Wisconsin Wave Continues: Students’ Interests Overtake Union Demands

Rachel Sheffield / May 03, 2011

It began in Wisconsin, but it’s not stopping there. When legislators in the Badger State moved to reform unions’ collective bargaining power earlier this year, their action not only stirred movement in their own state but sent a ripple effect across the nation. And it continues to spread.

As Charles Krauthammer noted in February, “Wisconsin is the epicenter. … When Gov. Scott Walker proposed that state workers contribute more to their pension and health-care benefits, he started a revolution.”

This revolution has extended to states near and far, including Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Tennessee, and New Hampshire.

While much of the debate around the curbing of union power centers on its role in balancing the budgets of debt-laden states, this “revolution” is also profoundly important to promoting critically needed improvements in the nation’s education system. (more…)