Wisconsin union battle could lead to large layoffs

It appears the battle in Wisconsin is not over despite the recently passed bill restricting collective bargaining rights to unions. According to the Wisconsin Rapids Tribune, the Wisconsin Association of School Boards has alerted its members that their contracts may not be renewed at the conclusion of the ongoing battle in the state.

If teachers' contracts are not renewed, the state will shed large amounts of payroll from the state budget, even though it could face a shortage of teachers. Should the collective bargaining stripping go into full effect, teachers will be left without the hard deadlines that traditionally determined layoffs.

"It's like going to the doctor and being told you might have some kind of disease but that's the only thing they can tell you," New London school administrator Bill Fitzpatrick told the news source. "This fear of the unknown, of not knowing the future of your livelihood — that's what the people in this building are worried about right now."

Concern among Wisconsin teachers reached a climax this week when Republican lawmakers in the Wisconsin state Senate approved a bill to strip collective bargaining despite the absence of their Democratic counterparts.