Althouse: "Now there is proof that the [Madison teachers'] sickout was a premeditated, union-authorized job action..."

April 11, 2011

"Now there is proof that the [Madison teachers'] sickout was a premeditated, union-authorized job action..."

"... a phone tree of teachers calling other teachers to close down the schools. This kind of activity is prohibited by the union’s own contract and illegal in WI Statute Chapter 111.84(2)(e)...."

35 comments:

TosaGuy said...: What school board or administrator will discipline them? If it went to court what Madison judge would find them guilty?; 4/11/11, 8:44 PM
Revenant said...: Quick, someone notify Eric Holder! He's the only man you can trust in these situations.; 4/11/11, 8:45 PM
Roux said...: OMG! I'm just so surprised....; 4/11/11, 8:47 PM
Tim said...: All animals are equal.
But some animals are more equal than others.; 4/11/11, 8:55 PM
Lincolntf said...: This is what Crim-i-nality looks like!; 4/11/11, 8:57 PM
virgil xenophon said...: I'm the proverbial shocked, SHOCKED!,
I tell ya! Illegal collusion by unions? Just who would have EVER thunk it...imagine, could anyone have possibly have predicted these things? What are the odds? ABSOLUTELY incomprehensible..; 4/11/11, 8:58 PM
DADvocate said...: Time to start the firings. There are plenty of fresh college graduates wanting and needing jobs who will do great work for entry level salaries.; 4/11/11, 8:58 PM
Rich said...: At 10:14 the article is unavailable. I'm shocked. Shocked, I tell you.; 4/11/11, 9:04 PM
SteveR said...: Why are they fighting for collective bargining, they don't even abide by the contracts they already have in place.; 4/11/11, 9:08 PM
Ann Althouse said...: Bad link fixed.; 4/11/11, 9:08 PM
Fen said...: "This kind of activity is prohibited by the union’s own contract and illegal in WI Statute Chapter 111.84(2)(e)...."

Fire them all; 4/11/11, 9:13 PM
Anonymous said...: What SteveR said...

Word verification: psync. Using the power of one's mind to synchronize things.; 4/11/11, 9:22 PM
Unknown said...: Well, union cops have the blue flu, so what do union teachers have, the dry erase vapors?; 4/11/11, 9:24 PM
galdosiana said...: I especially love the part that says that they have now taken back all of their "concessions" in the current budget, since the bill is not yet law. Because, you know, it really is all about the students.; 4/11/11, 9:25 PM
ddh said...: The more people take part in a conspiracy, the less likely the conspiracy remains secret.; 4/11/11, 9:25 PM
CyberNorris said...: If MTI was also involved, those responsible should be charged. I would love to see John Matthews charged with violating this law.; 4/11/11, 9:32 PM
Big Mike said...: Color me shocked. Shocked!

Next question, is whether we're actually a nation of laws, or will the teachers skate?; 4/11/11, 9:37 PM
Paul said...: I wonder if beating up people is prohibited by the union’s own contract?

They have done that recently.

Does anyone really think they might also violate other laws?; 4/11/11, 9:44 PM
TMink said...: Pull a Reagan and fire them.

Trey; 4/11/11, 9:45 PM
WineSlob said...: Death Threats by the Union Thug Slime
Strikes on the Taxpayers' Dime
Property Destruction
Fraud and Corruption
Will they Ever Account for Their Crimes?; 4/11/11, 10:24 PM
traditionalguy said...: I bet the teachers are starting to feel like the PATCO controllers felt in 1981. What a revolting development this is.; 4/11/11, 10:50 PM
VanderDouchen said...: fls? Flamgi? hamurabi?

anyone? What did the teabagging christianists do to invent this article?

Rightwing phaggot @ss phaggots. Just a huphin and a puphin.

(No doubt, running to get the talking points.)

WV: lycetock:

Whenever I'm surrounded by the unionists, I feel the ticking of the lycetock.; 4/11/11, 11:59 PM
bagoh20 said...: Funny how only one side of those contracts ever gets enforced.; 4/11/11, 11:59 PM
dick said...: Judging by the comments on that article the people of Madison do not seem to think the law is meaningful at all. They all seem to think that anyone bringing up the illegal actions of the teachers has to be a rightwing nutcase and is beneath contempt and that teachers can do no wrong. And yet this is the same crew that was complaining that we are a nation of laws when they perceived that the Republicans might have done something illegal. This is definitely hypocrisy writ huge.; 4/12/11, 1:07 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: Can you fire them now?

You should be able to fire them,...; 4/12/11, 1:38 AM
Chase said...: This is definitely hypocrisy writ huge.

They can't help it. It's in their DNA. Dishonesty, Lying. The Democrats and leftists who read this don't really care because dishonesty is a daily way of life for them. It fits like a glove. They wouldn't know how to live a life of virtue and honesty if their very lives depended on it. They use your own virtue and honest values against you. it's just how they are, like bigots who can't change because they were brought up that way. And, the vast majority will die that way, protected and made comfortable by the honest working people of America.

Seriously, they don't have a clue of how life really works and how they and their ilk are carried through life by the real adults who take civic responsibility as a privilege and duty, not the way Democrats and leftists look at it, which is always "what's in it for me"?

I swear, if they had the capacity to think for themselves for even half a minute, a large percentage would commit suicide after the shame of realizing what self-centered leeches all Democrats and leftists are.; 4/12/11, 1:58 AM
Anonymous said...: "Now there is proof that the sickout was a premeditated, union-authorized job action ..."

The fact of the matter is that Governor Scott Walker is NOT GOING TO ENFORCE THE LAW.

And that Governor is a Republican.

Now ... tell me again ... why should I vote for Republicans?; 4/12/11, 5:01 AM
test said...: "Now here’s some more bad news. When the school board ratified the hurry-up-and-git-er-done contract, it announced that teachers would pay 12 percent of their health insurance costs. That did not last long. The co-pay, sought statewide in Gov. Walker’s budget bill, now stalled in Judge Sumi’s court, has been eliminated in the Madison school district budget."

Remember the good old days when Democratic partisans were telling us teachers agreed to cutbacks and therefore Walker was merely being punitive? As soon as that talking point isn't important, we see it was a lie.

Shocking. Do the dem trolls think we don't notice that everything they say is proven a lie?

RV?; 4/12/11, 5:16 AM
Dan from Madison said...: Lets begin calling it what is was - a wildcat strike. Was there ever any question that this was illegal? I mean, any question by anyone who cared?; 4/12/11, 5:53 AM
Erik Robert Nelson said...: Of course we all knew this was true already. The Left denied it while it was going on, but no rational person looking at what happened could come to any other conclusion. Having proof of it is vindication, but a hollow one.

Heads should roll over this, but they won't. One of the reasons why I'm skeptical of unions in general is a distinct lack of honesty when it comes to actually abiding by negotiated contracts. The wildcat strike should invalidate the entire contract and they should be forced to start over from scratch. Or better yet, eliminate the union altogether.; 4/12/11, 6:47 AM
pst314 said...: "Why are they fighting for collective bargining, they don't even abide by the contracts they already have in place."

Because contracts and laws are for the suckers, not for the unions and their liberal friends.; 4/12/11, 10:14 AM
Thorley Winston said...: The fact of the matter is that Governor Scott Walker is NOT GOING TO ENFORCE THE LAW.

From my reading of the statute linked to in the article, allegations of unfair labor practices aren’t handled by the governor directly. They’re handled by a commission that addresses complaints filed by parties who have an interest in the labor practice (e.g. employers, employees or the representatives).

AFAIK school teachers aren’t State employees (they’re employed by the school district) so I don’t think that Walker or rather the State of Wisconsin would be considered their employer and have standing to file a complaint. In which case, you should probably direct your efforts at the school districts who presumably would be considered a “party in interest” and able to file a complaint.

Someone more familiar with Wisconsin labor law can correct me if I’m misreading the statute or misunderstanding the employment status of Wisconsin school teachers.; 4/12/11, 10:55 AM
MadisonMan said...: From a practical point of view, how could a school full of teachers be arrested near the end of the school year?

I wouldn't mind them not being re-hired at all, but I doubt that'll happen, even though there are boatloads of teachers who want to teach in Dane County.; 4/12/11, 11:09 AM
Calypso Facto said...: Far from mass firings, the only punishment I'm aware of for individuals in an unauthorized strike is a $10 fine. And then only if it's after an injunction, which, (surprise!) Judge Sumi refused to grant.

Wisconsin Statutes
"Any individual who violates sub. (4) (L) after an injunction against a strike has been issued shall be fined $10."

So it's more a matter of perception than any actual punishment.; 4/12/11, 12:38 PM
Trooper York said...: Why is this a surprise?; 4/12/11, 1:22 PM