The picket signs said “Fair Contract NOW!” on one side, and “Do the Right Thing!” on the other side. Displayed in their classrooms, on the windows, desks and walls.
July 1, 2008 - Teachers in Wisconsin now have a "right" to post signs in classrooms supporting their side in a labor dispute, according to the state Court of Appeals.
The Milwaukee School Board filed the appeal after Milwaukee County Circuit Judge David Hansher affirmed a decision by the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission that the board had not established sufficient reason for banning the signs.The Milwaukee Teachers’ Education Association, the union representing the teachers, suggested that the signs be posted after attempts to reach a contract agreement for 2003-’05 failed. The teachers began wearing buttons during the school day that stated “attract and retain” in March 2004. A month later teachers displayed two-sided, 11x14-inch signs in their classrooms on windows, desks and walls.
The union later encouraged teachers to display the signs more visibly, particularly during parent-teacher conferences, along with letters from the union. The commission and the Appeals Court found that the signs did not constitute political advocacy activities that are banned by School Board policy.
The Appeals Court decision was written by Judge Wedemeyer.
----------------------
“The board cannot discriminate against concerted teachers’ activity by issuing a blanket prohibition on union-related signs while permitting a variety of other non-instructional materials to be posted by teachers, which has been left to the personal discretion of the teachers.”
TT - The case is Milwaukee Board of School Directors v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, Docket #2007AP000840 PDF
