Owen-Withee School Board Receives Update on Union Re-certification
Tuesday, November 19th, 2013 -- 8:14 AM
-The Owen-Withee School Board heard about the teachers? union re-certification situation at their meeting last week.Owen-Withee District Administrator Bob Houts presented to the Board a review of the support staff and teachers? union re-certification situation.
When Act 10 was implemented in 2011, unions were required to do an annual re-certification election. Both the Owen-Withee unions did re-certify in 2011. Lawsuits brought by several different groups caused the legality of the re-certification votes to be in question, so the WERC suspended these elections for 2012.
Last spring, the courts decided that yes, the re-certification votes were legal, with some modifications. So, the WERC gathered information and the district complied with election notification requirements.
In October of 2013, the WERC Commissioners were found to be in contempt of court by the Dane County Circuit Court. So, the elections are once again postponed until this is sorted out in court. The Wisconsin Supreme Court began the process of reviewing this matter and will make a decision in the coming months.
As of today, both the bargaining units of the OWEA, teacher and support staff, are the official bargaining units for base wage negotiations. The Board recognizes the OWEA and will continue to do so until something changes.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.