What is Going on in Wisconsin with its Governor, State Employees and Teachers?

First, I am from Wisconsin and love visiting the state, especially Door County in the summer time, not in winter.  Second, I have been an educator most of my life and have a true passion for it.  Simply put, that is why I went into the teaching profession.  And, I would say the majority of individuals chose teaching as a profession, because they share the same passion.  However, we live in a period of time when everything appears to be "upside down, downside up."  In other words, nothing makes sense anymore.  What is going on in Wisconsin is just a microcosm of what is going on in each of the other fifty states.  We as a nation have become so self-centered and selfish that it will ultimately be our doom.  The handwriting is on the wall.  I hope you can see it.  

Ok, enough said about my Wisconsin interest and diatribe.  What is going on there? Wisconsin’s Governor Walker is facing a $3.6 billion budget deficit, and he wants state workers to pay one-half of their pension costs and 12.6% of their health benefits.  Currently, most state employees pay nothing for their pensions and virtually nothing for their health insurance.  (Think private sector where pensions or defined benefit plans are outdated and replaced with 401 (K) Plans or defined contribution plans.  In other words, these state employees and teachers have a good thing going and are about to blow it big time.)

What else does he want?  He would end collective bargaining for everyone except police, fire, and state troopers.  Unions could still represent workers, but they could not get pay increases above the CPI.  Also, they could not force employees to pay union dues.  And in exchange for all this, Governor Walker promises no furloughs or layoffs. 

Why is the state employee union dead set against any of this?  I believe it is all about the potential of losing its annual cash flow of millions!  Let’s look at the cash flow.  (These are estimates, because when President Obama came into office, he shielded government unions from transparency by ending their reporting requirements to the Department of Labor.  As a result it is impossible for the American people to know for sure how much of their taxpayer revenue is being diverted into union coffers.)  However, we can estimate the cash flow by looking at the most recent numbers available from the National Center for Education Statistics and U.S. Census Bureau.  The number of teachers and state workers in Wisconsin are approximately 60,000 and 57,000, respectively.  And, if we assume that each one pays approximately $750 annually in dues, that means the government union industry in Wisconsin is worth at least $88 million a year.  The question I would be asking, if I was one of these involuntary members, is what is my union doing with an annual cash flow of $88 million.  Inquiring minds would like to know!