I want to shift the focus now to the Wisconsin Education Association Council, or WEAC as it is commonly known. Following this, we'll look at the WEAC affiliate that delivers health and other insurance coverages.
WEAC is among the state's 800 lb. gorillas so far as labor organizations are concerned. It touts having some 98,000 members. Its history shows a start in 1853, some 8 years after Wisconsin became a state. It became known as WEAC in 1972 following adoption of collective bargaining laws for public employees in Wisconsin.
WEAC represents the following segments of education today: teachers, education support professionals, custodians, university students, state education employees, paraprofessionals, retired education support professionals, retired educators, library media specialists (one of whom, Mary Bell, is the current WEAC President), nutrition employees, school safety personnel, Wisconsin Technical College faculty and support staff, clerical staff, counselors, secretaries, teacher aides, bus drivers, cooks and state-employed education and information professionals.
WEAC's structure begins at the local level with the local unions such as the Germantown Education Association (GEA).
The local unions are members of a unified services unit, or UniServe unit, in their local area. That unit includes the professionals required to support the locals, and is typically limited to some 1,200 to 1,500 individual union members. Five of the largest school districts have their own UniServ units (Milwaukee, Madison, Racine, Kenosha and Green Bay). The staffs of each UniServ provide locals with collective bargaining, member rights, public relations, professional development, and political action assistance.
The UniServ entities are tied to WEAC in Madison and WEAC is a member of the National Education Association, or NEA located in Washington, D.C.
It is easy to see that this organization is very well developed for the functions it has carved out for itself. That is among the reasons that education is such an effective political force. I have made earlier references to the fact that WEAC has spent millions of dollars to assure an attentive audience in the halls of Wisconsin government and in the Governor's mansion.
WEAC has identified its major initiatives for the period 2008-2010 and those are:
School Funding They state: "It is evident that school funding is broken. It is at the center of discussion from local to local. The WEAC Board of Directors has identified measures of success for school funding reform, and they are offering a comprehensive education to kids and fair compensation for members."
Health Care They state: "We know that under the Qualified Economic Offer we've been sacrificing salary increases for health insurance. But WEAC's commitment to health care reform is much bigger. We care deeply for kids and their families because we all know that health care is also a learning issue."
Professional Development & Licensure They state: "Educators are required to focus more attention than ever on licensing and professional development, and WEAC is stepping up to provide quality support and services. You are the best person to manage your professional development, with support from your union and financing from your district."
Achievement Gaps They state: "This issue is very close to the hearts of WEAC members. The frustration of not being able to meet the needs of all our students drives us to do more - demanding needed resources and bringing the issue forward into a public conversation. We will continue our work to involve communities, corporations and government in closing the achievement gap."
Membership They state: "We are listening to what you need and value, and connecting your union to your daily work. We are focusing on groups who are already organized - and those who are not yet - in order to fulfill the promise of public education for future generations."
I'll close this piece with the 2009-2010 WEAC legislative agenda. Their printed material says:
"WEAC Supports Legislation To:
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Repeal the Qualified Economic Offer law.
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Repeal revenue caps.
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Make preparation time for educators a mandatory subject of collective bargaining.
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Increase funding for SAGE to provide $2,500 per low income pupil beginning in the 2009-2010 fiscal year.
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Implement voucher accountability.
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Make attendance of 5-year-old kindergarten mandatory and a prerequisite to admission to first grade.
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Treat education support professionals the same as teachers under the Wisconsin Retirement System in terms of qualifying for coverage and for early retirement calculations.
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Establish WTCS pay equity by requiring that the salary and fringe benefits of part-time technical college instructors be prorated based on the salary and fringe benefits of full-time staff.
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Create a loan forgiveness program for teaching math, science, special education and ELL in high-poverty districts.
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Repeal residency requirements.
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Provide a tax deduction for non-reimbursed classroom purchases.
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Adopt the 'Wisconsin Indoor Environmental Quality in Schools Act' for public school buildings.
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Require school boards to adopt anti-bullying policies.
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Allow parents to take leave time from work to attend school conferences and activities."
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Several things jump out at me as I write this but I'll use another piece to explore those. The one major thing that occurs is that virtually everything about WEAC means higher costs of education which translates into restructuring school financing laws and that will ultimately translate into more tax dollars.
