Wisconsin teachers and collective bargaining

[Quantum Windbag]

Ever wonder, exactly, what it is that has the teachers union up in arms in Wisconsin? It seems that, if they loose collective bargaining, they can no longer demand that school districts buy insurance from them.

Districts that buy WEA Trust plans average $1,665 a month for family premiums, according to their state association, while those choosing other carriers average $1,466. The difference is greatest where taxpayers cover the whole premium.
Milton was paying $48,301 more in premiums for every month that it couldn't switch from WEA Trust to a pair of plans from Madison-based Dean Health and Janesville-based MercyCare that it said were comparable. The district already had switched its administrative staff, said Nikolay, and while the union objected that the new plans would restrict choices, most teachers already used doctors at Dean or MercyCare clinics, Nikolay noted. "That made it less problematic for a lot of our families."
And it saved a bundle for a district saddled with "bleak local economic conditions," as its arbitration case put it. It is losing students and, thus, state aid. The area is losing population. The district needed to control premiums, and the arbitrator agreed.
The question is why it had to go to arbitration at all. The answer is that in Wisconsin, school districts can't change health carriers - even if they keep benefits the same - without negotiating. And teachers unions have been very partial to keeping WEA Trust.

How Milton schools saved a bundle - of your money - JSOnline


I wonder how many liberals here are going to back off their defense of an evil corporation monopoly that is charging extra money and driving up health care costs.


Any bets on that from the evil, corporation loving, union busting, conservatives here?