Demise: Wisconsin’s third-largest school district says no thanks to union representation

What happens when teachers don’t have to join a union?

Today, teachers in Kenosha, Wis., voted to decertify their union, the Kenosha Education Association, by a margin of nearly two to one. Only 37 percent of the teachers opted to retain the union in an election made possible by the labor reforms enacted under Gov. Scott Walker (R). The result goes to show that when workers have a choice on whether to join a union instead of being forced into one by law, they often choose to vote down the union.

The Kenosha Education Association is the biggest one in the state to lose certification in the era of Gov. Scott Walker’s Act 10:

Under Act 10, public employee unions must be recertified every year by an affirmative vote of at least 50 percent of the employees. The Kenosha vote means the union is not legally authorized to represent Kenosha teachers on any matter, including bargaining for wages.

Teachers can still voluntarily make contributions to the decertified union and it can represent individual teachers if they wish. The union, however, no longer has any official status in Kenosha schools. It is the largest teachers union in Wisconsin to go under since Act 10 became law.

And, now for the downplaying:

Christina Brey, speaking for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, downplayed recertification, calling it just another hoop for local unions to jump through.

“It seems like the majority of our affiliates in the state aren’t seeking re-certification, so I don’t think the KEA is an outlier or unique in this,” she said.

Brey said the union still exists with or without the recertification vote.

“They just can’t negotiate over a small portion of what they want a voice in,” she said.

Via: Hot Air

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