Teachers in Wisconsin are earning less money and exiting the profession at higher rates than they were before the state restricted unions’ collective-bargaining rights, concludes a study from the Center for American Progress.
The report from the think tank finds that median salaries and benefits for teachers fell 12.6 percent, or about $11,000, between the passage of Act 10 in 2011 and the 2015-16 school year.
The rate of teachers leaving the profession also saw a sharp increase right after Act 10 passed, the analysis found, going from 6.4 percent in the 2009-10 school year to 10.5 percent in 2010-11. By 2015-16, the exit rate was 8.8 percent.
Wisconsin teachers tend to be less experienced now as well, dropping from 19.6 percent of teachers with fewer than five years of experience to 24.1 percent over five years after the law passed.
The report does not show a definitive causal link between Act 10 and these changes, plus the state underwent budget cuts over the same period.
