MADISON, Wisc. – The more we look at the situation in Wisconsin, the more we recognize a successful education model that the rest of the nation would be wise to learn from.

Yesterday we published a story about how the state’s public’s schools were able to absorb huge cuts in state funding in recent years without thousands of layoffs or mass elimination of student programs. That was due to Act 10, a 2011 law that allows school boards to adjust massive labor costs without union interference.

Now we’re learning that another important result of Act 10 – the end of forced union membership  – has convinced the shrunken remains of the state’s two largest teachers unions to strongly consider a merger.

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An official with one of those unions says the new combined union may try a new approach that would put less emphasis on collective bargaining and confrontation and more emphasis on professional development for teachers, according to a report from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

With any luck, the new union may have a lot in common with the Association of American Educators, a teachers professional association that has picked up hundreds of new members in Wisconsin and appears to have a great deal of momentum.

There’s no doubt that Act 10 has been devastating for Wisconsin’s teachers union. The Wisconsin Education Association Council, the largest teachers union in the state, has lot about one-third of its peak 98,000 members while AFT-Wisconsin has lost more than 1,000 from its peak of about 16,000 members.

The loss of membership has led to a loss of union dues revenue and political clout in the state capitol.

The two unions appear to be close to a merger forged by necessity. The new organization would be called Wisconsin Together, and preliminary governance documents have been drafted and posted for members to inspect, according to the news story.

A final membership vote on the merger is scheduled for April 26. If it’s approved, Wisconsin will join Minnesota, Florida, North Dakota, Montana and New York as states with merged teachers unions.

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What’s more interesting than the merger itself is the new approach the new union may take. According to the article, there may be less focus on trying to run school districts through a myriad of negotiated contract provisions and more attention to helping teachers become better teachers.

That’s only logical, since Act 10 has limited the unions to negotiating over salary. They can no longer control districts by pushing through a host of rules and restrictions in their labor contracts.

“I think Act 10 was a huge eye-opener,” Kim Kohlhaas, president of AFT-Wisconsin, was quoted as saying. “I think historically even the union got caught up in (collective bargaining), and it used to be a lot of contract organization. This allows us to focus on that completely differently.

“This is an organization that would allow us to provide professional resources in addition to being a voice for good working conditions.”

Just think – a teachers union actually helping teachers become better at their work, instead of constantly focusing on confrontation with school administrators and left wing political activism.

That sounds a lot like the Association of American Educators, which has been gaining traction with Wisconsin teachers. The organization, which stresses professional development and provides legal representation and various types of insurance for members, has gone from 150 members in the state prior to Act 10 and is now closing in on 1,000, the news report said.

AAE does not negotiate on behalf of groups of teachers – it considers its members degreed professionals who can negotiate their compensation independently – and does not deduct forced dues from member paychecks. It also avoids participation in partisan politics, something that had become an expensive preoccupation for Wisconsin unions before the law changed.

Membership is fully voluntary and dues are significantly less expensive than those imposed by teachers unions.