Hasty collective bargaining agreements leave WI taxpayers out in the cold

Union urgency is understandable, but why are districts eager to deal?

      “Marry in haste, repent at leisure” is a principle that can apply to collective bargaining agreements, too.

      Lost in the hoopla of the past couple of weeks is this worrisome trend: a growing number of Wisconsin school boards are rushing to finalize collective bargaining contracts with school employee unions, before Gov. Walker’s budget repair bill is enshrined in law.

      We understand why the unions are trying to ”beat the buzzer,” but why school districts are playing along is perplexing. We’re left to wonder: who is looking out for the taxpayers?

      While many of these recent collective bargaining agreements only apply to the current school year, a recent three-year deal between Milwaukee Public Schools and support personnel represented by the Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association runs through 2012. This smacks of a last-minute, sweetheart deal between the school board and the union.

      Mike Langyel, president of the MTEA, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the new contract gives union members “a sense of certainty.”

      But Milwaukee taxpayers are left with a sense of confusion as to how this new agreement serves their interests. Passage of Gov. Walker’s budget repair bill seems inevitable. Once it is enshrined as law, it will provide districts with the tools necessary to rein in labor costs, which typically consume around 80 percent of a school district’s total budget.  

      Any new collective bargaining agreements reached before the new law takes effect will likely be grandfathered in, meaning that taxpayers will unnecessarily be on the hook for automatic step raises, overpriced health insurance, hefty pension payments and other costly provisions the budget repair bill is designed to alleviate for Wisconsin school districts.

      Also, new agreements might leave districts ill-prepared to handle the significant education cuts that are anticipated in the very near future.

      The teacher unions know that they’re living on borrowed time. Wisconsin taxpayers need to be wary of any new agreements that are reached before Gov. Walker’s bill becomes law.

      Local school boards need to remember that help is on the way. There is no need to rush into a collective bargaining agreement that might haunt taxpayers for years to come.