In the interest of fairness, I point to a report by the Mackinac Center that shows the ugly side of public employee unions. I consider collective bargaining a long-established right, but I’ve also conceded that sometimes unions push too hard and negotiate sweetheart deals. The key word is negotiate – each of these perks was agreed to by the government negotiating team at the bargaining table and put in writing in a contract.
Based on a press release from Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, which compiled examples of unions abusing the collective bargaining process, the Mackinac Center posted several examples:
A Year’s Worth of Pay for 30 Days of Work — Under a Green Bay School District program that allows retirees to serve as a “teacher emeritus,” teachers can retire and receive a year’s worth of salary for working only 30 days over a 3-year year period. This provision in the labor contract is paid in addition to their already guaranteed pension and health care payouts.
At the average annual salary for a Green Bay teacher of $51,355, this amounts to a daily rate of pay of $1,711.83, or an hourly rate of $213.98. Since most retiring teachers enjoy considerable seniority and receive higher than average salary, these amounts are, in practice, probably much higher.
The $150,000 Bus Driver — In 2009, the city of Madison’s highest-paid employee was a bus driver who earned $159,258, including $109,892 in overtime, guaranteed by a collective bargaining agreement. In total, seven City of Madison bus drivers made more than $100,000 per year in 2009.
$150,000 Correctional Officers — Correctional officer contracts allow the union members to engage in a practice known as “sick leave stacking.” Officers can call in sick for a shift, receive eight hours of sick pay, and then work the very next shift, earning time-and-a-half for overtime. This results in the officer receiving 2.5 times his or her rate of pay, while still only working 8 hours.
In part because of these practices, 13 correctional officers made more than $100,000 in 2009, despite earning base wages of less than $60,000 per year. The officers received an average of $66,000 in overtime pay for an average annual salary of more than $123,000 with the highest paid receiving $151,181.
These examples and several others are derived from news reports and from department heads in the Walker administration.
