Protests In Wisconsin

[Munchkin03]

Originally Posted by Ghostwriter

A typical teacher in Milwaukee makes ~$60K in salary with another ~40K in benefits thrown in.

My daughter who teaches in NC makes ~$35K in salary and another $25K in benefits. She lives in one of the most expensive areas of NC which is very comparable to Milwaukee.

It's really hard to use personal evidence and weigh it against statistics, since you have no idea what the "average" teacher tenure is in Milwaukee (maybe it's 20 years!), or what the educational requirements are (some districts still allow teachers to be licensed with just a BA, while others require one Master's and will increase your salary considerably if you get a second).

I'm not sure what they want--do they not want to pay more for their retirement and health benefits, or do they want to keep collective bargaining?

To the first, I say welcome to the real world. I pay considerably more than these people do towards my 401(k) and health care, and I have what are considered "excellent benefits" for the private sector. Also, the fact that you're still guaranteed a pension is nothing short of amazing. Its the complaints I've been hearing about this which is probably why they're not getting a whole ton of sympathy about this from the rest of the state and country.

To the second, I can see keeping collective bargaining. I'm union-neutral at best (probably just anti-union), but I understand how it can help public employees to some extent.