created an ever-widening wealth
an overwhelming focus on the achievement
Eighties, and which has continued unabated
gap between the classes. The only exception
gap between children from economically
(sorry, Clinton-lovers, he did nothing to help)
to this trend was in the middle of the last
advantaged and disadvantaged backgrounds,
ever since. In that time, we have seen book
century, when reaction to the Great Depression,
then it might be prudent to do something
after book and article after article, from both
world wars and the threat of Communism
about the wealth gap instead of presuming that
the liberal and conservative positions, arguing
caused free-market economies to adopt social
educators are doing something wrong.
over what has gone wrong in our country (well,
programs, strong unions and a sharing of
mainly with our economy), but agreeing on the
profits with the workers who produced them.
rebirth. How about a rebirth of the American
initial point – something has gone wrong!
Anyone who believes that the Golden Age of
commitment to growing the middle-class.
It’s spring, after all – the season of
Last call for ESEA revisions?
Reauthorization of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA- formerly No Child Left Behind) is moving towards a possible end point very soon. The House bill, HR 5, is already out of committee and on the House floor. The Senate education committee is
still trying to get a compromise of some kind so that it can send a bill to the Senate floor by mid-April.
Of course, passing a new ESEA is going to be another struggle. The House has to deal with its own disagreements, and things may be even
more contentious in the Senate -- then the House and Senate have to work out any differences between their two versions....
But once bills are written and out of committee, they are much harder to change. That’s why we are urging you to speak up now. It may be
your last chance.
If you can swing it, use Spring Break to make the time to visit your Senators and Congressional representatives in their home offices
while they are home. Legislators will be back in WI starting tomorrow and through April 10!
You can still call the local offices and make an appointment. If you can’t get in to see the actual legislator, it still makes a major impression to meet with his/her legislative aide, talk to any aide, or even just physically show up at the office and leave a written or verbal message. Find their home office contact info at senate.gov and house.gov. Also, take time to email them at NEA’s www.getesearight.com.
The Glue
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March 27, 2015
ANNOUNCEMENTS
Calendar of Events
3rd Quarter Ends
Fri., March 27
No Students Report
Pre-WEAC-RA Meeting
Tues., March 31
(4:30 p.m., KEA Office)
WRS Presentation
Wed., April 1
(5:00 - 7:00 p.m., KEA Office)
Spring Recess Begins
Fri., April 3 - Sun., April 12
Spring Election
Tues., April 7
KUSD Standing Committee Meetings
Tues., April 14
(5:30 p.m., ESC Board Room)
KEA Board Meeting
Wed., April 15
(4:30 p.m., KEA Office)
Association Representative Assembly
Meeting
Thurs., April 16
(4:30 p.m., KEA Office)
WEAC-RA
Fri., April 17 - Sun., April 19
Last Call for WRS Seminar Registration
By popular demand, the KEA and Marty Richards will be hosting one more WRS Seminar
before the end of the school year! If you are considering retiring within the next year or
two, this is a perfect opportunity for you to get all of your ducks in a row.
The Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS), the state pension plan, will be a source of
retirement income for most Wisconsin public school employees like you. How much do
you know about this important benefit? Whether you’ve just started your career or are
close to retirement, you will:
• Learn how to read/interpret your pension statement.
• Calculate your WRS pension benefit.
• Learn how to choose an appropriate annuity option.
• Learn how to purchase forfeited service.
• Determine whether you will have a retirement income gap.
When: Wednesday, April 1
5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Where: KEA Office Building
5610-55th Street, Kenosha
Seating will be limited to 36 for each session, including spouses (who are also welcome
to attend), so register early. You can RSVP at http://whoozin.com/WR6-NGU-YQYQ
Vote “No” on Question 1
on the April 7th Ballot!
Stop yet another partisan power-grab on the part of the State Legislature
STATEWIDE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT REFERENDUM
KEA OFFICE HOURS
For questions or concerns, please
call the KEA office at
262-654-2127 x10.
Mon.-Thurs., 8 a.m.- 5 p.m.
Fri., 8 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
The Glue
“Election of chief justice. Shall section 4 (2) of article VII of the constitution be amended to direct that a chief justice of the supreme court shall
be elected for a two-year term by a majority of the justices then serving
on the court?”
VOTE NO!
This is an 11.29 communication with WEAC members.
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March 27, 2015
Membership Dues for 2014 Tax Deductions
If you started last school year (2013-14) on EFT, you had 20 payments. If you started the 2013-14 year on payroll deduction,
which the district failed to initiate, and the KEA had a backup EFT form to use starting with the next payment, you had 19
payments. For those of you who can deduct your membership dues for the year 2014, and who did not miss any payments,
your totals are as follows for those who have paid by EFT:
Full-Time Teachers:
(19 Payments) $785.11
(20 Payments) $755.53
Full-Time ESPs:
(19 Payments) $313.94
(20 Payments) $301.91
Noon Hour Supervisors:
(19 Payments) $129.22
(20 Payments) $124.07
Substitute Teachers:
(19 Payments) $152.73
(20 Payments) $148.05
Carpenters & Painters:
(Total) $329.92
Again, if the following apply:
•You missed payments, or did not need to make dues payments while out on unpaid leave.
•You joined at a later date and paid the full 2013-14 dues amount within the 2014 calendar year.
You should:
•Look at your monthly bank statements for the 2014 calendar year if you had dues taken either through EFT or if you paid
by personal check to get the total dues paid within the calendar year.
From these totals, you would need to subtract your KEPAC and WEAC PAC contributions:
KEPAC: Teachers: $10/ESPs: $5/Noon Hours: $2.50/Subs & Carpenters & Painters: $0
WEAC PAC: Teachers: $19.99/ESPs: $10/Noon Hours: $5/Subs & Carpenters & Painters: $0
If you are having difficulty or have questions, please give the KEA a call and we will do our best to help calculate an
accurate deduction amount. Please clip this information and keep it with your other important information needed to
prepare your 2014 returns. This information will also be available on the KEA website: kea.weac.org.
The Glue
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March 27, 2015