| There's another ALEC Bill in the pipeline. This one comes from the Bill Gates funded education arm of ALEC. The latest right that Republicans want to take away is teachers' right to strike over compensation.
We know that the MNGOP loves legislating solutions to problems that do not exist. A historical look at teacher strikes in Minnesota is in order. In 1946, the Saint Paul Federation of Teachers held the first teacher's strike in the nation. Since 1946, that pioneering teachers union has gone on strike an additional zero times. In the last decade there have been less than five teacher strikes statewide.
 One of the things that has kept teacher strikes so few is the January deadline for contracts to settle. Past January there has been a pretty stiff penalty for districts that have not settled. This has helped Minnesota stay relatively strike free. The MNGOP removed that law.
In addition, the MNGOP wants to remove the stipulation that automatic cost of living increases or other benefits continue while negotiating new contracts. This means, when an old contract expired, any language of how they would operate while negotiating a new contract would be moot. There would actually be incentive for management to drag negotiations out for as long as possible. Finally, when the new contract is settled, there would be no retroactive pay if any increases were negotiated for in the interim.
So, let's review.
1) Take away the deadline for contracts to be settled, removing penalties for drawn out negotiations.
2) Complain that negotiations go too long, and distract from learning.
3) Remove workers right to strike.
4) Don't allow for previously negotiated increases to take place during negotiations of new contract.
5) Don't allow for retroactive pay for any new benefits negotiated for.
It's another ALEC jobs bill!! |
