Teachers unions discuss merger

Citing a decline in union membership of about 30% since the passage of Act 10 in 2011, leaders of the state’s two largest teachers unions, WEAC (Wisconsin Education Association Council) and AFT-Wisconsin (American Federation of Teachers), are discussing a merger. Act 10, the state’s new collective bargaining law, prohibits unions from bargaining over working conditions or benefits and made paying union dues optional. If an agreement is reached, a merger of the two unions would not occur until 2014 at the earliest.