Heidi Herron's Open Salon Blog

WI Teacher Resigns Citing Stress, Health Care, Uncertainty

Thu, 31 May 2012 02:05:41 -0400

(first published on WIvoices.org)

Stephanie Kline resigned from her position as an 8th grade math teacher at New Richmond Middle School in Wisconsin. Her last day of teaching is June 6, 2012. A final straw for Kline came when her 5-year-old son was refused services at her New Richmond Clinic for an outstanding medical bill accrued this past year. Her medical deductible increased $3,500 coupled with a salary decrease of $2000 in the 2011-2012 school year. The decreasing ability to support her family, along with stress, uncertainty, and lack of communication has pushed her out of the teaching profession. Her story may resonate with many workers around the state who have experienced changes in their profession due to public policy choices. However, Kline’s story is a personal one. She states several times throughout this interview that she is “only speaking for myself, and not other teachers.”

Here’s her story.

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“I had my daughter when I turned 20 and I decided to pursue my education and it seemed like a fit. I liked math. I liked kids, and teaching offered good benefits, ok pay…Up until (recently) we had wonderful benefits and a low deductible, which kind of made up for the humble pay. It is a good family job.”

What should the public know about students and teachers that they may not be aware of right now?

“There has been a well played out attack on education. I feel that the community doesn’t know the stories of the teachers because by nature teachers tend to just take in on themselves and don’t feel that they need to defend their position. But if you start talking about students, they start getting very passionate and principled. I love the people I work with; I think they are among the most professional people that I will ever work with in my life. I know that they will do whatever is best for kids as far as they can go. But I worry because their avenues are being taken away, their time, their well being with their own family…it is just more and more and more time away from their families for the people that I have worked with for all of these years.

I’ve heard people say teachers are ‘selfish’ and heard about that website that listed teachers and went ‘really? Come on’. [Laughing] I don’t think people understand where this is headed.”

[For example, Janesville teachers were recently targetted in a flyer campaign]

“I think it is scary that people are sitting on the fence without really trying to get their point across. If you truly do love education, then you need to say that you want your kids to have a quality education, and you want your child’s teacher to be treated fairly… because if you don’t say anything, all of these things that are being taken away slowly, but surely, will strip teachers of their ability to educate your children.

There is no incentive to become a teacher. You have now taken away health benefits, you have messed with their compensation, you have hindered their ability to get extra education. What do you have to offer these teachers?

I moved my children to this school district because when I got the job in 2007, the people passed a referendum. That told me the community was dedicated to education. I feel like the New Richmond community has been historically committed to the education of their children and the referendum they passed was historical, if I’m not mistaken. I wanted my family in a community that supported education. I don’t get a lot of negative feedback from community members about what’s going on. That scares me because that means they don’t know what is going on either.

Some people retire and then they don’t care anymore (about education) because they don’t have kids in school. Then, they need to ask who they want as the next community doctor that they will need to see. Yeah, teaching doesn’t generate revenue, but man does it shape the minds and character of the next generation. And if you have a good solid community that supports education, then you are going to come back and raise your children there. You need to ask yourself about where you want your community to be….

I’m going to be honest and say that there is no job security in teaching, all it takes is an administrator, I’m not talking about my administrator personally, but for a kid to say ‘you did something to me’ and there goes your license and your job, no one backing you up…as a community, you are looking at the school board taking away from teachers, you are going to have less educated teachers who don’t have the newest education training and your kids will be hurt in the long run, I feel that the community needs to back these people that are passionate about your kids…they are with your kids all the time! They love your kids!

And that is another thing; I’d like to say something to parents who are frustrated with teachers. I can speak out, now, because I’m not going to be in education anymore, so I’d like to say this for all the teachers who will be. Parents, be respectful. Just be respectful, that’s all. There are some of you who are frustrated with teachers and not supportive, and that’s fine. Just be respectful. The constant threats that you’ll go to our bosses or report us to whatever, just isn’t helping. We’re getting a lot of emails from parents who are not supportive, and that’s fine, but the threats that you’ll go to our principals, and our administrators, and our superintendents is not helping. And if their grades aren’t updated on time – just understand that we’re people. We have so such on our plates, and doing more with less of everything, that the negative communication is just not necessary.

I got a couple of emails this year that read, ‘Why have you lost my student’s homework?’ I haven’t. Your child found it, we’re ok. Or ‘What are you doing for my kid during study hall? He’s not getting his work done!’ Well, besides from putting his pencil in his hand and working 1:1 with him while ignoring the other 20 kids (and class sizes are increasing) in the classroom, there isn’t much more I can do. Parents, just have realistic expectations of educators. We can’t perform miracles, and we are definitely getting less and less tools to create those miracles that you want of us. And we can’t change home life. You know part of this economic hardship across the board for everybody requires parents to be gone more and work double shifts…which affects us and puts more on teachers and educators, who are expected to do more with less, and more pressure to get kids educated. We can’t change home lives. As much as I’d like to take about 5 kids/day home with me to make sure that they have a meal or to make sure that they get their homework done…I can’t do that. And, personally, I know two kids that I teach right now that when they go home they are making dinners, they are caring for younger siblings, they are getting other kids off to school in the morning because their parents are doing double shifts.

But I’ve been speaking just about the negative stuff. We’ve also had emails saying, ‘keep doing what you’re doing. We believe in you.’ They are much less frequent, but they are there and as an educator you need to look for the small little tokens of gratitude because they are few and far between. It makes you believe in what you are doing, and it makes you feel like you do have support when sometimes it really doesn’t feel that way. I keep all of my kids’ notes they give me, too.

I know that the professional people I work with, without a doubt, go above and beyond…give a coat to a kid…these things that these people do without any pay, without any praise…just respect them. Just give them the tools they need to stay there and teach your kids and love your kids. And help them.”

What do you say to the assertion that you only work 8-3 and have summers off?

“The idea that we only work 8-3 is an absolute joke. I am teaching 5 classes and have 5 sets of things to grade on any certain day. I stay after until I need to get to daycare to get my kid. I come in on Saturdays to grade…oh man, 8-3 would be really nice. I would say I put in 10 hours/day. People assume that we just educate their kids, and that is absolutely not true. That is only about 50% of what I do every day and even when you have breaks, you never have breaks because there are always kids in there and other things. Teachers meet and talk about kids, field trips, concessions, volunteer to ref at games, on committees, meetings all the time, common core stuff, curriculum development stuff, after school study group, math counts, origami club, you have homeroom and talk about what kids did on weekends and how teachers can help them with issues…you have kids that are going through things at home that they want to sit and talk about.

By definition, teachers take home a lot of the kids’ problems. We have a lot of kids who you wouldn’t know that they are having problems. But the teachers do. Their parents are going to jail or their parents are struggling and we need time as teachers to have time together as a staff to discuss how to best help these kids. We are counselors, we are educators, we are motivators and try to get them to excel at other things…and you are taking funding away from some of the things that reach kids. We are getting to the point that we aren’t going to have art anymore, not going to have extra-curricular stuff outside of the stuff that is tested! There are so many things in a day that you do outside of education.

And summers off is kind of a joke, too, because if you have to come in for curriculum development and over spring break I went to a common course at the CESA, or you are coming in summer for a data retreat or taking classes (to update certification or gain further degrees). And even when you have time off you are thinking about your kids and you are fielding requests constantly from parents, even in the summer, when their child is struggling.”

What has the morale been like?

“The morale has changed a lot in the last couple of years. It went from a very pleasant working environment to one that…I’m unsure of how to say this…”

[Long pause because Kline is especially careful not to speak for anyone else, just herself.]

“It has definitely worn on everybody’s spirits and it has brought everybody down. There are a lot of unanswered questions, and it is kind of difficult to get together and talk about things…where it is all going. I feel like it hasn’t brought us together as a staff necessarily …

For me, the stress level at the school has been higher because I don’t know what my expectations are. I feel that no one really knows. But there are consequences…I don’t want to represent anyone else or say anything that would make someone upset…”

[Tears are streaming down her face now. She is struggling to really use the correct phrasing here and the pressure is palpable. I sense that she is struggling with wanting to speak freely but not wanting to cause trouble for anyone and she is simply unable to finish her thought. It was good timing. While conducting the interview in the back room of a coffee shop, the churning of the espresso machine started up at that exact moment. We laughed at the sloppy interruption and it lightened the mood.]

“For me, the stress level has been much higher in the last couple of years. I feel like having the extra classes to teach causes more stress for me. I don’t have ample time to meet with the people that I need to meet with, I don’t know how I’m going to be assessed as a teacher from here on out…I don’t know if I’ll ever get paid for my masters degree…it’s been a theme for the last couple of years…where am I going education-wise? Do I take extra classes? How do I make it a more lucrative career? Will I ever get paid for taking extra classes? How will they compensate teachers? Will my benefits always be like this, because if this is how the school district is going to proceed, I would at one point, like to pay for my own insurance. There are so many things that you don’t know and where the direction you are leading that it makes it difficult to make decisions for my family. Do I look at other school districts and see if that is an option? Do I leave altogether? Which is ultimately what I decided to do because the last couple of years it has been weighing heavily on my home.

And honestly, the atmosphere at school has changed so much…we are getting more and more things piled onto us…the state standards have changed, so we have to change our curriculum…we need to do so many other things. We have to address the lower 10% of our kids who are struggling…um recently in New Richmond our free/reduced lunch kids have grown…we have to address and incorporate new things for our lower-end kids and our higher-end kids. It is just so much going on and so many things that we need to take care of and do, with no more compensation and no more time to be able to do those things.”

How has your union changed over the last 2 years?

“The union has changed in that they don’t have the ability to negotiate for anything. I got an email this past week that it has changed even more…even less and less power as we go along. Our union doesn’t have anything they can do to help us. Our Superintendent [Morrie Veilleux] went on the news a year and a half ago, saying that ‘Walker gave the school board the tools that they needed’ and thanked Walker and he’s sticking to that. The school board has the tools to take away negotiations and other things. So if you are going to be a supportive administration, you’d think you’d want teachers to stick around.

Let’s face it – there are so many passionate people involved in education and so many different personalities, that you are going to butt heads with people on occasion. But right now you are looking at people being forced to fly under the radar and people are keeping their heads low, not make waves with your administrator, and just trying to keep their jobs. That kind of forces the passion right out of you. Which, ultimately, if you are passionate about your job – I think you are doing a good job.”

Do you think there could be a better job of communicating to you what has been going?

(Leaning forward laughing) “Oh, that is a great question. I feel like the school district, the community, the teachers…generally, the communication is lacking all around. I don’t feel like any of these things that have happened have been communicated. I feel like [the sentiment is] ‘here’s what you need to do, suck it up and do it’ and there are no inputs…um, and there has been many times over the last few years when I have given my input and I’ve been shot down. Um, I feel that the direction that we are moving in is not necessarily best for kids…”

Has anyone ever asked you for input about a good way to assess teachers?

“No one has ever asked me how teachers should be assessed. But I know somebody will assess me and will assess my principal. I have no input. In my understanding, I don’t know who will assess us or how…we had a meeting last week and those questions came up and there was no answer to that. What I would challenge administrators to do is assess teachers on how they connect with students and how they motivate students to perform better on assessments and perform better in the classroom.

Some things can’t be quantified. You are assessing me on paper when you don’t know the variables. Like the assessment room was hot, for instance. So you are telling me that I have consequences because of a hot room? I don’t feel that is a fair assessment and you have a person that doesn’t know anything about me as a teacher and my job could be at stake because of that… my principal’s job could be at stake because of that…our school could be at risk….all of this stuff on paper that you will assess educators. But ultimately you want an educator that is passionate, you want an educator that connects with kids, you want an educator that helps beyond academics…a teacher can help a kid experiencing a melt down… and that takes up way more of our time than people realize. Especially when you have middle school students when they work with 13-14 year olds who don’t grow as fast as elementary schoolers or high schoolers (but have puberty related issues) and you also have way more than academics in play here.”

[Finland is ranked at the top of the world in student achievment and teacher satisfaction.]

Can I ask how much money you make?

“A little over $40,000 and I’m about $75,000 in student loans through getting my teaching certification and now, recently, my master’s degree. Right now, because I’m in financial hardship [Kline is a single mother with 2 children of her own; 4 children in her household with her boyfriend] I don’t have to pay on my student loans. I don’t make enough to pay on my student loans, but I make too much to get any help. You know we’ve had to make cuts the last 2 years, like we have no cable; we just have the bare minimum that way. We’ve had to cut down on groceries; we’ve had to make other household cuts. And I feel like with my education and my master’s degree that isn’t something that I should have to do. Also, right now, I have an outstanding collection with the New Richmond Clinic. When I went to make my son’s appt for his kindergarten screening, they denied me services because I owe them $450 dollars.”

What are your options now going forward with healthcare?

“I have a few options for healthcare; none of them are very good. I’ve made an appointment with the Hudson Clinic for them to see my son because my clinic denied him. And in December when our deduction went up, our furnace went out. So, all of our savings went toward electric heaters throughout the whole house. It took 6 weeks to be able to get a new furnace.

Also, I am currently seeking other employment. I made the decision to leave teaching….um, it wasn’t an easy one. I absolutely love teaching, and it has gotten my family to where we are. I have poured a lot of time into education and poured my heart out. It is a very big passion of mine to teach. I’ve decided to step away from it…not just because of the insurance solely (or) because I won’t get paid for my master’s degree. But the time…I keep putting more and more and more time in and it comes away from my family. I work hard. You bring work home everyday. And I can’t afford it. [crying] My kids are struggling with it, and so am I.” [long pause, wiping away tears.]

What are your options for future employment?

“I have the good fortune to have a math degree and can use it to make at least twice what I am making right now….or a financial analyst or a business analyst. I actually already have a job offer from a textbook company.

Our curriculum will not meet the new state standards, so we are looking at a couple different publishers and had them into school to ask them some tough questions. Their curriculum is new and had a lot of gaps that they need to fill. Last Wednesday, the publishing group emailed me to ask if we had made a decision and I emailed her back that I was no longer on that committee because I had resigned from my teaching job. At 3:00 that same day, her boss stopped by my class and offered me a job. He said that I had asked a lot of tough questions and they would like for me to bring back new ideas to develop their curriculum. They offered $70,000/year to start, with training and the option moving up in the company. I told them that I have young children at home and that traveling was not an option. He then told me if I chose not to take their first offer, they would create a position for me part-time, or whatever my needs are. [smiling.] So it felt good to have that, because I don’t have anything lined up after I resign. The idea that I have other avenues to support my family is great. I feel like I have more to offer.

It is really hard to sit back and watch this happen to education. It is the hardest thing that I’ve ever dealt with. But man…I don’t take a beating. And I feel like I have taken a beating and people continue to beat down on educators. I can’t stick around and watch that happen. My family is not benefiting from that. For myself, the easy path would be to stay in education. But staying in education with what it has to offer my family would be like rolling over and taking it. So, I know I need to leave and explore other opportunities. I have to leave. My family is proud of me, I have a very supportive boyfriend, and I’m excited to pursue other avenues.”

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Although Ms. Kline is excited for her future possibilities, it is disappointing to know that we’ve lost another good teacher. No one can blame her. She embodies well the American philosophy of “taking care of your own and others” coupled with a spark of an entrepreneurial spirit. However, at some point we must ask ourselves how valuable our teachers really are to us? If we really want the best teachers educating, counseling and motivating our children, then we must provide them with the ability to take care of their own children. If society can’t afford it, then at least treat them in the same fashion that we fully expect teachers to treat our children – with clear expectations, good communication, and fairness. Without any of these Kline says, “That kind of forces the passion right out of you.”

Where does that leave our children?

A Personal Look Inside the Walker Recall

Fri, 25 May 2012 19:05:34 -0400

(all views are mine)

It is very difficult to believe that the culmination of the focus of 15 months of our lives will be resolved in less than 2 weeks with the June 5 recall election of Governor Scott Walker. Anyone involved in this cause has seen his/her life turned upside down, not only with the grueling work of activism, but also with struggling to pay the bills, after thousands of dollars were stripped from family budgets. Amazingly, what Scott Walker intended for harm,“divide and conquer",Wisconsinites have turned into something good, instead. The sense of community and togetherness that I feel now, I’ve only heard stories about from my grandparents, neighbors helping neighbors and gatherings materializing overnight. It is really quite remarkable.

I have never been involved in politics before Scott Walker. I thought I was a “good” voter and citizen because I never missed a presidential election. I didn’t even bother to vote in the 2010 state gubernatorial race in Wisconsin. Scott Walker is my fault. I fell asleep; more accurately, I was never awake before. I took freedom and democracy for granted. Before this past year I never knew what ALEC was or ever heard of a Koch brother. People in WI were once reticent about talking politics. Now, the daily news covers everyone from the Packer’s Charles Woodson voicing support for workers to a woman who ran over her boyfriend when he tried to stop her from voting. If I wasn’t living here, I would probably read someone like me and think she was a conspiracy theorist, with talk of repealing rights of women, a governor who has a defense fund and his people pleading guilty to corruption all around him…but then you haven’t lived the last 2 years as a Wisconsinite.

grassroots recall station in New Richmond, WI

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My husband, Scott, and I took a shift with some friends. Scott liked to call this “bird watching” as we garnered several middle fingers every shift. When someone flipped me off or yelled vulgarities, I conjured up the wisdom of the penguins in my son’s favorite Madagascar movie, “Just smile and wave…just smile and wave.” I actually felt empowered when I dismissed the hatred in that way. This particular day was especially cold and wet. Yet, the sacrifice of our comfort was nothing compared to what most people in history have had to endure to secure these rights that we lawfully practiced just outside our public library.

war veteran and his activist wife taking a turn at the booth

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This man fought for our country abroad, to come home and fight to keep democracy at home. He and his wife were among the most dedicated people in the entire movement. This man actually made the multiple-piece orange sign in the background to withstand high winds. He used PVC pipe and fitted it in buckets filled with stand. We hung lights on the side, so it could light up to gather recall signatures in the evening hours.

northern Wisconsin recall "booth"

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This dedicated couple, and their purple bug, were well known signature collectors. In the northern part of the state there is less support and very few, if any, organized offices for supplies or personelle. Folks become very good at “winging” it, as this couple did.

democratic canvassing office in Eau Claire, WI

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When stations squeaked all of the easy signuatures of those eager to stop and sign, petition circulators were then forced to smoke out the rest. This is a typical recall office organized by the Democratic Party. PAC’s also run offices in Wisconsin. Volunteers are given clipboards and canvassing maps and knock doors. Canvassing door-to-door is one of my least favorite activities. No one likes to invade someone else’s privacy, and you never know when you’ll get a door slammed in your face or a parent sending their children to the door to tell you to go away. It can be humiliating. However, for the most part it is a really rewarding experience, too. Some people invite you inside for a nice chat or a cup of coffee. Others vent and join the cause! If you go with the right attitude, it is a very fulfilling experience.

our homemade yard sign: VOTE Barrett and Mitchell in Walker Recall election!!

(UPDATE: this sign was stolen from our yard last night. So I put up 2 signs today!)

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There are no free signs for progressives. We need to pay $3-$5 for a campaign sign. So, we made our own!

our mudroom is the unofficial progressive HQ in our city

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My neighbor jokingly calls us the “drug house” because people come and go all hours of the day delivering, or picking up, things from our tiny front entrance. We live in a city of only 8,000 people in northern Wisconsin, so we do not have an office here. So, we’ve used our mudroom entrance of our home for all sorts of things these past couple of years. This picture from this morning shows that our last official yard sign is about to be picked up, and I have several blank ones that I’ve turned inside out for folks to make their own.

grab box for the Walker Recall swag

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Here is a look inside the box on our front porch. Folks can get literature about our candidate Tom Barrett and Lt. Governor candidate Mahlon Mitchell. They can also grab “Reclaim Wisconsin” bracelets, pins, bumper stickers, and small signs.

A favorite way to blow off steam is singing corny activist songs with friends. Music really helps lighten the mood and helps us visualize our movement in historical context. Numerous songs of all styles have sprung up all over the state. This video is my husband and friend Thomas Smith singing one of Thomas’s songs.

This short clip of talented women has gained a wide audience in Wisconsin. At the beginning of the movement, there was a microphone set up in the rotunda of the Capitol. This group of women inspired the crowd, and it gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to it. The microphone was removed and access limited to the Capitol building in the weeks following this recording.

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Ok, now for some inside information that you may not be hearing outside of Wisconsin.

1) The Democratic National Committee is FINALLY financially supporting the recall of Gov. Scott Walker.

I was naive and thought we’d have full national support from the Dems, who stayed out of our state, until recently. Apparently you need to cause a rucus to get any support. The national Democratic Party doesn’t know what to do with that, or more probable – they didn’t think we had a chance in hell of winning…so they ignored us up until a couple days ago, when they finally kicked in money. And I’ve heard that the Obama campaign has even opened up offices all over the state to help us. We’ll take it!

That being said, personally, I have oodles of respect and admiration for our local democratic party, St. Croix County dems and also Pierce County dems. These folks are hardworking, responsive, inclusive, and full of heart. And our incredible state Democratic leaders, especially the “Fab 14” have inspired a nation. Finally, they’ve inspired their own national leaders.

2) Romney/GOP, Koch, and ALEC fully realize the importance of Wisconsin…and have inundated the state with unlimited funds and the push to privatize.

Some of the stances and issues that Walker has taken are at odds with Republicans, yet are definatetly on the agenda of the Koch Brothers and ALEC. For instance, he has done the unthinkable and is moving to privatize public lands now used for hunting. Wisconsin is a unique state, in that even liberals support or participate in hunting. Just because I have a freezer full of vension, doesn’t make me a Sarah Palin. I happen to love feeding my children organic FREE protein, from an animal that was killed humanely and never spent a day of it's life in a cage. Plus, is it is a family tradition of many people here. Walker is careless about protecting this for poorer people who can only hunt on public land.

The Citizens United decision, allowing unlimited funds in campaigns, has seriously undermined the will of people in very clear and obvious ways in WI.

We get flyers everyday. That is not an exaggeration. Everyday. These flyers are filled with blatant lies. For instance, a newspaper quoted Walker claiming that he created jobs in Wisconsin. Then, in a campaign flyer Walker claimed he created jobs (follow the circular logic here) and used the newspaper that quoted HIM as the source for his claim!

Rumor has it that Koch Industries recently dropped 70 staffers off in Wisconsin for the last 2 weeks. Some extremely shady things are going on, like an anonymous group sending out fliers that list all the teachers in their district and their salaries. It prompts people to check to see if their child’s teacher signed the recall, and if so, submit a demand to the school district that a “non-radical teacher" be teaching your child. Nearly a million people signed the recall, yet teachers are singled out, blamed and stalked online.

3) Democratic challenger Tom Barrett has full support

Kathleen Falk (union-favored candidate) losing the primary to Barrett is not indicative that labor is weak in WI , but rather that the issues are much further reaching, into every facet of society. I’ve been saying this since the beginning – this movement is not solely about collective bargaining. However, the media loves to play up the angle that “unions are not as popular” or the complete opposite, that union members are “thugs” and “big bosses”. It is a very weird thing and obviously political spin without merit. I’ve never met a big union leader. In fact, the leader of our local teacher’s union happens to be my husband, who before this last year, didn’t even know who his local union leader was – now it’s him! Ironically, Walker tried to crush unions and ended up fashioning some really fabulous young, new leaders in the process. My husband is a family man, who mainly provides for a family of 4 on less than $50,000/year. He’s the “entitled thug” living off the taxpayer. To claim that the movement is constantly being “fueled by collective bargaining” is a bit odd. It is a major part, for sure – for workers to have a SEAT at the table, but livable wages, health care, education, environment, transparency in government, and let’s not forget democracy – are all paramount in this cause.

It should be noted that the same day Barrett won the primary, the other candidates endorsed him, and there is no division from my standpoint. Everyone has united behind Barrett.

4) Five unions, all exempt from Walker’s collective bargaining bill, have endorsed Walker for governor.

Sad, but true. The Wisconsin movement should not be idealized, but acknowledged for the good/bad/ugly in our country, state, and ourselves. We see it every day here in the movement. For instance, someone who was previously a Republican, signed the recall papers because their wages were affected. Yet now, when it looks as though their union membership might cause temporary discomfort or make them vulnerable, jump ship into “neutral” or outwardly flip sides, again, simply for his/her best interest. It is quite embarrassing to witness people that you know are displaying such apparent situational ethics, calculating personal gain and acting accordingly, with little regard to the community or their coworkers.

I asked a friend in Milwaukee about it. She simply said, “Walker exempted their unions from the collective bargaining in order to divide us. It worked.” Walker was caught on video describing his “divide and conquer” stategy to a billionaire donor. The best way to divide is by excluding some unions from his policies (police and fire). Then, some of them will look out for themselves. However, if anything, the fire and police have been the most visible in Madison, and the leader of the state of WI fire fighter’s union, Mahlon Mitchell, is running for Lt. Governor! Again, what Walker intended to harm, Wisconsinites have turned into good.

5) Losing the Walker recall would NOT be a deal breaker for this progressive movement.

Not even close. Do not believe anyone who would claim that all hope is lost if we lose the Walker recall. People who say that on “our side” need to take a break because they are burnt out. Take a break, and we’ll welcome you back when you are ready. People who say that on the right are trying to just get us to stop. We won’t stop. The people of Wisconsin have carried out 15 recalls in less than 2 years…historical and also life-altering for those involved. Yes, to say we will feel devastated if the Walker recall fails would be an enormous understatement. It would be brutal.

But I hope I will remember the reality:

When this began, the WI state senate leaned 19-14 with a GOP majority. As a result of last year’s 9 recall elections, along with one resignation, we sit tied at 16-16. That is significant, no matter what happens next.

Nationally, there is little discussion in the media or elsewhere about the other FOUR senate recall elections, along with the recall of Lt. Governor Kleefish that is happening at the same time as the Walker recall election on June 5, 2012. Democrats winning even ONE of these senate elections will return the state senate to Democratic hands, effectively slowing or stopping Walker’s efforts to inflict more harm on our state. We want Compas in the 13th, Lehman in the 21st , Dexter in the 23rd, and Seidel in the 29th. Winning back our senate through the hard work of years of recalls is significant, no matter what happens next.

Walker could be indicted any day now…including June 6. This is more than rumor, with 12 people now requesting and receiving immunity for their testimony against “John Doe” (presumably Walker). In my mind, it is more of a “when” issue than an “if” issue.

Recalling Lt. Governor Kleefisch is equally important to removing Walker. If Walker squeaks out a victory on June 5 and keeps his seat, then is indicted and removed from office, the Lt. Governor would slide into the leadership role. It is very important that challenger Mahlon Mitchell, president of the fire fighter’s union, win this recall race. If Walker is forcibly removed from office due to criminal indictment, Mitchell would then become the new governor; current Lt. Governor Kleefisch is rumored to be even more of a puppet than Walker.

I snapped this picture of Mahlon Mitchell leading bagpipers in a crowd of 100,000 around Capitol in Madison

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Even the elders in the cause claim to have never seen momentum and progressive action like this before in their lives. By all accounts, turnout for the election will be key because all polls show them neck and neck with only 2-3% undecided. After nearly 2 years of waiting for this moment, I now realize that it isn’t the end, but only the beginning.

Abuse Shelter Director, “we can’t go backwards” on WI Women

Wed, 23 May 2012 16:05:35 -0400

(first published on WIvoices.org)

Kim Wojchik is the Executive Director at Turningpoint in River Falls for victims of domestic and sexual violence. They served 797 people in 2011 who came to them from either Pierce or St. Croix County [Western Wisconsin]. She has seen government funding to her facility decrease by 15% over the past few years, and funding for the sexual abuse program has been eliminated entirely. However, with hard work and tremendous help from the community, Turningpoint has been able to “stabilize” for now. In order to do that, they needed to make tough choices that were previously not desirable. For example, Wojchik has increased the time that families can stay in the shelter form 1 to 3 months because they “literally don’t have anything to leave to…where 3 years ago they did”.

Here’s her story.

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“The people that we help can be from any socioeconomic background. It doesn’t matter if they are rich or poor. We do have some wealthy people who have some barriers and are being impacted by domestic or sexual violence. Um, they can be from any racial group, all age groups… kids who are being abused, elderly…

But the typical person who comes to us, though, are usually women (1 in4 women is abused). 98% of domestic abuse victims are women, and they are usually between the ages of 20 and 35. Um, but usually they are bringing children who have been impacted by domestic and sexual violence so then they, too, become clients. We do have more men, though, than we’ve ever had before (1 in6 men is abused).

About 65% of our funding comes from government , so that would be federal and state government, grants, and then the remaining come from fundraising and individual and private giving. When I got here the percentage of governmental funding was closer to 80%. At that time I knew that we’d be looking at potential government funding going down, and I knew that we didn’t want to reduce our programs. So, I knew that we’d have to make up that ground in individual giving and fundraising, and we have a thrift store where we generate revenue. Traditionally, churches have given us a tremendous amount of money and food and clothes.

So, the last 3 years the government funding has been cut, and cut, and cut, which we anticipated. As that’s been cut, we’ve been able to fundraise and generate other revenue. We’ve stabilized our services and actually expanded a few over the last few years.”

WOW, excellent. Well that’s not the normal story that we’re hearing out there right now.

“Ha! (Shaking head) It’s not the normal story. And it‘s not without a great deal of effort from myself and the board and a very committed community of people. Again, we’ve been able to internally stabilize…but had to make changes like increasing our shelter stay from 30 days to 90 days…which was something we haven’t wanted to do. Also, agencies that people used to be able to access on the outside have been dramatically reduced.

[For example] people are fine when they are here and being supported, but they literally don’t have anything to leave to. They don’t have transportation, housing, they don’t have employment, they don’t have medical assistance, they don’t have child care assistance….where 3 years ago they did. But now? It is basically non-existent. What we need to do is expand our programming, so that we can provide, so that we have those resources for victims…..where before we could rely on government and other agencies, I don’t foresee that coming back….um, I hope it does…I think that’d be great.

The funding that we’ve lost over the last 3 years has been sexual assault funding, which is ridiculously under-funded. We only have 1 sexual assault staff member for 85,000 people….so that was already under-funded and then dramatic (state) cuts to sexual violence funding. Also federal funds like HUD, any kind of housing funding, continuum of care has been drastically reduced…emergency food shelter grant funding that we used to get we’ve lost completely – that was like $11,000 that we don’t get anymore.

So, we’ve stabilized, yeah, but we’re still not even reaching the tip of the iceberg.”

So, what would it mean to your organization to lose even more government funding at this point?

(Sighing)

“Um…we’d have to work harder. We’d have to divert energy that we could be using to help broader groups of people, to just stabilize, again. Victims would feel abandoned, not only by their abusers but by the government and the people who are supposed to protect them. We can’t go backwards…I think any step that we take backwards is just damaging to the whole movement. If we maintain what we have, I think we can do good things. But when we lose legislation that protects people, when we lose funding that has been already allocated to people…you just, you just can’t go backwards (motioning behind her)…so, if in 2012 we are going backwards to protecting women and children, you really have to stop and say, wow. They were under-funded in the first place, so why in the world are you going backwards? Check yourself (laughing, smiling) you know? Just check yourself! Whoever you are – do some checking, because you can’t go that way (laughing loudly and gesturing). Whatever political party you are in, that is just ridiculous and not a common sense approach!”

Wisconsin recently repealed the equal pay for equal work law, which will largely impact women. Do you see this recent policy change affecting your clients?

** [This was a poorly worded question. The recent repeal actually was of a provision in Wisconsin’s Equal Pay Enforcement Act (Act 20); the repeal eliminated the right to sue in state court for compensatory and punitive damages after an employer had been found to have violated Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Act by an Administrative Law Judge for the Department of Workforce Development. The repeal decreases the available remedies under state law and in state courts for those discriminated against. Federal avenues and remedies available for discrimination claims, through the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, have remained unchanged.]

“Yes. Absolutely. The recent legislation, equal pay for equal work, I think it’s relevant to us on a lot of levels just because oppression and domestic violence are really linked, and we know that women not getting equal pay for equal work is really rooted in those oppression type thing. Equal pay for women is also relevant to us because the majority of the victims of domestic violence are women and it perpetuates the stereotype, that for some ridiculous reason women have less value.

I was at a world conference (on domestic abuse) , where I met a woman from Iceland. They had 10,000 women walk off the job: doctors, nurses, attorneys. I was like, “that’s amazing…” and you know – they get the connection between oppression and social justice! I think we’ve got to get to a time (in the U.S) where it’s, like, ridiculous, the conversation that women deserve equal pay, but at the same time what is even more ridiculous to me is that people don’t make a living wage. It is disturbing that people go to work 40 hours a week and they can’t pay their rent and they can’t pay their bills.

As a director raising funds, I generate more synergy around the common good in human rights and when we promote a “living wage” because our donors are men, our board members are men, a lot of our victims are men. So, I get it, and I know the relevance of equal pay for women because I go home and I complain to my husband and he’s, like, “stop complaining to me!” (Laughing). Women alone can’t solve this problem. If they could – it would’ve been done.

So, let’s talk about human rights and human dignity. That, for me, as a director, generates more funds and more fundraising, more people involved in the cause, less isolation, more awareness…but it is good to not lose sight of the fact that it is still men who batter women. But the quote is that, ‘It is mostly women who are battered by men. But, not all men batter. But, most men do stay silent.’

So, what we really need is men invested in not being silent. (Men need to say) ‘I’m not going to allow it in my chamber, I’m not going to tolerate it in my church.’ ”

Would it be a fair assessment to say that the policy changes over the last several years have more adversely affected the population that you serve, especially if it is more difficult to find a livable wage?

“Yeah, absolutely.

We deal with people form all socioeconomic backgrounds, but a lot of the women who come to us for services literally have no economic means to do anything. So, when they decide to break away from their abuser, if they don’t have a livable wage, don’t have governmental assistance, don’t have affordable housing or don’t have any of those other programs…it dramatically impacts their chances of not only being alive, but their quality of life and the lives of their children….I mean the chances of their children growing up and perpetuating the cycle of violence or becoming victims is dramatically impacted by the fact that they can’t break free from that cycle. So, yeah, it’s been bad for a long time, and it will continue to be bad.

I think that we need to encourage corporations to pay more, you know, have government impact on all of that….”

What would you say about the children that you serve?

“I can get a room of people divided in a minute when you talk about rape. We think that everybody is on board with those concepts! (Laughing, shaking head). Everybody is not! (Laughing incredulously).. .. Some people don’t even think we should be talking about those things in Western Wisconsin! But I can get a room full of people organized and rallied and totally on the same page about protecting our children…that no child should have the penis of an adult anywhere near them, and no child should have to hide under a couch while their dad is bludgeoning their mom….I mean, we could get super graphic but the reality is – our children, in mass proportions, are not safe.

I would like to see 100% prevention intervention…which would mean every kid who lives in our 2 counties meets with us, sees us, and we are very close to achieving that goal. We just started a text program, and we have kids that text us every day, like crazy. We’ve already had 3 kids text us that they’ve been sexually assaulted and don’t want to tell their parents. Now, they’ve all met with their parents, along with an advocate, and been able to talk about their sexual assault.”

What are some stories of the people that you serve?

I’m thinking of one woman in particular who lives in this really wealthy home, but her abuser is throwing urine on her, or verbally abusing her. She talks about one time that they were doing something with their giant boat, but their daughter didn’t have tampons. The control dynamics, when it is physical or not, but it is about people being free in their homes.

Then, we had a family of 5 come a couple of weeks ago, and they didn’t speak any English; they only spoke Spanish. So, the barriers for the immigrant workers are just huge. So, batterers tell them – ‘if you tell anybody, you are going to be deported’. So, the first thing they asked us was, ‘Am I going to be deported?’ And we are like, ‘Oh my goodness, no…we don’t need to see your license. We don’t know who you are. We don’t need to do anything.’

Now, I’m thinking about another rural woman that her husband would just randomly disconnect the phone and he would just smile at her. That, to her, meant that she was his and that nobody could get to her or her children. Then, he denies doing it and tells her she’s crazy.

Another time I remember answering the phone and the woman told me that she was afraid that her German shepherd was going to die because he keeps locking it in the closet. Then, she said, ‘but he doesn’t abuse me.’ And you know what? Everybody says that. And I say, ‘well that’s ok, but I am concerned about the dog, too, because a lot of people do abuse pets to control you’. And she says, ‘well sometimes he does hold the dog up and puts a butcher knife to its neck and the dog pees on the floor and he says, ‘I’m going to kill the dog and kill the kids and nobody will ever believe you because you are crazy.’

Or, he pushes me out of a moving vehicle…

You know I could tell stories like this all day long, but it’s like anything that you can think of that can be manipulative…controlling.

And the guy will (always) say ‘nobody is going to believe you… your friends are done with you, your family has had enough, you’re crazy , everything about you is crazy’… to the point that they plant drugs in her purse, so if the police ever do come, then there is this, ‘yeah, but she’s got pot in her purse.’ “

**[A local woman who was helped by Turningpoint posted her story on YouTube. Robin Weiskopf said, “I told my story for the purpose of helping others that are where I have been to see that there is hope, and there is help." Her mother and friend also offered perspectives.]

If you could ask the community for help, what would that be?

“Know that it is your problem…it could be your kid, your neighbor, your friends. We need more speakers, we need more teachers, we need more people talking. Shop at our Second Chances store on Main Street in River Falls, donate furniture, clothes and any other items to our store. Use whatever skills and resources you have to help. If you feel moved by this to do something, call me and we’ll go for coffee. I can promise you that we will use your time, energy, talent, or your money in some way to impact this problem.”

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Kim Wojchik’s story is one of hope. Her organization, along with the community, has met their obligations toward the most vulnerable women and children in their community by filling the void that the loss of governmental funding had left. It is a shining example of regular people working together in troubled times to solve a problem.

However, Turningpoint is interdependent upon society. Law enforcement, the educational system, churches, and various other groups and people all refer victims to Turningpoint and depend upon that organization when they have victims with nowhere else to turn. In exchange, Turningpoint depends upon society to meet the needs of the people when they leave the stability of the shelter. So, when society debates public policy, one piece of that discussion must include practical details about how the most vulnerable (and victimized or abused) people among us (and their children) will be able to survive amidst social service cuts. Wojchik hits upon a crucial element, when women “decide to break away from their abuser, if they don’t have a livable wage, don’t have governmental assistance, don’t have affordable housing, or don’t have any of those other programs…it dramatically impacts their chances of not only being alive, but their quality of life and the lives of their children.”

WI Teacher says “students aren’t being fed”

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:04:14 -0400

(first published on WIvoices.org)

Meg Farrington (29-year veteran teacher from Somerset, WI) explains that some students are struggling with hunger in school and how teachers have “stepped up to the plate” to bridge the gap and fill the need in the community. Farrington said “because of Governor Walker’s cuts” at the state level, consequences in policy choices have become reality for the most vulnerable children in rural Wisconsin.

For instance, public school districts have a cooperative agreement with social services to feed hungry children through a “backpack program” in which children are given food to take home over the weekend. I contacted Duana Bremer (local Director of Social Services) for comment, “the demand keeps going up and everything is more difficult”. Her crew packs over 900 backpacks/week for hungry children and issued a press release detailing the need in the community. Before this backpack program, teachers and nurses reported that some children were “begging” for food, experiencing stomach issues, and were “agitated” and unable to learn due to hunger related issues. The backpack program eliminated these issues; however, due to budget cuts the program is now threatened.

WIvoices.org previously interviewed Bremer, on July 30, 2011 about this issue. At that time, Bremer worried that the backpack program would suffer due to the cuts at the state level. According to Farrington, this has come to fruition as every couple of weeks “there is no food left for the backpack program…so the teachers (help with) that.”

Wanna help? Contact Duana Bremer @ 715-485-1221

duana_bremer@usc.salvationarmy.org

Stay tuned for Farrington’s entire verbatim interview ~ to be released.

Man Worries about Wisconsin's Retirement System

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:04:46 -0400

(first published on WIvoices.org)

Well into the evening, I met Bob Beglinger and his wife Sheryl after they had been on the road for several days. Bob is a member of the citizen’s group called POWRS Committee (Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement System). He has been busy traveling around the state speaking to concerns that the state government may be taking steps to alter the fully-funded system, which serves 572,000 Wisconsinites. The WRS has been copied by innumerable entities, both foreign and domestic, so Bob questions the motives behind changing such a coveted system. He is not only an advocate for present and future retirees, but after serving the public for 34 years as a state worker, Bob is a WRS member himself.

Here’s his story.

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You’ve asserted that the WRS is not only one of the best public pension systems in the country, but also in the world. What do you reference to make that kind of statement?

“Well, our pension system has been studied by a number of different groups to look at funding levels, to look at stability, and its performance. Our pension system is currently fully funded. There is no unfunded liability; it doesn’t cost taxpayers anything. It is supported in full by the contributions by the members and required employer contributions. The Pew foundation, in a study, recently indicated that it was 99.67% funded. The National Public Pension Institute considers anything that is 80% funded as fully funded. We are the 9^th largest public pension fund in the country, the 30^th largest in the world. The fund pays its own costs of administration. It has typically beaten the benchmarks; it’s beat the stock markets in its performance. It has provided pensions, so that the retirees can retire in dignity without costing the taxpayers. And so, yes, our pension is, I think, one of the best in the world. It is one that many other states wish they had. It would resolve many of the issues that Rhode Island is dealing with, or California, where a lack of adequate funding levels have created huge holes in the budget, which were used to justify to changes.

It is clearly not broken. I guess I really question the wisdom of essentially trying to fix what ain’t broke.”

So, has there been an assertion that the WRS is, in fact, broken?

“There has not been an assertion that the WRS system is broken. However, there has been a request for a study of the WRS and ways in which it could be converted…converted in ways that would be very detrimental to the system. The study request was originally in Act 10, the “Budget Adjustment Bill”, some people call it the “Budget Repair Bill”. I don’t really think it repaired anything, so I prefer to call it a Budget Adjustment Bill. The study of the WRS was pulled from that bill. I’d really like someone to explain why it was pulled. I have my own guesses, but it magically reappeared in Act 32 in the Budget Bill. So, that study request is still out there. The study will be conducted.”

UPDATE: (After this interview, WI Rep. Strachota introduced AB 539 (previously LRB 3202) that would initiate the first changes to the current WRS. I contacted her office for comment. I received an email that asserted the bill’s only intention “would allow the UW System discretionary authority to create an optional retirement plan limited to new professors and new academic staff hired after the bill becomes effective.” However, many opponents of AB 539 assert that passage of this (now delayed) bill would be an effective “back-door attempt” to overhaul the WRS entirely through smaller stages.)

“Ironically, the results of that study will be presented to the governor and the Joint Finance Committee, which is a bit unusual. Typically, anything dealing with pension systems would go to the Joint Survey Committee on Retirement Systems. Why, suddenly, is that channel being abandoned? Even though any changes to the pension systems have to go through that committee? But instead, suddenly, the study is going to the JFC and the governor…raises some questions.”

What questions does it raise?

“Well, if you were to consider changes to the WRS, it would only make sense that you would refer it to the committee of legislators (JSCRS) that have specialty, experience, and knowledge in that area. The JSCRS is also comprised of 3 Republican, 2 Democratic, and one independent legislators. It might be more difficult for the governor to control what comes out of that committee than to control what comes out of the JFC (which has 12 Rep/4 Dem split).

Now, if I wanted to change something, the first thing I need to have is a reason. This study opens up the system to any changes. One directive of the study is to look at the contribution rates and whether or not people can opt out. Allowing people to opt out will make the fund ineligible for IRS…if you make it voluntary, it becomes very easy to adjust the rate, and any budget bill can manipulate it further. And with voluntary contribution rates, with college loans and families, and you are creating a generation of people who are not going to be self-supporting in their elderly years. I’d say, pay me now or pay me later, but YOU are not really paying me now. The people have paid themselves! Lose regular contributions and the fund would be destroyed.

Another possible change, as we’ve seen in Michigan, is that ALEC has encouraged governors around the country to move from a “defined benefit” to a “defined contribution” pension plan. We call WI a defined benefit plan, but it really isn’t. It is a hybrid. It is a combination of a defined benefit and defined contribution.

My concern I guess is — ah – you take a retirement system that is really the envy of 49 other states. Very, very few other states, today, can say that they have a pension system that is fully funded, pension system that supports itself, that pays its own costs of administration, that doesn’t cost the taxpayers anything, and yet provides a decent pension for retirees and allows them to live out their elderly years with some dignity. And this opens the door to the possibility of the right-wing agenda to privatize that pension.

Um, we have been really reactive in the way that we’ve dealt with the governor’s office. I don’t think anyone can argue that these aren’t extraordinary times. But we’ve seen a pattern where agendas were suggested and suddenly rolled out that were much more aggressive than suggested and then fast-tracked through the legislative process. And we’ve reacted to these changes.

And at some point we have to be pro-active. That requires that we do a little guess, and look in the crystal ball, who is opening up this pension system to change? What is some of the rhetoric that we’ve heard?

That group that wants to move to the right does offer some suggestions. There has been a move toward personal responsibility, towards reducing government. I think Grover Nordquist said it best, when he said he wanted to reduce government to the size that it would drown in the bathtub. Well, one way to reduce the size the government is to eliminate 2 agencies: SWIB (State ofWI Investment Board) that invests the pension funds, and ETF (Department of Employee Trust Funds) which administers the programs of the retirement system.”

Do you know the amount of money that is in the WRS?

“The WRS currently contains about 80 billion dollars. That 80 billion is the result of contributions made by employees, matching contributions made by employers, and the interest in dividends…many of which until this past year were made totally by the employees and employers. If they shut their doors, tomorrow, it is estimated that it would pay for the full retirement costs of anyone who has participated for the next 30 years. All public employees that work more than 1,200 hours a year… all state, local, and municipal…there are a few exceptions…

I think WC Fields told us, “Democracy is the best form of government that you can buy.” And with the $5 to $6 billion in private management fee you could generate by privatizing the system, you might be able to buy a good chunk of that government. And this is the concern.”

How do you challenge the assertion that this is really tax payer money and that the state should be able to do with it what is pleases?

“I would challenge the assertion that it is state money simply based on the fact that it is part of a wage and benefit package that I earned for work I performed and contributed my money to that fund. If I contributed, as I have to other retirement funds, it doesn’t make that state money. I earned that for services that I performed. It is compensation that employees earned for services performed. Unlike social security – those assets currently exist in the WRS. They exist in a separate fund, and they exist in the form of assets, in the form of stocks and bonds.”

People in the private sector do not always have the same type of pension opportunities. Is it unfair that public workers have these retirement packages?

“Well, I would say, if you go back historically about 20 years, you would find that about 80% of private employees that had pensions had defined benefit plans, very much like ours. There has been a huge change. And now that number has flipped to about 20% of private pensions with defined benefit plans. So, many private employees had those at one time. Now, many of them don’t, unfortunately. Public employees enjoy a benefit package that was one of the things that caused them to choose public employment over private, where often they would’ve received a much higher wage. But they chose the benefit over the wage. Besides which, rather than looking at how we can all reduce ourselves to the lowest possible level and choose the lowest pension to which we should aspire…it seems to me, that we ought to be looking at ways that all of our citizens, both in private and public employment, can enjoy dignity in their old age and a pension system that provides for that.

The notion of pension envy. Dave Obey tells a story of the Russian peasant that is walking along this dusty trail and he’s living on the edge of starvation, barely able to eek out a living for he and his family. And he picks up a bottle and he rubs it and a genie appears. And the genie says I’m empowered to give you one wish. And the peasant says my family is starving, we have no clothes, we don’t have enough food, we’re just living in poverty. My neighbor has a goat. The goat gives really good milk and he’s much much better off, he’s much wealthier than I. The genie looks at the peasant and says, do you want me to give you a goat? No, I want you to kill my neighbor’s goat.

This notion, that we should all be as poor as the poorest, just defies reason and common sense. We should all aspire to that rising tide that lifts all boats…to that kind of a pension system that is fair and provides opportunity for our elderly to live out their lives in dignity.”

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Bob’s wife, Sheryl, sat quietly in another part of the room. Bob encouraged her to tell him if he was getting too “long winded”. We all laughed. At some point during the interview, Sheryl and I were pleased to make the connection that she had been a former elementary teacher of mine from Elk Mound. Typical of teachers in small farming communities, she remembered me 30 years and thousands of students later.

Later, I thought about Bob and Sheryl as I was dozing off to sleep, warm and comfortable in my bed. They were probably still on the road, hours yet from home. I imagined myself as a young child, this couple already well into their careers. Yet they continue to work endless hours for the people of this state, when they should be enjoying their retirement. Why? For the “opportunity for the elderly to live out their lives in dignity”, Bob says.

A value we all share.