I have to confess, I haven't paid much attention to the issues in Wisconsin regarding schools and government employees and the right to collective bargaining. Living my entire life in the south, in a right-to-work state, I'm not affected by unions and don't know a lot. It just doesn't affect my day-to-day living. I admit to being somewhat ignorant. As a kid, I remember wishing my teachers would go on strike and I could miss school (never happened).
That's not the point of this post, so don't comment on that please. The point is I read an article about universities in Wisconsin joining the union. As a parent of a young adult in a university, it made me think about what would happen if his university professors joined a union and then went on strike.
As a consumer, I can choose where to spend my money. I can buy groceries at numerous grocery stores. If one store goes on strike, I can honor their strike or go to another store. It gets more complicated with schools. And universities.
So my question is, if the university goes on strike, do I get a refund? When I send in my $$ at the beginning of the semester, I'm basically contracting with them for 3-4 months' worth of education (although it's somewhat questionable if he absorbs that much). Aren't they obliged to fulfill their end of the contract?
1 comment:
As the husband of a teacher, I feel qualified to comment. If the teacher has a contract with the state, they have no right to walk out, as the citizens of that state are paying their salary under contract (same as for a football player's contract with a team). Sick leave and vacations are one thing - strikes are entirely another. I have always thought that if you work harder than the next man and you can do the job, you are probably the best qualified for it. But if you are on strike, sn't that "quitting"? Can't you be replaced?
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