Gov. Scott Walker expects the budget repair bill he proposed last Friday to be voted on by the end of this week.
Walker’s bill, intended to help the $3.6 billion budget deficit the state faces, would remove state and local government employee’s ability to collectively bargain everything except their wages, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The changes would apply to all public sector workers in Wisconsin with the exception of municipal, county and and state police and fire departments. Local departments would not be exempt.
UW-Whitewater faculty and staff would take a hit from the proposed bill. It would mean a pay cut in salaries and benefits, Chancellor Richard Telfer said.
“Walker has indicated that there is a budget deficit in this fiscal year, and he’s put together a proposal that would address that budget deficit,” Telfer said. “People are trying to analyze what it means.”
University employees will be asked to pay 5.8 percent of retirement and 12 or 12.6 percent of the cost of insurance benefits, Telfer said. This will also apply to all state employees, according to Walker’s website.
“It’s a cut in the take home pay, not in what their base pay would be,” Telfer said. “Since salaries are quite low in the UW System to start out with, people are understandably concerned about that.”
Although it’s a major concern for faculty and staff, Telfer said he knows it’s a problem that needs to be solved.
“It may or may not be the appropriate thing to do, but what it does is take people who are right now hurting the low median of the institutions and is asking them to take on a greater share of their benefits,” Telfer said.
Multiple rallies are being held across the state in protest of the possible changes.
Jason • Mar 4, 2011 at 5:06 am
I would say that sherry has a legitimate worry. However, this sucks in every way. But what sucks is that state employees get paid by not only their own taxes they pay but ours too so that means since most of us are all struggling out here they were never going to be exempt. Thousands of people that pay your wages have been on unemployment for almost two years. Many of them lost hundreds of dollars with not time to adjust. Was it their fault the factory they worked for shut down or packed up and moved. Was it their fault their company went broke because they built houses and nobody is building? NO!!!
The reality is the money is not there so we can’t pay you as much anymore so in order to keep your benefits that you have you must pay some of the load out of your own pocket. Yes, that is kind of like paying your self twice since you are a tax payer but the reality is you are not exempt from the struggle. This debt we are in is there because of many of years of American living the dream with no constraints on their budget. It is not my fault or your fault but the faults of many including us maybe at times. Governor walker in my opinion has the best plan brought to the table. Any one on Walker’s side who thinks that the tuition and fees and things are not going to rise are simply not critical thinkers. Of course these things will happen. However, this will still take the burden off the tax payers because many students are not home owners and don’t pay property tax to assist in paying public employees. This will simply spread the burden to more of the American population. I respect and love my public employees but the harsh reality is things must change to go forward. I guarantee that many people can find ways to cut things out of their lives that are NOT necessities. My children use to go to private school. Now I can’t afford it in order to get my family on the prosperous track we had to make tough choices that are temporary cuts but in the long run will bring us back to the financial security we need to enjoy the best years of our lives.
Ron • Feb 28, 2011 at 2:49 pm
I have to agree with Sherry. While the other 2 “gentelmen” seem to think public employees have it good, it isn’t so. A loss of this magnitude, with no time to prepare, will cause too great a strain on our public employees. The teachers here in WI get paid less than the national average because they bargined for better benefits instead of higher wages. If we take those benefits away are we ready to comp them the pay?? That would mean higher property taxes, higher rent, and higher tuition fees. Scott Wlker didn’t tell you that, huh fellas?
Not to mention the other aspects of the bill; No-Bid sell-off of our public utilities??? Now the utilitiy bills will rise… This is a bad idea all around, we need to can it and have a bi-partisan effort to get things straightened out.
Just my 2 cents worth…
Sherry • Feb 17, 2011 at 11:25 pm
You are an idiot! You are not any public employees employer. Am I your employer because I purchase whatever product it is that you make? Give me a break, I hate stupid people that think they “pay my salary”. You know what I pay taxes the same as you do and I dont really think you would be okay with losing hundreds of dollars of your takehome pay overnight. No time to prepare, no time to adjust things, just gone! You must have an awesome job if you can afford that but unfortunately most public employees can not!
Jamal • Feb 18, 2011 at 2:20 pm
sucks you have to pay for your benefits like the rest of world. PASS THE BILL!!!!
Dan Wood • Feb 16, 2011 at 5:32 pm
Welcome to the real world in which the rest of us live.
Anyone that doesn’t like it is welcome to quit and come and
join us out here.
-One of your employers