UW-Madison teaching assistants union votes against state certification

Wisconsin State Journal ^ | Aug. 19, 2011 | Steven Verburg

[chickadee]

The 3,000-member teaching assistants union at UW-Madison has voted narrowly against seeking official state certification under a controversial new law that prohibits most collective bargaining for most public sector employees.

Under the law signed by Republican Gov. Scott Walker, teachers and other public workers would need to vote for their unions each year in order to bargain for cost-of-living raises. The law no longer allows negotiations on working conditions, benefits or anything else.

[chickadee]

The first public union decertifies in the wake of the Wisconsin budget reforms. But, the real eye-opening information is further down in the article:

Its members are among those who'll pay more for health care premiums under the law. Teaching assistants' payments that are as low as $15.50 a month for a single person will rise in September and October to $42. Premium increases will be higher for those with family coverage, Pagac said.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

$42? We were paying over $900 a month for health insurance without a group policy. Sheesh..$15 to $42

[Secret Agent Man]

Yes, this is why most Wisconsinites have not fallen for democrats’ attempts to paint these changes as ‘extreme’.

[chickadee]

Medicare premiums are over $100 per month for an individual and the benefits are nowhere near the Cadillac policy that University employees get. And, as part of the Assistants’ “negotiated” benefits, the taxpayers pay their tuitions - something the average taxpayer doesn’t know.

[Tex-Con-Man]

Sheesh..$15 to $42

So you're OK with Nazi Scott "Hitler" Walker denying critical healthcare to homeless women and helpless children to help the Koch brothers buy another corporate jet?

[Lou L]

Sheesh..$15 to $42

Why, that's nearly a 275% increase!!

[proudpapa]

I’m just guessing that the average age of a TA is about 25.

$42 is probably too high.

[jack gillis]

Well, given the restrictions on Union areas of negotiation, a vote to decertify is perfectly defensible even for a left-leaning trades unionist.

That is, if the Union can’t practically deliver gains to their members, they’re better off not being a Union at all.

[Redleg Duke]

I trust you purposely left out the sarcasm label?

I remember in the 1960s when this little gang of Fascists formed the TA Union.

[gun_supporter]

Now that is not a huge increase, but to be fair, I am a TA at a large school in the South, and we only get paid $13,000 a year for what is only supposed to be 20 hours of work a week (but is in reality 30). We have a union here, but almost no one joins because there are pay incentives for good evals, etc.

[American Quilter]

You forgot the sarcasm label. I know this because you couldn’t possibly believe what you wrote.

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I assume you are being sarcastic but it just went over my head - sorry - ???

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

I know, thanks - surely people here did not think I was whining about an increase from $15 to $42? If they did, they need to take reading comprehension 101.

[Tex-Con-Man]

Governor Perry issued an executive order requiring Texans to post a minimum amount of sarcasm on the internet...He included an “opt out” for the sarcasm tag. For real.

[Jim from C-Town]

That is $9.88 a month. There are 4.25 weeks in a month. It is $1.4 a day in a seven day week. Or more correctly $2.80 for every day they work in a month. They only work 180 days a year. That is 15 days a month on average.

[GreaterSwiss]

These are TAs (Graduate Students/PhD). The TA provides free tuition, a stipend for room/board, and health insurance. A typical TA gets a stipend of 15k-20k far below living standard for the work they do.

For example a TA could teach 4 classes in which a professor would get 200k, they will get the 20k and the university profits.

For them $30/mo is alot of money.

[101voodoo]

Corporate jet ownership is good. It creates jobs and the jets huge carbon footprint will warm us in the coming ice age

The Koch Bros are also good. Any one who can generate so much hatred from the Left is OK in my book

[101voodoo]

Corporate jet ownership is good. It creates jobs and the jets huge carbon footprint will warm us in the coming ice age

The Koch Bros are also good. Any one who can generate so much hatred from the Left is OK in my book

[WhyisaTexasgirlinPA]

And many people have full time jobs while going to school - and many people don’t have any insurance at that age. If they can’t afford $30 they should reconsider their job.

[allmendream]

Graduate students (i.e. T.A.’s) work year round.

I remember during my graduate studies a family member asked how I was enjoying my “summer vacation”. I had been working 10 hour days for as far back as I could remember - my first thought was “is it summer?” because I hadn’t been outside long enough to notice.