Supporters of Wisconsin Governor (Who Say Fire Teachers on Strike) Direct Their Anger at Doctors for Signing Excuse-notes for Protesters

Excuse Notes from Doctors at Protests Draw Scrutiny

February 21, 2011

AP – Doctors who wrote medical notes over the weekend excusing protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol from work are getting slammed with angry phone calls and profane e-mails from people telling them they deserve to be thrown in jail, one doctor said Sunday.

The physicians wore lab coats Saturday as they stood on a street corner and offered medical notes to the tens of thousands of protesters who paraded past them. The protesters were rallying against a Republican-backed state bill that would eliminate collective bargaining rights for most state workers.

One of the doctors was Lou Sanner, 59, who practices family medicine at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health. Sanner said he gave out hundreds of notes and that many protesters with whom he spoke seemed to be suffering from stress.

"Some people think it's a nod-and-a-wink thing but it's not," he told The Associated Press on Sunday. "One of the biggest stresses in life is the threat of loss of income, loss of job, loss of health insurance. People have actually been getting ill from this, or they can't sleep." [Editor's Note: The teachers are not losing their jobs or benefits; they are being asked to contribute 12% to their health care premiums and 5.8% to their pensions.]

Many of the protesters who chanted for lawmakers to "kill the bill" at the protests were teachers who missed classroom time during the week to attend the rallies. In some districts, teacher absences were so widespread that entire schools were shut down for as many as three days.

As faculty absences grew, districts warned that teachers who missed time without prior approval or a doctor's note could face disciplinary action, including docked pay for the days they were out.

Sanner and several of his colleagues from the university offered to sign doctors' notes that said,

"To Whom It May Concern: This is to confirm I have seen and evaluated the above named patient. Please excuse from work/school due to a medical condition" followed by blanks for the dates and the physician's name, signature and medical license number.

It's not clear how well-received the notes will be.

Madison Schools Superintendent Daniel Nerad, who closed his district's schools from Wednesday through Friday because so many teachers called in sick, said officials were aware of the doctors' note-signing station.

"We're reviewing how we go forward in case where those types of notes are provided," he said Sunday. "I don't know yet what the conclusion will be."

Sanner said his intent in signing notes was to perform a public service. He said that's why he and his colleagues were stunned when they returned home Saturday night to find their e-mail inboxes filled with profane messages saying the doctors should be ashamed and should go to jail.

The doctors also got swamped by hostile phone calls and Facebook messages from across the U.S., he said.

"We're not political activists. We were surprised at the nationwide organized vitriol that has come our way so quickly," he said. "Apparently we hit a nerve. I've been a doctor for 30 years. I kind of missed when politics got this viral, this national."

He said he and his colleagues planned to meet Sunday night to figure out how to deal with the firestorm they touched off. The consequences could extend to their employer, which said it was investigating the events.

UW Health released a statement saying it couldn't confirm whether any of its doctors were involved in writing notes. It added that any doctors who distributed such material did so of their own accord and not on behalf of the university.

"We are looking further into this matter," the statement said.

Teachers are Protesting During School Hours While Being Paid 'Sick Leave' with Taxpayer Dollars; Angry Wisconsin Dad Says Fire 'Sick' Teachers Who Protest Budget Bill

Officials with the Hudson School District in Wisconsin have decided to cancel classes Friday because of what they call 'the unusually high teacher absences.' District officials also cited a lack of qualified substitutes. The state's largest school district has joined those that have canceled classes due to teacher shortages caused by union protests at the state Capitol. Officials say more than 600 of the 5,400 teachers in Milwaukee Public Schools called in sick Friday to attend the protests over Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill. The district has more than 82,000 students at 184 schools. Schools in Madison, Janesville, Wisconsin Dells and other districts around Wisconsin are also closed. Teachers and other state union workers are upset that Republican Gov. Scott Walker wants to curtail their collective bargaining rights and is asking them to contribute more to their health insurance and pensions. Angry public workers have packed the state Capitol in Madison in protest. - 'Unusually High Teacher Absences' Closes Hudson Schools, FreeRepublic.com, February 18, 2011

Mary Bell, the president of Wisconsin's powerful teachers' union, called on teachers to return to work as scheduled Monday rather than continue absences to protest, which has shut down public schools across the state. She said unions agreed to cuts in health care and retirement benefits that could reduce take-home pay for many workers by about 8 percent, and it was time for the Republican governor to compromise. Governor Scott Walker said he did not believe union leaders were really interested in giving up their benefits; and cities, school districts and counties will need weakened unions to cut spending for years to come. Walker said he would not compromise and predicted Wisconsin would pave the way for other states to follow suit, much like it did with welfare reform and school vouchers in the 1990s. - Wisconsion GOP ups pressure on Dems to return and vote, Associated Press, February 20, 2011

February 18, 2011

Steve Helmer (Yahoo! Contributor Network) - Like many parents, I went to bed Wednesday night aware of the protests going on in Madison in opposition of a new bill that would eliminate collective bargaining for state employees. I knew there were some school districts around Madison that had to shut down because of the number of teachers who called in sick so they could join in.

To be honest with you, it wasn't until the next morning, when I woke up and learned schools here in Beaver Dam (about a half hour from Madison) and some of the other districts were closed for the same reason that I felt the real effect.

And, I'm angry.

Until today, I was on the fence about this bill. The fact that my daughter could not go to school, and I had to try to explain the reason, pretty much put me in support of it.

When I heard the news my first response was "fire them." And, I still stand by that. If it were up to me, every teacher that called in sick and didn't have a doctor's excuse would be unemployed tomorrow or, at very least, suspended without pay.

And, this isn't because I don't understand their point of view. Without the backing of the union, they will see their benefits reduced or will have to pay more out of pocket for those benefits. The problem is there are plenty of us in the private sector who are experiencing the same thing and plenty of others without health insurance and pension plans. In other words, we really don't have a reason to care. They chose their profession and, if they aren't happy with the pay and benefits, they are more than welcome to choose a new one.

The worst part of this isn't the fact our kids aren't in school or the fact some parents had to take unpaid days off from work to take care of their kids (or pay for daycare). It's the tension it has created. Views are strong on both sides and, while I still think most parents share my opinion, I have heard some heated arguments from people in support of this. My wife was even verbally abused by a stranger when she voiced her opinion to a friend.

We are also left with a lot of doubt. After school programs, including sports, are still scheduled but we don't know if we will have classes or not. And, now that the Democratic senate minority has delayed a vote by apparently leaving the state, there's no telling how long we have to put up with this mess.

In other words, it is not a fun time for Wisconsin parents right now.

Steve Helmer is a Beaver Dam, Wis., resident.

Reagan Fired Air Traffic Controllers Who Went on Strike in 1981

Wikipedia - The Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization or PATCO was a United States trade union which operated from 1968 until its decertification in 1981 following a strike which was broken by the Reagan Administration. The 1981 strike and defeat of PATCO has been called "one of the most important events in late twentieth century U.S. labor history."

In the 1980 presidential election, PATCO (along with the Teamsters and the Air Line Pilots Association) refused to back President Jimmy Carter, instead endorsing Republican Party candidate Ronald Reagan. PATCO's refusal to endorse the Democratic Party stemmed in large part from poor labor relations with the FAA (the employer of PATCO members) under the Carter administration and Ronald Reagan's endorsement of the union and its struggle for better conditions during the 1980 election campaign.

On August 3, 1981, during a press conference regarding the PATCO strike, President Reagan stated:

"They are in violation of the law and if they do not report for work within 48 hours they have forfeited their jobs and will be terminated."

On August 3, 1981 the union declared a strike, seeking better working conditions, better pay and a 32-hour workweek. In doing so, the union violated a law [5 U.S.C. (Supp. III 1956) 118p.] that banned strikes by government unions. Ronald Reagan declared the PATCO strike a "peril to national safety" and ordered them back to work under the terms of the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947. Only 1,300 of the nearly 13,000 controllers returned to work. Subsequently, Reagan demanded those remaining on strike return to work within 48 hours, otherwise their jobs would be forfeited.

At the same time Transportation Secretary Drew Lewis organized for replacements and started contingency plans. By prioritizing and cutting flights severely, and even adopting methods of air traffic management PATCO had previously lobbied for, the government was initially able to have 50% of flights available.

On August 5, following the PATCO workers' refusal to return to work, Reagan fired the 11,345 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order, and banned them from federal service for life. (This ban was later rescinded by President Bill Clinton in 1993.)

In the wake of the strike and mass firings, the FAA was faced with the task of hiring and training enough controllers to replace those that had been fired, a hard problem to fix as at the time it took three years in normal conditions to train a new controller. They were replaced initially with nonparticipating controllers, supervisors, staff personnel, some nonrated personnel, and in some cases by controllers transferred temporarily from other facilities. Some military controllers were also used until replacements could be trained. The FAA had initially claimed that staffing levels would be restored within two years; however, it would take closer to ten years before the overall staffing levels returned to normal. PATCO was decertified on October 22, 1981.

Some former striking controllers were allowed to reapply after 1986 and were rehired; they and their replacements are now represented by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, which was organized in 1987 and had no connection with PATCO.