Category Archive: Recent News

Have any former or current railroad workers in your family? The cross-craft solidarity group Railroad Workers United (RWU) has produced a beautiful Rail Workers Labor History Calendar for 2018. Each month of the calendar has a different photo from rail labor history, depicting a strike, picket, rally or other activity over the course of the last century-and-a-half of struggle. More than 150 dates of historic significance to railroad workers and their unions are included throughout the year. Order online at http://railworkersunited.storenvy.com/.

MTI Members:  Do you have ideas on how to improve your profession or better advocate for your students?  Consider applying your ideas, energy and efforts as an elected leader of MTI.  MTI is a democratic Union with nearly two hundred (200) teachers currently serving in an elected or appointed leadership capacity.

MTI Faculty Representative:  Serving as an MTI Faculty Representative is the most common point of entry to Union leadership.  If you are interested in serving as an MTI Faculty Rep at your work location, see your senior MTI Faculty Rep or contact MTI staff.

For those ready to take the next step in MTI leadership, positions are currently available on the MTI Board of Directors, Finance Committee, Handbook/Bargaining Committee, Political Action Committee, Cabinet on Personnel, SCFL Delegate or MTI Cares.

Nominations will be received at the September 27 meeting of the MTI Faculty Representative Council to fill MTI Board At-Large positions and Committee vacancies caused by retirement, and for terms that are expiring.  Nominations for any of the positions described in this article can be called in to MTI Headquarters (257-0491) prior to the September Council meeting, or made from the floor at the September Council meeting by an MTI Faculty Representative.  Pursuant to MTI Bylaws, the election for all referenced positions will be held at the October Council meeting.

Click here to learn more about the available elected positions. 

The Cap Times celebrates its 100th anniversary this year by presenting its inaugural two-day ideas festival on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus on September 16-17. Some two dozen individual sessions about politics, education, equity, the economy and culture will explore the central theme of how to “Reach a Better State.”

Attendees will get to hear and interact with big names, prominent authors, faculty stars and on-the-ground experts — a fascinating, fast-paced experience at UW’s Discovery Building, Gordon Center and Union South.  Confirmed speakers include Barry Alvarez, Tammy Baldwin, Martin Baron, Deb Carey, Kevin Conroy, Charles Franklin, Howard Fuller, Amy Klobuchar, Gloria Ladson-Billings, David Maraniss, Gwen Moore, John Nygren, Mark Pocan, Charlie Sykes, and Tommy Thompson.

MTI members can attend at a 50% discounted rate ($25 and $10 for students).  MTI members were sent an email link to sign up at the 50% rate.

For further information, go to www.captimesideafest.com.  Send all festival-related inquiries to captimesideafest@gmail.com.

As public school employees, we are advocates for all of our students and their families. Our advocacy extends beyond the school walls and it is imperative that we actively participate in efforts to defend our immigrant students and all undocumented people from the ongoing injustices directed at them through unjust legislation and policy.

Last Tuesday, President Trump announced the elimination of DACA. The Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program provides renewable permits for nearly 800,000 DREAMers who live, study, and work in the United States – a program that provides opportunities to many of our students and their family members. Instead of offering an immigration process that allows a path to citizenship for DREAMers, Trump continues his crusade against immigrant families. You can show your support with the following:

• Consider supporting justice for immigrant families by donating to Voces De La Frontera or United We Dream.

• View these NEA Resources for Educators Supporting DREAMers.

• Call Paul Ryan’s office at  (202) 225-3031 and urge him to speak up for DACA and support legislation that provides protection from deportation and a path to citizenship for immigrant youth!

• Sign the NEA #DEFENDDACA Pledge, and fight to protect our students.

• For more info about DACA, watch a brief informative video about DACA. 

In addition to these events, each of us can also support our students and families on a personal level as they deal with the uncertainty created by the elimination of DACA. In many cases the public school is the primary place that provides safety, stability and trustworthy information, and we are the professionals who provide guidance and support.    

Solidarity!

Andrew Waity
MTI President

Douglas Keillor
MTI Executive Director

La Follette’s Annual Golf Outing in memory of teacher Chris Stafslien will be

held on Friday, September 29th at Monona Golf Course.

Click here for more information.

Click here for an Entry Form.

click for details!

Calling all MTI Members!  Join MTI Cares for the Willy Street Fair on Sunday, September 17.  MTI members should plan to gather at 10:30 at Plan B (954 Williamson St.) to march together in the famous Willy St. Parade, which starts at 11:00.  This is our 5^th consecutive year participating in this event.      

All Willy Street fair proceeds help support the Wil-Mar Community Center and you can help just by showing up and having a good time!     

The parade is an absolute blast…we hand out MTI pencils and balloons while welcoming families back to school and hearing our community welcome us back too!  When we march we are showered with love, cheers and thanks.  It’s a great way to start the year!  RSVP to MTI@madisonteachers.org. 

Dear friends of Wisconsin public schools,

The Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection announced at the last minute that it will take up two bills that would limit local control of school referenda at noon tomorrow, Thurs. June 15. The committee chair Sen. Duey Stroebel (R-Saukville) is also the author of the two bills.

SB-191 Bonding Resolution Consideration – this bill would prohibit a school board in a unified district from voting on a resolution to exceed a school district’s revenue limit at a school board meeting that is not a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, and would prohibit voting in a common or union high school (UHS) district on a resolution to exceed a school district’s revenue limit at a school district special meeting. The bill would further provide that the electors of common and UHS districts may vote upon an initial resolution to raise money through a bond issue only at the annual meeting.

SB-195 School Referenda – This bill would eliminate recurring operating referenda to raise revenue authority on a permanent basis. It would also limit multi-year non-recurring operating referenda to 5 years. Finally, and possibly most troubling, the bill eliminates referendum-approved revenue authority from a school district’s base budget that was approved in any previous recurring referendum five years after the effective date of the bill.

As if the last-minute announcement doesn’t make public testimony difficult enough, the hearing will likely overlap with the already-scheduled public hearing of the Assembly Education Committee that starts at 10am – that has THE SAME BILLS on the agenda (plus one more):

Assembly Bill 282, relating to: restricting consideration of resolutions to issue bonds by common and union high school districts and prohibiting voting on a resolution to exceed the revenue limit of a school district at a special meeting. 

This bill, authored by state Rep. David Murphy (R-Greenville), would prohibit a school board in a unified district from voting on a resolution to exceed a school district’s revenue limit at a school board meeting that is not a regularly scheduled monthly meeting, and would prohibit voting in a common or union high school (UHS) district on a resolution to exceed a school district’s revenue limit at a school district special meeting. The bill would further provide that the electors of common and UHS districts may vote upon an initial resolution to raise money through a bond issue only at the school district’s annual meeting.

Assembly Bill 268, relating to: restricting school board referendums to exceed revenue limit applicable to a school district.

This bill, authored by state Rep. Janel Brandtjen (R-Menomonee Falls), would eliminate recurring  referendums to exceed revenue  limits and would limit the duration of successful non-recurring (temporary) operating referendums to 5 years, creating an automatic “cliff effect” when those referendums expire. The bill would also convert all previously approved recurring (permanent) operating expense referendums to non-recurring (temporary) operating referendums with a duration of 5 years, which would create a similar “cliff effect.” The five-year clock would begin ticking in the year the bill, if enacted as a new law, is published.

Assembly Bill 269, relating to: restricting the scheduling of school district referendums to exceed revenue limits

This bill, authored by state Rep. Michael Schraa  (R-Oshkosh) would require, with certain exceptions (e.g., in cases of fire or natural disaster) that all referendum votes must be held on the dates of Spring and Fall General Elections. (The Spring election is held annually on the first Tuesday in April. The Fall General election occurs in even-numbered years on the Tuesday following the first Monday in November.) This would limit school boards to only two opportunities in an even-numbered year and only one opportunity in an odd-numbered year.

If you plan to testify in person, you can fill out a form to register in favor or opposition to the bills even if you don’t plan to speak. You can also submit testimony in writing if you cannot attend in person.  

Thanks to our friends at WASB (which opposes all three bills) for the updates:

• Senate Committee Hearing on Referendum Bills Tomorrow

• Referendum Restriction Bill Is Worse Than You Thought

• Referendum Restrictions Bills Scheduled for Thursday Hearing

Speak up for local control of local schools! Your voice matters!

Heather DuBois Bourenane

hdb@WisconsinNetwork.org • (608) 572-1696 • WisconsinNetwork.org
facebook: www.facebook/WisconsinNetwork • twitter: @WiscEdNetwork

The Wisconsin Public Education Network is a project of the Wisconsin Alliance for Excellent Schools.

Explore the professional and financial benefits of National Board Certification and the support your union can provide to National Board candidates.  Click here for more info and to learn how to sign up!

MTI has sold its building on Williamson Street. On May 18, MTI Headquarters will be relocating to the WEAC Building at 33 Nob Hill Road. We are confident that our move will be of major benefit to MTI members. The larger meeting space and parking capacity, along with the proximity to our State and regional partners, are real assets. MTI staff services and support for MTI members will continue uninterrupted during the move. MTI’s phone number will remain the same (608) 257-0491. MTI’s mailing address will change to: 33 Nob Hill Road, Madison, WI 53713. MTI is moving … forward!