|
kat321 -> RE: GOP set to roll back child labor laws (6/15/2011 9:02:12 PM)
|
This legislation needs to be taken into account with all the newly proposed legislation in the state.
The governor is planning to cut at least 900 million dollars from education and has recently abolished collective bargaining rights for most public employees. What this means for the education system is that many teachers have retired (in order to receive the pensions they were promised,) and school districts, unable to fund new hires with the impending cuts, are simply letting the vacant positions go unfilled. The consequences of this decision are many, but most readily seen are a rise in class sizes along with baffled school districts trying to figure out how students can meet graduation requirements when the schools do not have the personnel to cover the courses. What many WI districts have done is DECREASE the number of courses in the school day along with DECREASING the number of credits required for graduation. This means students, especially those not focused on college matriculation can finish high school much earlier. In many WI rural communities, students have no motivation to take extra coursework, and even if they did, many of the schools, with the new cuts, will not be able to offer elective or advanced coursework. The 16 and 17 year-olds need to go somewhere.... and this legislation allows them to enter the workplace.
Now, the spill over issue is if WI cannot find jobs for adults with high school diplomas now, how will the influx of young, inexperienced (read: CHEAP) labor impact the employment situation? (Of course, the governor is banking on major tax breaks for businesses bringing in new corporations who will employ the older unemployed workers.... but that has not happened yet.....)
|
|
|
|
