Frederica Freyberg:

More recall politics now. What's the difference between an endorsement and a recommendation? The Wisconsin Education Association Council recommended a Democratic recall candidate for governor last week. Some of the union's own members balked at having to learn about that recommendation in the papers rather than being involved in the decision. There are also reports and rumors of WEAC asking Democratic candidates to take a Grover Norquist-style pledge, a promise to restore collective bargaining if the candidate is elected governor. WEAC President Mary Bell joins us now, and thanks for doing so.

Mary Bell:

Thank you.

Frederica Freyberg:

Even as I said that, you almost snorted, kind of, there.

Mary Bell:

I don't know how you end a lie or a rumor that's out there that is simply not true. We had interview questions that we asked of every candidate, and in every single instance we asked about collective bargaining. That isn't a surprise. We're a union. We believe in it and we were the first under attack under Act 10 just a year ago. But it was never, and would never be, that they would sign a pledge. When someone is in office there are many decisions that have to be made that affect what they can and cannot do, but a commitment to restoring collective bargaining rights, that's really important to my members.

Frederica Freyberg:

And which candidates, potential candidates, did you query about this?

Mary Bell:

We interviewed a number of people, and we had people that we had other conversations with because they weren't necessarily full candidates, but we talked to Kathleen Vinehout, as well as Kathleen Falk. We talked to State Senator Tim Cullen. We talked to former Congressman Steven Kagan. We had interviews, per se, with a number of people.

Frederica Freyberg:

Why did you choose Kathleen Falk?

Mary Bell:

It's really clear to us and our board of directors, which is 76 members from around the state who are elected to represent other members, and so when they had their deliberations, it was clear that she had executive experience, she had a passion and commitment about the issues that our members care about, and she has the potential, because of the history that she has of working together, as management, with employees to heal some deep wounds that Governor Walker has created in this state. Those were compelling reasons to my board.

Frederica Freyberg:

She also has said that she would veto any state budget that did not restore collective bargaining rights.

Mary Bell:

Yes. She has a very honest stance that says returning collective bargaining rights to public employees is important to her. That was not a litmus test, but it was something that mattered, that there was strategy that we believed would return collective bargaining rights. But every candidate that we talked to believed in collective bargaining rights and had a way that they believed they could be successful in restoring them.

Frederica Freyberg:

And so why come out early and make this-- is it an endorsement, first of all, or a recommendation?

Mary Bell:

They are recommendations. Recommendations allow us to talk to our members about the strengths we see in a particular candidate. Recommendations never end a discussion. Recommendations begin a discussion. They don't end a primary process. And quite honestly, the Democratic candidates that we talked to all had very significant advantages. There were things that put Kathleen Falk above and beyond in our board's eyes and in our eyes and that's why the recommendation came forward. Why so early? Because the recall season could be over by the end of May. That's an incredibly short window to talk to all members across the state in an election that is as important to my members as any I can remember.

Frederica Freyberg:

Speaking of your members, how do you respond to some rank and file being concerned that they kind of didn't have enough of a voice in that recommendation?

Mary Bell:

Yeah. Well, the positive is that people are more engaged and more involved and more connected to this election than any I can remember. But the reality is that our processes don't have a window for recall elections. That was never anticipated when our bylaws were adopted. So what we did with our board of directors was adopt a policy that we thought got representative voices into the room, members from around the state who work in schools and classrooms every day, people who are working with local unions across the state, and they engaged in quite a debate and discussion about all of the things that I hear from my members. They determined that we needed to move forward because as a union we thought we needed to have those conversations with our members about a candidate we felt was important.

Frederica Freyberg:

How big of a financial hit did Act 10 cause WEAC?

Mary Bell:

Well, we've talked last fall about what the layoff situation was.

Frederica Freyberg:

What about for the union itself in terms of union dues collection?

Mary Bell:

Well, I mean, we had one-third of our membership that literally was not under contract, so we went back to sign them up. That creates a hole in any budget that you create or that you've built. And so there are not the resources that we had. But our major resource was staffing. We took that hit last fall, but we're feeling it this spring.

Frederica Freyberg:

What kind of political force then does WEAC have today compared to a year ago today?

Mary Bell:

We have members and we have friends in every corner in every district of this state. To tell them what the union's recommendation is is really an important force, I believe, and to have those conversations, because the recall election may be a short season, but it's going to be filled with interesting conversations.

Frederica Freyberg:

Indeed. Mary Bell, thank you very much.

Mary Bell:

Thank you.