The American public school problem rests in an aging and shrinking white European majority with a below replacement level birthrate and a decreasing European white life expectancy. As long as the importance and quality of public schools depends upon color aks race no teachers union can effectively deal with the issue.
"Strong unions tend to be effective at securing gains for workers."
And strong unions are effective at securing losses for state and local governments, crowding out spending with their excessive pension and retiree healthcare plans. Teaches, via their unions, agree to vote for Democratic politicians and in exchange Democratic politicians agree to lard up teachers's retirement benefits. Win-win, er, except that the big blue states are close to bankruptcy because of this graft.
4
Unions only create one thing: Unemployment. Read Hazlitt for the facts, and avoid Krugman and Keynes. If you want to see teachers actually getting paid for being as good as they are - which means, seeing worthless teachers getting fired and worthwhile teachers getting hired and promoted - then bring back the pre-Progressive era of free-market education. Or else, just stick your head in the sand.
1
...except that you don't get worthwhile teachers if the salaries are terrible. Which is the case in many of these states. You have older teachers whose raises are lower than cost of living increases, who increasingly have to pay for school supplies. Would you mind returning to late 19th century literacy rates while were at it? And not the New England ones (where there were public schools), the ones across the south.
3
The decline in middle class income has tracked perfectly the decline in union membership. But keep up the propaganda, corporate bot tool. Just look at Germany before you spew against unionism.
2
If the Democratic party wasn't too busy clinging to it's corporate apron strings, unions might have a counter weight to Republican right-to-work efforts.
5
Destroy teachers unions, destroy the middle class. That’s the idea.
3
It is the teachers who will get themselves more money. Their efforts.
Where has this Union been all these years? It looks like these school Unions have been neutered. Or, they don't care to elevate teachers salaries. ??? Both? I know I pay a lot of local school taxes.
I don't mind paying teachers a big salary! Pay them.. $100K -$200K a year- Fine with me.. BUT WHY A LIFETIME PENSION? Why can't they contribute to a 401K like everyone else? That should be SOP for all public unions. Unfunded liabilities are crippling cities and states nationwide.
2
A reasonable suggestion. As a university professor, my retirement is in a defined contribution plan. I have a limited choice of moderating risk. I can see the argument.
While in tenth grade my English teacher spoke just a few words each class. A student would announce the simple assignment for that day. In eleventh grade the teacher spent half his time on Union assignments, while in the twelfth grade, the chemistry teacher, came to class twice the whole year, the rest on Union assignments. So while the Union “provided a kind of social glue and solidarity” for the teachers, the students languished and their lives were damaged. Who are the “powerful antagonists” that the article envisions? The middle and working class taxpayers of Arizona? Should a group of aggressive state employees be able to exercise monopolistic power and hold the rest of the population hostage? Why shouldn’t all workers elect and be protected from “arbitrary bosses”? And who are these “arbitrary bosses”? The taxpayers? In some localities such as New York City, senior teachers make more than 100k per year, get generous health plans and are entitled to a pension valued at two million over 20 years, much more than the local median compensation for other workers, while American students perform below 25th in industrialized countries’ academic achievement. The union does empower a group of citizens to shake down the “greedy” disparate citizenry who must pay the bill. The author positive view of teachers unions’ militancy as a tool of worker empowerment elevating their consciousness and social(ist) solidarity must be the result of a major university education on his part.
1
I am all for paying good teachers a good salary. The problem with union contracts is that school systems cannot fire incompetent or even abusive teachers--NYC and Chicago come to mind.
Another issue: The Union should have no say in the closing of under attended schools nor the combining of schools to improve education.
2
Sorry sir, this meme of not being able to fire an educator is an outright lie.
If tenure is not yet achieved, 3-5yrs typical, a teacher can be dismissed out right.
With tenure steps and due process must be followed. That is where problems occur. Principals are lax in documentation and proof. Without that, yes, dismissal can be long and grueling. Unions don't want bad eggs just as the district doesn't.
Please stop spreading this trope.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.3102/0162373711414704#sec-13
http://www.shankerinstitute.org/blog/look-inside-principals-decisions-di...
4
As a teacher in the NYC metro area, I can speak for many when I say I would not be doing my job without the backing of a GREAT union.
Children, with good or bad parents, need dedicated teachers on their side. Many young people today are not choosing to go into teaching because there are no incentives. Soon, extremely dumb/under-qualified people will be teaching NYC kids. A lot of charter school teachers quit after five years because of the demand that they put on their staff members working from 8 to 6 without over-time pay. Former Mayor Bloomberg created the five year teacher burn out. He’s a businessman trying to bring big business public education. I need the union to do a good job. My union ensures things like dental, hearing, and eye care, things everyone should have not just teachers.
If you wants smart people teaching your kids you need to advocate for unions-end of story.
16
So prior to unions no one got educated.
Come on, be serious.
2
You’re a hero.
1
REMEMBER THIS: Unions are the people who fought and died so you can have, an 8 hour work day, weekends, overtime pay, minimum wage, collective bargaining, paid sick days, paid vacations, unemployment benefits, a middle class, pensions, social security, Veteran employment and training services, paid military leave, wrongful termination laws, an end to child labor, safety standards in the workplace and much much more!
If you don’t have these rights, form a union and fight for them. If you do, thank the Unions in this country!
Richest 1% in America control more wealth that the bottom 50%.
17
Congratulations and thanks to the courageous educators and their supporters who went on strike until they got decent raises and better funding for public education.
The inhumane people who have gotten control of OUR governments at all levels are primarily inherited-wealth, entitled men and women who have no social conscience and are perhaps the greediest people to ever walk the planet.
Public education - without children/parents having to pay directly as they do in 3rd world countries - has made America Great.
WE THE PEOPLE must support teachers and other educators while we demand that they put money into decent salaries for teachers, decent classrooms, books and other supplies instead of "administrative" costs. OUR kids lives are at stake. OUR United States of America democracy is at stake.
10
Historically, unions have been subject to the immutable law that power corrupts. But it is no coincidence that the decline in the power of unions to bargain for and achieve improved pay and benefits for their members has paralleled the widening pay-gap gulf between the middle and lower classes and the "haves."
Aided and abetted by a political party that speaks with a forked tongue out of both sides of its mouth, the rise of industrial and banking/financial oligarchs has put America in a situation analogous to that of the European royal dynasties circa 1200-1800 AD. Donald Trump is more attuned to King George III than he is to George Washington.
Those of us who work for our livelihoods and our supposed "golden years" have allowed red herrings like gun rights and immigration and racial/religious prejudice to be used to keep us in our places.
It is time to bring back strong unions. It is also imperative that corruption prevention be built into the foundations of unions. Strong and truly democratic unions are essential to a strong and truly democratic America.
7
I would like to propose that Union spirit does not exist in and of itself. It may very well be that where there is continuing repression of individuality the strength to fight back may be insufficient to push back against pervasive bullying.
The whole notion of this "analysis" depends on the same insufficiencies that most analyses rely, that is that once a clear result is obtained there is little gamble in stating the obvious. The threat of mass firings in Wisconsin was more than enough to quiet a public work force which was embarrassed to be gainful in an economy held at bay by ignorant policies, policies that flew in the face of a proletariat, if you will, that was suffering and dependant om the legitimacy of a political infrastructure that in itself, was weak.
The dialectical opposites were available in West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona where mining interests have been excoriated and where right to work is a mentality that has been hard to supplant. I would further suggest that strong unions such as UMWA, SEIU, and AFT just to choose a few do not exist for the singular and traditional bargaining rights of wages, hours and working conditions, but also live by and within the community lives where needs exist.
2
I met a teacher from Wisconsin who worked in a school where, after s long school day, they were forced to clean up because the custodial staff had been let go.
7
Thanks to the internet, any citizen can look up the actual statistics on teacher's pay.....it quickly becomes obvious that teachers are NOT underpaid. Nor are they overworked. And yes, I have monitored the schools that my children attended.......there's fewer kids per classroom than when us Baby Boomers were shotgunned thru the Public School System with equally shabby desks, poor supplies and textbooks that had five years worth of scribbling and comments about "so and so" and Hitler with sunglassees and a middle finger.
Teachers "assistants" now inhabit every classroom(back in the old days of REAL union struggles...this was called "featherbedding").......Teacher's have the most secure jobs on the planet...they know it....they just dont want YOU to know it. Also, even without my tinfoil hat on....its obvious that this "strike for better pay" is a Nationaly Organized event, not to help teachers, but to simply use teachers as pawns in a giant deathmatch between the entrenched forces of Washington Bureaucracy and the challengers from the 21st Century..
6
come try my job for a day- I have 30 kids and no assistant :)
11
Hello Hugo. I won't address your opinions point by point but I am compelled to address one concern you expressed that is the the assignment of teaching assistants to classrooms. I am not sure if you are aware but many exceptional youngsters who were once placed in highly restrictive settings isolated from their community schools and peers are now placed within the community and local
Schools. In order to assist these children reach their potential both academically and socially it becomes necessary to place assistants within regular classrooms. Thank you for listening
11
Where ever it is that you teach it’s certainly not in my state. While we have had stronger unions than most other states, our teachers are not paid nearly enough. Teachers should be making about $75,000 a year.
6
The teachers were from the GOP red states whose Republicans want all the money and won’t share the wealth. Why are the politicians making more than the teachers? It is just plain greed for the Republicans and it is rampant in America and no union is going to really change anything . Vote out the greedy GOP in mid terms .
9
One of the interesting aspects of the 2018 strike wave is the major omission in demands: a right to join a union and engage in collective bargaining in those Stayes.
8
Education seems to be most effective when it is conducted and managed from a local level. Like many things in life....the Highway to Hell is paved with Good Intentions. For some bizarre reason, we in the United States thought it would be good to allow people who work for The People...to Unionize....just like they do in Europe. Then, these local government workers unions began to organize nationally. And we arrive in the 21st century, having finally destroyed what was once the finest Public Education System in the World. And the Teacher's Unions refuse to take any responsibility for that....despite being the most powerful voting block in every district of the USA....according to the Teachers Union .... our schools are terrible...because they dont get paid enough to teach and if student arent learnign anything....its the parents fault.
1
“But, in the end, there is no substitute for a strong union in a long-term struggle against powerful antagonists.”
But in the short term, the teachers themselves made the difference. Alone.
I used to belong to the United Steelworkers of America. We got no help from National and our meeting attending membership fell from 400 to about 16. All due to the union’s failure to do anything.
3
Sounds similar to where steelworkers' locals were restricted to mom-and-pop companies that had little choice but to shut down when the industry left the area. Yes, I knew union presidents who were working out of their cars until going to another field was their only recourse.
You are correct, it is when the strength of the members is applied to strengthening the body that we prevail.
2
Public teachers should not have the privilege to bargain with government. George Meany and FDR were against it. It represents a monopoly in practice with price fixing, inefficiencies and a push to eliminate healthy competition.
6
Farley smoot. The same holds true for police and firefighters. Are you suggesting that we put those services out to bid. No one should be comfortable with charter schools or charter police and fire depts.
6
"privilege" to bargain with government? These underpaid and overworked teachers aren't bargaining with the "gubinment". They are negotitaing better working conditions in their own communities, with local school boards, and when that fails, going to the State House.
Interesting to note, the teachers (and schools) with the lowest funding levels are in Republican dominated States that passed so-called Right to Work legislation, to weaken Unions.
So finally these teachers decided, enough was enough, and enjoyed a high level of public support in their communities for better pay, and more school funding..
1
If the unions are strongly for both their members and the school children, teachers will follow them. Maybe not the first year or two, but in anti-education red states it will not be much longer than that. The union should definitely also expose and condemn those opposed to quality education.
If wishy-washy unions in red states are not demanding higher teacher pay, a better student teacher ratio, and other expenditures the kids need, and I do mean demanding, what use are they? Organize outside the union, and hope the union either will follow along or at least will stay out of the way.
1
Higher teacher pay and student-teacher ratio i.e .more teachers are fundamentally opposite of each other.
Which one do you prioritize and think has the bigger impact on educational outcomes?
In reply to Dan T, higher teacher pay and better student teacher ratios are NOT "fundamentally opposite of each other". If you support the claims of several Republican lawmakers and governors that only a fixed and small amount of money will go to educating children, you might believe that. During the past month, teachers in three states have proved that to be false by demanding and getting both. Notice that Arizona teachers refused an offer that would have given them the same pay raise but would have resulted in no additional funding for educational needs.
Which do I prioritize? When you are growing potted plants, which do you prioritize - enough sunlight or enough water? And so it is with children. In some states you must fight for both. Note that I did not write about the situation in all states, or even in all red states, just the situation in the anti-education red states where classrooms overflow and most teachers , even those with master's degrees, work second jobs.
6
I am not a Republican - I was a teacher for over 10 years.
Here in MD we have the teacher union demanding raises equal to over 4 step increases when education is already over 50% of the counties budget.
If the teachers said give us a 3-step raise and use the rest of the funds to hire additional teachers to reduce the classroom sizes, that would be a lot more palatable. It's very clear where the priority really is though.
Fundamentally, the goal of unions is to give a collective voice to a community of workers who want a decent share of the pie. For teachers this has meant a salary and benefits that reflect their educational level and their continuing investment in their own professional education. Teachers are public servants but they deserve more than a servant's pay. In states where teachers have no collective bargaining rights, salaries have eroded, teachers leave the profession in droves, educational achievement of students is low and now labor relations border on the chaotic. Why would anyone defend this state of affairs? A vigorous union movement is a just start, but it is a necessary step.
12
Ok, I'll take a counter-argument here with a few points to consider:
* Not all teachers are equal. Giving equal raises to all teachers leaves little ability to reward the indispensable teachers that provide so much value.
* Educational achievement in the developed world does not correlate with teacher salary.
* Smaller class size provides more benefit than higher-compensated teachers. Both these goals compete for the same funds.
4
Low, inadequate teacher wages only attract bad, unqualified teachers. The result is poorly educated students regardless of class size.
4
Dan T, I notice that you oppose giving equal pay raises to all teachers. I notice that that is what teachers got in only one of the states mentioned here, Oklahoma. Does that mean that you supported other methods of pay raises when teachers in other states sought them? (In the case of West Virginia, where teachers got so little before and only got a 5% pay raise, did you argue that it should have been more?) Or is this just a straw man to hide the fact that you are not for more pay for better teachers either? In the cases of Oklahoma and West Virginia, given how little teachers will make after pay raises, how many millions of dollars do you want to add to that with the proviso that it goes only to better teachers?
4
What about "Can angry parents get teachers more money?"
How can parents expect their children to be educated when so little money is put in service of that education? Do parents even care? Is the only way to "care" to send your children to private school? (Private school teachers aren't paid that much, either, but there tend to be enough supplies, at least -- and the parents, feeling they have an investment to protect, become partners with teachers.)
1
That's exactly what Secretary of Education wants to do - decimate the public school systems funding, destroy any collective bargaining for teachers, then divert the money to private and religious schools. A decent public school education is a basic citizen's right, especially for those that can't afford to pay tuition for a private school.
Don't stumble into her hidden agenda: starve the public schools to bolster her argument that they are bad, therefore allowing the upper middle class to divert tax dollars into the private school of their choice.
8
Marcus you are right. The public or taxpayer money should be for PUBLIC schools. The voucher system promoted by the Secretary of Education is corporate welfare. The difference is that the money goes through the parents instead of going directly to private schools. In other words if those rich parents which by the way are the main beneficiaries of the tax cut of the Republican, wanted to send their kids to private or religious schools let them pay with their own money not the taxpayer money.
4
Good Lord, that's the last thing I want. What I was suggesting is that public school parents get into the act, start demanding better funding for schools and teachers!
2
Unions will only strengthen if they start being more transparent. Salary discussions without factoring in pension value are a waste of time. Ignoring rich historic pensions [based on vesting periods and ridiculous calculation methods] creates bad faith in current negotiations. Cold, hard fact: current workers will need to reach through to those already retired on unsustainable benefits and make them recalculate if they ever want to get more now.
4
Rather than scapegoat teachers that retired with a decent pension that you purport to be too "rich", why not go after the real culprits: the local politicians that negotiated and agreed to these pension benefits.
Also, these pensions were a benefit that these folks agreed to 30 plus years ago; part of a total compensation package. Often, off setting meager wages. It was a contract made in good faith. Now, well after the game is over, you want to suddenly change the rules, and pull the rug out? How shameful. It's a breach of contract. If these pensions were not adequately funded then in most cases you will find it was your dishonest elected officials who, year after year, failed to set aside adequate reserves in the pension fund but rather, just kicked the can down the road, playing accounting tricks to balance annual budget. Don't blame the teachers for this dishonesty or call them greedy when its time to pony up. The state of Illinois is the poster child for this charade. The same thing is true in NJ; promises were made, and not funded. Chris Christie turned around and scapegoated the teachers for being greedy.
If you want to reduce the pension benefits it should be prospective, i.e., going forward. Switch them into a 401k plan and cap the expense. It's a hell of a lot easier to calculate for the budget. But to argue you should retroactively and arbitrarily take away a pension that someone understood as their old age income and worked a lifetime for is despicable.
10
It's convenient to make it seem red states have a problem funding schools. Blue states have similar problems. You can look at the statistics and declare which state does better but the wealthiest neighborhoods do better than the poorest. Who's to blame? The unions, teachers, taxpayers and parents.
There's a widely held belief on the right if a person doesn't have a high IQ or hasn't achieved a wealth it's a waste of money to try to educate them. They are poor because of their genetic background. A misguided opinion mostly directed at blacks and hispanics. The same opinion is held on the left. Not about minorities (they would never say it out loud) but poor and non achieving whites
It doesn't matter if you're from a progressive state like California or a backward red state like Nebraska if you're lower class.
2
Those who’ve achieved the income that accompanies success have every right to enjoy the lifestyle that comes with it including where they live and the schools their kids attend. Likewise, those who can’t afford to fund exceptional schools cannot expect others to tolerate the income redistribution that liberals would foist upon the taxpayers to fund them. Essentially, if twelve percent of the workforce is employed in the retail sector, shouldn’t we be prepping twelve percent of students for those jobs and limiting them to the education level required? Why are there any college grads serving grande double mocha lattes or high school grads changing oil at JiffyLube?
I was surprised to read the author’s claim that Arizona teachers won “a major victory considering that:
- Wage increases will be only for teachers, not also for support staff as they had initially demanded
- The state will pay for the increases by raising car registration fees, and
- Will also fund the increases by raising property taxes *in low income neighborhoods!!!* (according to the NYT)
The state engaged in a cynical divide and conquer strategy. Now when school support staff, car owners, and mortgage-paying neighborhoods feel economic pain, the state will blame their situation on those “greedy teachers”
That’s a major victory?
3
As a teacher in a union, rather than having to have a strong union to fight for my medical benefits, I’d rather have a medical system that was fair and accessible to all of us. I’m sick of being a human in a dog eat dog world.
10
If we take profit and greed out of medicine and big Pharma, then maybe your dream might become true. Most of the other major industrialized, Western countries have figured this out & done this- medical care as a basic human right. What a radical idea.
5
Why not respect the free market that determined you’ve earned those benefits while others have not?
The real power of workers is the power to work or to choose to not work. Everything that unions can do to improve the lives of their members derives from this simple reality. The teachers of these "Red" states have given the country a lesson in where power comes from.
5
I was a member of a teacher union for 42 years. I recall one president of our union standing before us during a grueling negotiation and telling the assembled teachers, he wasn't going to go to jail for us. The bargaining collapsed. It was hard to notice that most of the presidents of our local, but for one, used their position to assure an appointment to administration or central office. One, in the midst of the negotiations, resigned as a teacher to take the central office position as head of personnel. We, teachers, took a shellacking on those negotiations also. Our state union was no better, they sold out our COLA while they made sure they retired under the state workers pension and not the teachers. They also arranged it that those of us who wanted to participate in a 401 B had to accept a small group of annuities that enriched the agents at the expense of teachers. I don't know who teacher unions believe they represent, but it isn't teachers.
3
Really this isn't about the Teachers at all and it is only a corollary to the fact that Unions have been gutted. It is about a populous blinded to an educated society and politically brainwashed that education is only for producing workers or for fostering politically progressive ideas.
When the school can't perform the GOP bankers-check pink-slips go out to teachers and they are forced to take other jobs to feed their families. Expertise isn't encouraged. Students in college don't go into education because funding and training for teachers is sub-par and wages don't pay the college loans. The best and brightest almost always go elsewhere. This is largely because red states want their public schools to run like businesses--avoid the arts, music, science, and cultural stuff. Just teach the basics needed to hand them over to factories and retail lines. Plus add in one religion for justification-- building state-funded Christian care centers on every corner. Throw in Charter schools to get the elite out of regular public education and just a shell is left. Teachers are thought of, and therefore paid, as babysitters.
This is a political advantage for a party whose base largely owns the country's assets and, increasingly, need fewer and fewer workers to work those assets. The communities are called upon to help elect board members and politicians to carve out policies and shelled-Unions. And those communities have collected on their own political ignorance.
7
Unions may provide social glue between workers, but for public employees the most important social glue is between public servants and the taxpayers.
I’m leery of any arrangement that inherently or almost inevitably sets the interests of public servants and taxpayers in opposition. Always and in everything with these matters, so far as I can see, actual fairness to public employees and to the taxpayers and the perception of fairness must be concurrently considered and achieved.
The analysis in this column misses the crucial point. Most Americans still hold with the idea of good free public schools, and the way to achieve actual and perceived fairness for both public school teachers and the taxpaying public in jurisdictions that have been slashing taxes and starving public education is to spend substantially more on public education.
Unions and collective bargaining are not necessary for ongoing fact based discussions between the government and public employee associations on compensation, including benefits and pensions, and working conditions. Good faith and the knowledge that government and its employees work for and are answerable to the taxpayers can suffice.
I was a public employee for many years and I want at least one political party that will defend, as public goods, a fair and well-designed public safety net and systems of public education, health, justice, and infrastructure. We’re not partisan, we work for everyone, and taxpayers pay our salary.
7
Good, balanced analysis on the true stake holders.
1
Jack. I am in agreement with most of your thoughtful commentary. As someone who has led numerous bargaining sessions in the public sector representing labor, I have always advocated for inviting in members of the public into sessions to quietly observe. I always Found it interesting that management balked at this arrangement. I always believed it was the taxpayer who ultimately paid for any settlement so what's to hide. The conclusion I ultimately came to, many of our proposals had little or no cost and were in the interest of the citizenry. It was easier for the other side to say No then implement change. Some of it can really make your hair stand up
4
I agreed with President Obama on almost everything, with one glaring exception: when he didn't fly out to Madison, Wisconsin to support the teachers there during his first term.
Collective bargaining levels the playing field, otherwise the CEOs with all the money can start to control everything including Washington D.C. Minimum wage, no health care benefits, and measly 401Ks are one step above slavery for some people, and they want to keep it that way.
New motto for Democrats: Pro-Worker, Fairness for All.
14
Collective bargaining is fine for wages and benefits for publicly traded and private companies but you cannot have it for public employees. Who is watching out for the taxpayer? Connecticut has collective bargaining for state employees. Despite many tax increases, the pensions and post employment benefits cannot be paid. We can't pay employees who earn 150K in OT each year on top of salary pensions based on the OT earnings. Every state is different. Federal employees have unions but no collective bargaining rights over wages and benefits.
5
Surely, you are not referring to employees in general, are you? In what State does one find "....employees who earn $150K in OT...."?
5
Connecticut, Massachusetts!!!!! Lots of State employees earn well in excess of 150K a year in OT which is figured in the pension calculation. It's all public record. You can look up names by Department and their earning by pay period. The Boston Globe just profiled the Mass. State police. Officers earning 361K a year.
1
Ok, going to put a blunt statement out there.
Is the goal to increase *all* teacher's pay or increase the pay of the good to great teachers and decrease classroom sizes.
Increasing the pay of all teachers is not the same as approving educational outcomes for US students and makes it very difficult to decrease classroom sizes.
US school performance is not correlated to teacher pay when compared to other developed countries and we should stop pretending that the pay of every single teacher is the cause of our educational issues.
3
There doesn't seem to be a process for only increasing the pay of "good" CEO's. Quite the opposite in fact.
And of course the "TAX reform" gave all of them huge extra income, but only $1.50 a week for a "good" librarian.
You want fair treatment. Throw out every "conservative" in November.
6
Deflect much?
We might actually agree on CEOs and tax reform issues although private sector pay does function quite a bit differently.
On the topic of schools and teachers, my main area of interest is how to provide equal opportunities to all students and provide a better education. Uniformly raising they pay of *all* teachers is not the best way to accomplish that.
Teacher salary increases based on a merit system requires a good, fair performance assessment method. In my experience establishing employee performance assessment procedures is difficult especially in the public sector.
The fact that teachers were more successful without unions demonstrates that unions have become not only unimportant but a hindrance to improving teachers' benefits. Too many Americans no longer trust unions with their tax dollars. They trust teachers much more.
4
Really? That's what you got from this nightmare experienced by these teachers? That the Unions weren't needed? How about if they did have properly functioning Unions, they would not have been in this situation.
19
This is the corporate line. The only way for labor to consolidate power is through unions, not hucksters like Trump. It’s incredible that so many workers haven’t learned this lesson from history. Not surprisingly, educated teachers have.
20
Who are you lobbying for? As the article reports, teachers in West Virginia got only part of what they wanted, after years during which they and their weakly organized union let Republican legislators continually degrade their pay, benefits and working conditions. In the end, desperate teachers jumped when the water started to boil--but how much better for teachers and their schools if they'd had a strong union fighting for education and against austerity cuts/tax cuts for the wealthy all along.
6
Unions in non right-to-work states gave up using strikes, or even the threat of strikes, as a bargaining chip in return for automatic dues collection from all teachers, even those who do not join the union (they pay agency fees). This resulted in union leaders supporting the politicians guaranteeing their dues, and hefty salaries, before looking out for the best interests of their members. New York City is a good example. Among the many things the union leadership went along with was the creation of the "Assigned Teacher Reserve" pool in the 2005 contract concurrent with the elimination of seniority transfer rights. Teachers in the reserve pool are assigned to different schools often as far away from their homes as permitted by contract. Most of these "ATR" teachers are higher cost veterans that the union has failed to protect. In fact it is also in the union's financial interest to replace the veterans with lower cost new teachers to increase the number dues paying (or agency fees) workers. Teachers in the ATR pool can also be terminated more easily yet still pay the same dues. I am a retired teacher from the NYC system and I support the Janus Case.
3
Two-thirds of our public school teachers are overpaid because they're not qualified to teach in the first place. The corollary to that are almost 1 in 3 doing a commendable, underpaid work to subsidize the laggards.
Most of our teachers received their degrees from second and third tier schools where no more than one-third finished in the top 30% of their graduating classes.
In contrast, countries with high performing schools choose teachers from the same "academic achiever" talent pool that supplies the other professions. 15 year-olds take a national exam that determines a university track (without our 50% dropout rate) or begin work/study apprenticeships. Former apprentices can attend technical schools similar to traditional universities but lean toward applied vs. theoretical knowledge.
In Illinois you get 5 chances at passing the teacher certification exam before a short pause and 5 more chances. Theoretically, this can go on and on. How prevalent is this?
Our broken school systems are one key reason why 100 million, or 30% of our population, have a zero or negative net worth.
Teacher strikes are harmful and senseless.
7
I have definitely noticed a decrease in the quality of teachers. Once upon a time they actually were subject area experts. Now they are not even expected to have knowledge beyond basic math.
4
Mere assertions are unpersuasive. Where is the evidence for your statement regarding qualifications of public school teachers? Does the same statement hold true for charter schools' teachers supported with public funds? Does the same statement hold true for private schools' teachers (who are not required to meet state specifications for qualification)?
Other countries value teachers, and accord them respect. The value is expressed through salaries and benefits which allow a middle-class lifestyle to be sustained throughout a career. The same is absolutely untrue in the US. Which is why a) US schools do not draw from the high talent pools, as was true prior to roughly the 1970s, and b) the mean time for a new teacher to stay in the profession is less than three years.
18
So the idea now is to import teachers from other countries because they will work for less? How does that make things better?
7
The Republicans have created a crisis situations in their states with their anti-tax , anti- gov't agenda. Education was on the brink of being ruined in these states. The teachers had to respond. Scott Walker's anti union activities were in the era of Bannon's "turn up the hate" campaign. There are more Rs who see the advantage of Medicaid expansion. The Congress, especially the Freedom Caucus, made it bed rock issue to cut taxes and spending and turn Medicaid into a state program. The consequences of this agenda has now been shown to be one of decline for communities. School teachers have seen first hand that something had to be done to reverse this.
12
For some well balanced reporting on the subject of teachers salaries and benefits why don't you look at Long Island which is a short drive from the NYT's headquarters. Here decades of the teacher union using their lobbying dollars to get bigger and bigger contracts have caused our property taxes to be among the highest in the nation.
Ask any homeowner what the biggest problem on Long Island is and it will be our school tax which are close to $10,000/year in many communities. Long Island has become a place where only the well off and poor can live.
8
I suspect that the property taxes for many home owners on Long Island are already well ahead of $10,000. That is the case in Westchester. But high property taxes are not a problem that comes paying teachers on Long Island a wage commensurate with their skills and duties. It comes from how we fund schools. In other countries, they do it differently. For example, in Germany, although communities pay for the school buildings, the states pay the salaries of teachers.
The schools on Long Island and in Westchester are among the best in the country and on average are ahead of those on average iin Oklahoma and Arizona. Teachers' unions contribute to that. So too does a wage that attracts good people to dedicate their lives to teaching.
5
Const. You are absolutely correct on the dollar amount in property taxes. Just a few other points. Long Island schools constantly provide an out standing product by any measure. Long Island does not get a proportionate share of state aid. This would not solve the tax problem but would mitigate it. IDA's grant tax reductions to wealthy companies while the average homeowner pick up the difference. Finally if you look at a 400,000'home on Long Island and move it anywhere else in the country you can buy it for half the price. People pay a premium for the services which include the public schools
1
I am heartened to read the many complimentary comments written her in the C-section.
I am sadden to read soo many ill-informed, vindictive and crab 'n a bucket, shoot your own foot thinking that is also prevalent here.
A big hug and lusty cheer to these educators for doing the hard work that many in society take for granted and fail to grasp the importance and enormity of. Little in our society has as much impact upon our civilization, as an educated, informed, critical thinking populace.
Teachers, THANK YOU~!!!
Union Strong.
Vote Blue!
23
Considering the democrats' connection with unions and the unions' terrible reputation, it's unlikely that "voting blue" will resonate. If anything, voting red has been the only recourse taxpayers had against corrupt unions.
7
And look what those voters got: Republican corrupt governments starting by the one now in Washington. And very often corrupt union leaders like James Hoffa were and are Republicans.
2
AACNY,
Yet here we have patriotic Red citizens, backing educators in their quest to better the system for their children and themselves. 43 out of 44 special elections going against establishment grifting Republicans. Voting red has gotten them lower wages with less benefits and security. Voting red has gotten them worse living conditions. Red has seen their roads turned to gravel and rural hospitals shuttered. Red is waking up to reality. That conservativism is nothing but an enrichment scam perpetrated by the top % against rubes by screaming GOD! GUNS! 'n evil OTHERS! Nothing to advance, just fear and hatred.
Seems that "unlikely" is becoming a trope.
See ya in Nov.
1
This article in the New York Times fails to include a single mention of the power of teacher unions in the NY Metro area, often to the detriment of the students. Even ignoring the recent comments of NJ teacher's union officials that prompted their removal, the Times has written many articles are the 'rubber rooms' in NYC where unqualified, unwanted union teachers are paid to do nothing at all. Then there is the union rules that prevent the assignment of the best teachers to teach the students most in need of their skills! Instead, they can select to work at the 'whitest' schools, with students who score the highest on standardized tests! All teachers unions are not the same and not all put the interest of students first! Per pupil spending in Newark, Yonkers, Mt. Vernon etc prove that money alone is not the answer!
10
After spending more than 20 years as a Union Official and Officer I have had many conversations with employers and managers on the otherside of the table. Many have told me thay would rather have a Unionized work force. It give the employer stability employees stay. It cost the employer to find replace and train an employee, this from their mouths. The myth that the Union is against the Employer was created by Anti Union People. The Employer owes the employee a fair wage and Respect, the employee owes the Employer a fair days work and Respect. Behind closed doors i was not afraid to kick an employee in the rear and tell them to shape up or you will be disciplined. I would also take an employer to task when i felt they were wrong. The Employers I worked with knew this and we had a good respectful working relationship.
17
"Do weak unions go hand-in-hand with more effective political activism?" Only in the sense that weak unions result in desperate working conditions which lead to political activism.
14
It has been the long established goal of Republican controlled states to systematically dismantle unions and they have been doing it by demonizing them while implementing so-called "right to work" legislation which under the fraudulent premise of "freedom of choice' is ultimately designed to drive down wages and benefits in all areas where unions are involved. Oklahoma and Kansas are the perfect examples of once again, implementing failed "trickle down economics" policies in which tax cuts for the wealthy have been implemented while in order to ultimately make up massive shortfalls in state revenue, comes at the expense of important government services such as education. These events of teacher strikes are just the final straw that broke the camels back.
When compared to other states in the country, those under question are already at or near the bottom in performance largely created by years of massive underfunding and salary levels of teachers far below the national average which either leads to teachers leaving the profession outright OR moving to states with more competitive wages and appropriate education funding. This scenario is no different than any other skilled profession, the best and brightest move elsewhere.
People forget, if education is underfunded and performance is mediocre, states and the country itself gradually become less and less competitive in today's economic/technological world, hence, considerably fewer job opportunities.
8
Teacher unions demanding raises for *all* teachers while simultaneously fighting any attempt to objectively measure performance. Yes - this should be opposed.
There are some teachers worth 3x what they are being paid and some that don't deserve their current pay. How about dialing back the across the board raises and using some of the funds to reward excellent performance? The amount one can make as a teacher should certainly be raised to draw more exceptional people to teaching.
Every time the union demands significant across the board raise regardless of performance reduces the overall budget available for needed school resources.
4
A couple of points. In states that are largely funded by the local tax base, raises are difficult to come by when the town is not well off. This was especially true after the crash in 2008. Our strong union in Maine was able to retain health benefits and language even when we were accepting zero and .5 percent raises because we knew that the town just did not have the money. Teachers do not want to work along side incompetent colleagues but we want the administrators to do their job fairly. Many administrators are clueless about how to evaluate and help or get rid of ineffective teachers.
16
Agree....for teachers to be paid what they are really worth, taxes would have to be raised across the entire country. Obviously unlikely considering the current culture.
I think it would help teachers to propose rethinking the tenure system to make it more effective at keeping the talent and eliminating poor quality teachers. I certainly knew some teachers that needed to be out of the classroom.
1
Despite fabulous growth and tax cuts for the rich, the operant word is “poor mouth” from the federal government on down to most states and localities. I mean, “where’s the money going to come from?”. Which begs the question “where did it go?” Will Americans ever get smart enough to figure this out?
1
There is a dangerous misrepresentation in the first paragraph of this article. This was no victory whatsoever for public education in Arizona. The bill that was passed is the same bill proposed by the governor earlier, which was rejected wholeheartedly by all associations in Arizona. This bill guarantees nothing in terms of teacher pay, or support staff pay. The money, which is not guaranteed if one reads the fine print, is nowhere near what the associations were asking for, and it will be distributed to districts to utilize as they see fit. While that is understandable, some teachers may see 20% raises, while other teachers get nothing.
The most glaring omission in this article is that the governor refused to meet, thus not legitimizing, either the educators association's or the grassroots organizations' leaders. The walk out cannot be considered a failure as initiatives will be put forth in November regarding increasing taxes on wealthier citizens, as well as other proposals. Most importantly, voter mobilization against legislators who rejected all amendments that were supported by Democrats (and a very small number of Republicans) will hopefully lead to their removal from office.
The reactive right continues to shred public education while pushing dollars toward charter schools. As a 20 year Arizona teacher, I ask others, would you stay in a job 10 years without a raise? Most importantly dollars fund counselors, aides, technology, textbooks, and smaller class sizes.
13
I would argue that it's time for progressives to take responsibility for their contribution to where we are today. By blindly supporting unions, to the detriment of students, progressives have caused a national backlash against union members, which has been disastrous for teachers.
It's as though teachers have been caught, drowning, in a whirlpool created by progressives, democrats and their big unions donors.
5
In a conversation with a friend that had been an organizer and negotiator for the SEIU. We discussed at past negotiation with businesses employing janitors. One thing that stood out from that conversation is the one thing the businesses wanted was help with the small percentage of the janitors that were disruptive, taking advantage of the union and creating a poor work environment for their co-workers..
I am pro-union and believe unions would get a lot more support if they were seen policing there own. One union steward for the USW I knew stated he would like the union to be seen as the employees of choice for the business, professional, competent and hard working. He was sick of spending most of his time protecting problem union members that he would have rather kicked out.
10
HI TC. I get your point but it is not the job of a union to do the work of management. I am sure the union did not hire the employees nor were they responsible for supervising them. With that being said all the union is responsible for is insuring that the member gets due process under the collective bargaining agreement and the law. If management has met its burden the employee is disciplined up to and including termination. When management is ineffective in pursuing the case the employee returns to work. The union is legally charged with defending all members whether or not we approve of their performance.
I understand your points but believe that narrow view prevents the parterniship between Union and management delivering a culture of excellence and mutual respect.
The "analysis" is grossly lacking in acknowledging the financial crisis many states are facing from decades of overly generous contracts or the fact that young talented teachers are forced out their jobs so that the tenured few can retain their raises and entitlements.
It is extremely common to read of teaching positions being eliminated to guarantee the benefits of a few at the expense of the whole.
It's not all about the children, its all about the money! Their unions mobilize and run hard against politicians that refuse to bend to their wishes..They attacked the concept of chartered schools, as their existence diminish the unions' power base. Education takes a back seat to the demands of the union. The only real problem they face is that many states can no longer financially support the benefits given. The day of reckoning is approaching. They live in a world of guarantees and entitlements that 99 % of us do not enjoy, we rise everyday and work at jobs with no guarantee of employment, in employment at will states. Significant portions of our pay go towards health insurance. We have no pensions or cost of living raises. It's difficult to feel any empathy with a group that sets itself above others and consider itself elite and above reproach. The papers are awash with sexual contact between teachers and students. Their views and dogma are to the extreme left and they preach it in the schools. The world standing of our educational system is deplorable.
10
If everything you say is true how come so many school districts, even closed shop unionized districts, have trouble recruiting teachers? If the benefits and salaries are so excessive how come teachers are recruited from overseas?
As for charter schools it is pretty obvious that high turnover and low morale is the result of abusing young college grads by working them to death. Most charters perform no better then the public schools. The tend to weed out potential laggards and underperforming students and outsource them to the public school.
15
So many of your assumptions just don't square with the facts, its hard to know where to start. So lets go to the bottom and work up. The world standing of our education. Recent studies show that when you account for income and class disparities, the US is at or near the top of world education.
Papers awash in sexual contact...yes.. I see that, but if they weren't in education would you see that? Percentages are relevant. I doubt there is significantly different from other groups...e.g. priest..
Job guarantee? Then why the huge turnover? only about 1 our of 5 people remain in teaching...So if its such a luscious gig why don't we have more people staying... the market sets the rates in the long run... and we have a hard time attracting teachers... Finland, which doesn't allow huge differences in income, and provides health care etc. has the highest scores in western europe, and they have a policy that teachers will be paid like doctors... the top 1% of colleges grads vie to teach, and then they have a class size of 15... They have gone from emerging nation in the 70s to top of the heap currently, and they invested heavily in education. But lets be real, we can't make schools fix social ills, if the country just took care of its people, the people will take care of the country.
6
Data to back up your assertions? You sound particularly bitter toward people who wish to have a decent standard of living because you yourself may not have one, or find it challenging to maintain.
Your statement that the standing of our educational system is deplorable bears some examination. America does not have the top school systems. America also does not invest in education as much as those countries who are higher on the list. Yet we still enjoy, overall, a high-quality education system. My children both attend great public schools.
Especially suspect is your hyperbolic assertion that our papers are "awash" with stories about teachers sexually abusing students. This is demonstrably false.
Finally, you state that you work in a job with no pension, no cost of living raise, and in a right-to-work state. Would you like to change that? Or would you like for everyone to descend to your particular level of misery?
10
Problem w/unions - some prohibit appropriate performance reviews and resulting termination for bad performance. See i.e. Chicago public schools, some public employees unions etc. Gotta get rid of that aspect for unions to be a viable part of actually successful organizations.
12
Agreed, by why should teachers be held to higher standards than elected political officials. Why is this entire discourse not aimed at polticians: they should get performance reviews every year (just like teachers) and should risk losing their jobs if their constituents (the voters) are not satisfied with their job performance. Let's not hold teachers alone to such standards, and let's start with the most critical jobs to review--those who make the laws of the land.
17
Santoros
Thanks for a new concept that challanged my thinking. Indeed, what about adding Doctors, Lawyers and Bankers to name a few. But as your comment states,all Elected Politians, including the President. We could start with the European model and adapt from there.
3
As a very pro union guy, the answer is because the public trust us with direct contact with, and influencing children. We need to be almost saints. That said I get your drift. I wish politicians were held to the standards of teaching, until then lets not lower our standards. Please this shouldn't be a race to the bottom.
1
I hope that finally, this country will see the importance of unions again and the republicans citizen crushing agenda will cease. It is all about the checks and balances. Unions play a huge roll in standing up for citizens/workers. Let's make our unions stronger and transparent.
18
Teachers! When I was a kid teachers were not paid much but they were for the most part quite respected. Now with the onslaught of the right wing political attack on teachers they not only are still paid poorly they are maligned as not doing there job etc. Teachers are probably the second most important person in a kids life, and that is assuming you are good parent. Teachers nowadays are expected to not only try to teach, but are expected to be a psychiatrist, a cop, a politician and many other things for no increase in salary. They are even expected to “take a bullet” to protect their kids, especially those who are being requested to carry a gun. It is totally crazy.
So I congratulate the teachers of Arizona who have stood up and said “enough” and hope this is just the beginning of getting more for their work and that it spreads across the country.
29
I am a member of the United Teachers of Los Angeles, the teachers' union that serves the second-largest school district in the country. We will soon see how strong we are, as the school board has just elected Austin Beutner, a billionaire businessman, as our district's superintendent.
He was put in place through a fast-track, closed door hiring process ramrodded through by the pro-charter board majority, which was itself put in place by multi-million dollar contributions made by the likes of Reed Hastings (CEO of Netflix) and members of the Walton family.
This battle will be over the district's charter schools, which are for-profit, and not nearly as accountable as the public schools from which they poach students.
I believe UTLA is a strong union. I suspect shortly I'll find out if that's the case.
27
Good luck!
5
Godspeed.
2
Is it “poaching” when a parent has some choice over where to place their child, and chooses a charter?
4
Every increasing proportions of state budgets are going towards dramatically increasing healthcare costs which are mostly attributable to lifestyle choices such as overeating and tobacco use.
West Virginia is number one in the nation for both obesity and tobacco use. Oklahoma is a leader in obesity and tobacco use.
Teachers and other public employees pay the costs twice over. First, their health insurance premiums paid by their employer are increasing because of fellow employees and their families overeating and tobacco. These higher premiums would otherwise go towards increased wages. Second, there is less money in the state budget to pay salary increases for teachers.
The single most effective intervention to get people to quit smoking is to raise tobacco taxes. Yet, both states have very low taxes compared with NYS at $4.35 (and NYC an additional $1.50).
Taxing sugar-sweetened beverages such as Coke helps to shift consumption to healthier drinks such as water. A 20 oz vending machine bottle of Coke per day is the equivalent of over 50 lbs of sugar equivalent per year.
Nationwide, our childhood obesity rate is very high compared with other developed nations.
Teachers should organize to help public health experts implement laws and taxes that help to decrease overeating and tobacco use. The money saved could then be used to improve public employee wages.
7
One might also think to see more health practitioners promoting a Universal Medicare 4 All type of system. One that doesn't tie an employee to a job just because the need for benefits.
As for teachers organizing public health experts to implement laws... they cant even get the parents to read and or help the kids with homework. How about we let them teach instead of trying to solve the nations issues.
13
@D
The vast improvement in health in the past 140 years is mostly through public health such as sanitation eg. chlorinating water and food inspections. About 25 of the 30 years increase in life expectancy during that time is from public health interventions.
Today, we are dealing with a crisis in the increase of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) mostly caused by lifestyle choices of overeating and smoking.
Medicare for all will not lower the amount of disease caused by overeating or tobacco use. Ultimately to lower healthcare costs, we have to address these issues which are best addressed by public health interventions.
These public health interventions are political combatting the self-interest of tobacco companies and companies such as Coke which don't care about the higher healthcare costs their products incur. Teachers through organized labor lobbying their state legislature for lower healthcare costs. Raising tobacco taxes, banning smoking in public places, and taxing sugar-sweetened beverages at the state level is a good start.
David,
As stated, our educators are already under fire and being a nail are getting the hammer already. I'd hate to see Big Corp. lobby against them more than they are already.
Now if our Medical society, who are the experts, wish to way...please do so. That is their sworn duty I thought.
By the by, teachers are already providing health services and mental health checks. They do educate their students on proper nutrition and physical activities. But without home and society reinforcement, much less accessibility to these better choices, it becomes moot.
Med4All would dramatically lower the amount of disease by getting EVERYONE healthcare. How can you not see that stopping preventable disease early is cheaper and has better outcomes?! Plus the proven lower costs can be seen in every OECD country around the globe. Yes, agreed, we need to address these public health issues. As THE expert in YOUR field, YOUR voice is the one that needs to be heard. Not a teacher with a Masters Degree in Elementary Education.
1
Now that teachers have some momentum, I'd like to see Sinclair Lewis broadly re-introduced into the literature curriculum and Thomas Paine into American History!
8
they're already in the curriculum taught in the HS in my town (which, by the way, has a very strong teachers' union).
7
The problem is that some of the only people left who are unionized are teachers, and they get their outrageously disproportionate benefits through the tax dollars of people without pensions. If you want to see the gross disparity, read this: https://www.usnews.com/opinion/mzuckerman/articles/2010/09/10/public-sec...
1
Teachers having a decent pension and modest pay that keeps up with inflation is not outrageous. What's outrageous is that other hard-working people do not have that kind of financial security despite their contributions to our nation.
It used to be that average factory workers had that kind of security, but that is when they had unions. If more people joined together, they would have the leverage to counteract the power that is enjoyed by big business.
17
Unions are a threat to privilege - plain and simple. For a solid majority of folks living in America, the American-dream is statistically unachievable without a strong union. Thus, union-bashing is a GOP requirement - union supporters are communists and just as lazy as welfare queens. If you're a privileged (usually white) gated community resident you certainly don't want a Walmart greeter as your neighbor or a teacher, unless she's married to a lawyer or doctor. Speaking of Medical Doctors, the semi-gods of modern life, they know how to organize. The AMA is clearly the most successful union going.
24
here's a good topic for an essay question, perhaps in high school:
both doctors and teachers are recognized as professionals based on their completion of specialized education, internship, and successfully passing licensing tests.
professionals, such as engineers, cosmetologists, dentists, architects, teachers, and surgeons are licensed to practice by the state.
how do you describe a system that prevents an unlicensed person from practicing law or providing medical care yet will hire anyone with a pulse, or possibly an unrelated undergraduate degree, as a teacher?
expatiate.
3
Pottree:
In my old neighborhood, median teaching salaries are around $130K. Most teachers are good, but tenure keeps a lot of tired teachers around. Ten minutes after the afternoon bell rang in my elementary school, the classrooms were empty. Not a teacher in sight. Not one child remained after school for help. Instead, the teachers were dashing off to their private tutoring jobs. I was on the safety committee very briefly to work on the mass drop off rush in the AM. Children were kept out of classrooms and main hallways, piling up like schools of fish waiting for the bell to ring and doors to open. When I suggested to the principal that 15 minutes was an insufficient amount of time to drop off 500 students (and combined with large SUV's was a recipe for disaster), he replied that teachers have young kids and cannot come earlier.
Clearly he did not put the safety of students before the needs of teachers. So despite the higher quality and higher pay of our teachers, in the end, still a bureaucracy.
NCLB was a disaster & the start of folks w/ no background in pedagogy dictating instruction. States were caught off guard w/a wave of baby boomer retirees who left whole swaths of classrooms empty nationwide.
You need to look at who is controlling what is taught. They (superintendents, school boards & politicians) have no educational background but control 95% of what happens in schools. We only teach what they tell us to teach, using the curriculum they give; whether its effective or not. You had mathematicians who couldn't figure out common core math. Whose bright idea was that?
America is going to realize there is no magic silver bullet to raise test scores; it takes time & effort. Teaching is an art & it takes time to master it. There's no getting around that.
Meanwhile, the work needs to be done & the demands are increasing w/o equitable compensation. Teachers did not "collect data" 15 years ago. They knew the weaknesses of each student & modified instruction accordingly. NOW? You have to document everything. Even the art & music have to demonstrate growth in student performance. Kids are now widgets & the teachers are the bean counters for state tests that do not demonstrate understanding or higher order thinking of most of the concepts they are being tested on.
Funny, no one mentions TFA, which is the most prolific employer of said people. As long as we accept their business model (and it is a business) you will have "anyone with a pulse" in a classroom.
Voting DEM can get teachers more money!
The only way.
9
How can union people be so stupid as to vote for Trump and the Republicans when union busting is in their blood?
https://www.carpentersunion.org/.../donald-trump-mike-pence-union-bustin......
22
It is a classic ignorant electoric that needs someone to vilify. They are told that teachers only work 6 hours a day, 9 months a year and they believe it. They hate the idea that someone is getting something they're not. It's the same tact republicans use to get the stupid to hate poor people that they are told are living off their tax dollars. A ignorant electoric is the republicans dream. Trump said that he loves the stupid because they elected him.
11
"A ignorant electoric is the republicans dream." Well-crafted Paulie. Is it too late to return to the classrooms and teachers who gave you these skills?
4
As a teacher I will say he is correct. It is assumed we only work 6 hours a day and are off for months. What American do not know is we do not get paid for that time off. Nor can we collect unemployment.
Further, All the hours we put in collecting data, grading, taking classes we pay for to stay current on our content area - we don't get paid for those hours.
Folks think teaching is easy and we're just hanging out. I offer anyone who believes that to come to my school and be my assistant for a day. I guarantee you, you will go home exhausted.
Meanwhile, we have a willfully ignorant populace who rather believe memes instead of going to their local schools and asking what is really going on.
Teachers spend countless hours trying to inform, educate & clarify to the public what we do, why we do it & what we need. But its just easier to say we're greedy to ask for living wages & spoiled because get to leave at 3pm. For the record, just because I can leave at 3pm doesn't mean I will leave at 3pm. There is no overtime either.
This Sunday, like every Sunday before it, I will dedicate at least 3 hours to writing lesson plans, doing research & prepping my materials for the week. I'll take a break & read the NYT. When I see the responses to articles like this from some Americans I am angered & baffled by their opinions.
I would love to have a weekend where I'm not doing schoolwork. I would love not to have to work in the summer. But I have to eat & I have a job to do.
1
That is why Republicans are doing everything to cut back on education. Demonize unions, make everyone else think they are ripping off the taxpayer and far too many buy into this nonsense. Whether its immigrants, Muslims, teachers, unions or minorities(pick any one), they have been conducting this "divide and conquer" approach to policy for years. Turn people against each other while deflecting the issue away from the "real" reason in that it systematically drives down wages for the politicians rich corporate friends and benefactors who then, increase their profits.
I am been member of different unions during my working life. When a co-worker was complaining about the union and was asking me what the union is doing, my answer was you are part of the union so what are doing to help.
If you read carefully the papers about the teacher strike you will find out that those strike were organized by the teachers themselves despite theses so call right-to-work legislations. the union leaders were following the movement. When people are fed up as the teachers were, and most importantly take action, the results could be very surprising and positive for them.
In Canada, the unions were illegal. It was and I quote "A conspiracy against the freedom of commerce" and the punishment was jail. That law was abolished after a general strike in Toronto in 1872. And why the conservative government changed the law? Because they love workers? No, it was to insure their political future, they had to call an election, which by the way they won.
Now there is the Janus vs AFSCME. Do the teacher strikes will influence the Supreme Court? What will be the response of the unions? And how the membership will react if the decision goes against the public sector unions? That is the question.
And i will conclude with the first line of Part of the Union from the British band The Strawbs:
Now I'm a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think that the company stinks
Yes i'm a union man
6
Studies have shown that good teachers make a difference as well as enjoy the job that they are doing, but many of those who could be among the best do not go into teaching because they also want a quality life for themselves and pursue more lucrative careers.
It's easy to figure out how much teachers should get paid. At the current pay scale, almost everyone who is even remotely qualified can get a job because there are too few quality applicants to fill the need. School systems have to take almost every applicant because they cannot have uncovered classrooms. That's why Arizona uses high school grads as long-term substitutes and other areas are trying to attract teachers from Europe and Asia.
In order to have a staff of highly successful teachers, school systems have to offer a salary/benefits package which will attract enough QUALITY applicants to fill every position. What they are currently offering is obviously not enough or droves of top college grads would be fighting to get into teaching the way they do for the high-paying professions.
If schools districts want the best, they'll have to pay the best. That's the marketplace.
9
Sadly it isn't just all pay 'n benefits. As is seen, these dedicated professionals will raise our future for the love of it. As was the business plan.
However when educators are being attacked and demeaned and scapegoated for society's failures. (Many planned and perpetrated on purpose and/or ignorance.) Most beyond their control. Then no amount of pay is worth the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune. The amount of vilification even in these comment sections is sad and heartbreaking. Not sure better pay could make me recommend this career.
Signed, a husband to a teacher, and son of two teachers.
9
they usually do not appear to want the best; they want the cheapest and most malleable.
boards are squeezed financially while in many places are under pressure from religious and political forces external to education. case in point: Texas.
and none of 'em want no uppity school marms: just give 'em the 3 Rs, prayers, and none of that there Godless evolution stuff.
back to the inkpots and quills, everyone.
1
One might interpret the example of the Racine, WI, teachers' union electing their representatives into school board seats as being anti-public, with little or no chance for someone who is from outside the realm of teachers from ever being able to be seated on the school board.
The whole idea of compromise and seeking input from various viewpoints in order to render a balanced and wider representation was lost with the old fashioned strong armed approach to getting what they wanted.
Fair is necessary. Enforcing serve-me-first at the limited budget table is not a sustainable long term strategy.
2
the "new" Conservative movement, led by the Kochs, Mercers, Waltons, DeVos's and other extremely wealthy families, are using Machiavellian tactics to gain control of legislatures, judges, and many other decision-making bodies (elected or otherwise). Are those that suffer b/c of their tactics to be called "anti-public" if they use the electoral system to put their own in positions of influence?
Fight fire with fire.
7
This was a comment I posted regrading another article about two weeks ago, but I think it bears repeating.
"Living in high tax New Jersey, I pay a lot of property tax, but I truly believe that my home is worth so much more money because those high property taxes translate to a very good school district. I believe there is a high correlation between home prices and the quality of the school district. As always, you get what you pay for, and cutting education funding is a road to disaster for everyone."
Now to expand on my thoughts.
I know in New Jersey there are very strong teachers unions, and because of that, teachers are paid and treated as the professional that they are. I was having a conversation about class size and I said that I did not think my child had ever been in a classroom with more then 25 students. My child then informed me that his English class had 26.
What really concerns me is that I know my child in getting a really good education, but these students in the low tax states are not. They (the students from the low tax states) are going to have to compete one day academically (economically) with the students from the high tax states and they are going to loss, and this is only going to increase the resentment of the Red states towards the Blue states.
In short, the Red states have chosen (been force to) eat their seed corn in order to have their lower taxes, and I am not sure what else can be done about it?
22
Seems that many of the Red states populace backed their educators. Seeing how poor their schools had become, and their children's future being hamstrung.
Hopefully the pendulum is swinging back towards reasonableness. Yes, taxes are a necessary burden to live in a prosperous, civil society.
3
Since not everyone can afford those NJ taxes (ie, WV, WI, AL), should they get the same education, the same opportunities, admission to the same colleges? Of course not. You’ve earned it while they have not.
1
Give us Unions, or give us subsistence wages. That's how it works, Folks.
9
Teachers deserve the best. My wife was a teacher, and she spent weekends drawing up lesson plans and activities for the week ahead. Supremely qualified, she got her Bachelor's degree at Tufts, and her Masters at the Columbia School of education. She dedicated herself to the well being of her students. Shame on those who would deny teachers a living wage.
21
Hey, if they want more money, Mr. Trump has an answer for them! Pack some heat! Yes that’s right, carry a gun to class and the Federal Government will pay you big bucks. A couple of hours training and you are in the money!
[Sarcasm]
6
Noam Scheiber could perhaps mention the names of the two unions in their opposition to one another, for Labor Organization among Teachers has a history and it is not a pleasant story.
I had the experience of being the president of Local 1570 of the AFT (American Federation of Teachers) in all places the Univ. of California, Berkeley the year after the Free Speech Movement and we were the second largest AFT local in California. The membership was extensive and the reason: Fear – Active graduate students fearing reprisals from faculty and administration following the FSM. Working teachers in the real world had to choose between the AFT and the National Education Association as their representatives in those days or a union and a company union. That may still be a problem today as schools’ administrators were a force within the NEA. Consequence weak unionization and it got worse as the 1970’s arrived.
Sounds like Teachers are coming alive today. Bless them.
3
Labor rights have been in decline for decades. The media has been complicit, focusing on salacious news. Local and state laws should be changed to restore worker rights regardless of union membership. Even a "liberal" state like New York has weak labor laws, but too few residents know this. "Employment at will" means an employer can fire anyone "at will", after one day of 30 years of work. It is difficult and expensive for an employee to show unjust cause. This is where unions comes in. Show they negotiate fair treatment but lobby elected officials for all. Republicans everywhere continue the attack and they must be removed from office. Imagine a "Right to work" law being passed in Albany at the hands of just a few very conservative legislators. Why allow this to happen? Challenge teachers to run for office in places like West Virginia and Arizona. Show how unions work for the benefit of all, even non-union employees. Lastly, insist that Democrats to take back the Senate in 2018, the most important election yet. Protect the country from Trump SCOTUS appointees who will surely be anti-labor, and anti-union.
1
If you look at NYC in the last 15 years, you will find a contract offering more money after 22 years of service, but many of our rights eroded. This was due to the “political climate” according to Leo Casey on EdWiz. However, look at the states where teachers are protesting—-Right Wing! And they won. Randi gave in to Bloomberg and gave him a 3rd term when teachers were talking walkouts despite Taylor Laws. Randi went on to the national level and screwed teachers across the country by tying test scores to evaluations, rubber-stamping Danielson and weakening our contracts. She applauded Gates who later apologized after recognizing the statistics used for Valued Added Measurements were flawed. Even Danielson has stated her methods were misused. All these punitive measures and schools becoming testing factories all under a so-called strong union.
It took teachers, not union leaders, to come together and take action in states that never valued teachers. This should be a wake-up call to both the NEA and AFT not to roll over and play dead like they did for Duncan and Cuomo. Like they did for DFER and Gates. Teacher retention levels are problematic. Stress levels are high. Colleges are seeing a big drop in Education majors.
The disparaging of teachers by politicians and the media never focused on the many factors that interfere with student progress and behaviors. We became the villains. So glad to see parents supporting their public schools and teachers.
10
Teacher's Unions are weak because the states make them that way. They can't strike, the ultimate of bargaining power, making teachers break the law if they do so.
10
The current structure where the Unions and employers are antagonistic is not workable. The police have a strong Union which wins compensation and benefit packages that are excessive and ultimately un-payable by future taxpayers. This is not a solution. Unions have convinced members to leave the Social Security system with modest benefits, and embark on separate negotiated pension systems which are not proving adequate for various reasons, such as generous benefits, inadequate funding and inadequate investment returns. Capitalism needs a new compensation paradigm that includes compensation for public workers.
1
Can strong public employee unions keep a State from destroying its own finances?...should also be a question.
In 1980, the State of Connecticut passed legislation giving public employees collective bargaining rights. This resulted in much better pay and benefits, but also, an explosion in the number of employees as well, especially at the managerial level. Now, Connecticut has evolved from a State with no income taxes and sound finances to a State that is in dire financial condition, the worst financial condition in the State's 230 year history despite being the most taxed in the nation. In order for the State to properly fund the retiree pension and retiree health insurance (yes, Connecticut public employees have State paid retiree health insurance for the retiree as well as their family) will require behemoth tax increases on everyone in the State.
Connecticut values its public employees including its teachers, so much so, that the citizens over the last 37.5 years have done nothing but pass tax increase after tax increase on income, property, sales, businesses, use fees, gaming, etc.
Weak unions are not unions and are ineffective, and not the answer, but, super strong unions as we have seen in Connecticut may not be the answer long term as well.
4
First of all those benefits are afforded to other state workers including your representatives. Secondly, many teachers are paying into their health and pensions across the country. I really doubt the percentage of these costs make up the biggest percentage of the budget. That was the lie told to Wisconsin voters.
You should value your teachers!
13
Don't make the mistake many do and confuse Connecticut "public employees" with Connecticut teachers. We teachers do NOT have the State paid retiree health insurance for us and our families you cite -- that and other benefits for state workers was negotiated by their "public employees" union and that designation does not include teachers.
17
$1000 per month to health and retirement in Michigan, not optional. Thank you for considering the facts, not making assumptions as many people do. Many people forget about student loan payments when they look at teacher salaries as well.
3
Unions make no sense when they have a monopoly. The UAW was powerful when there was no foreign competition for GM, Ford, and Chrysler. The companies could always pass on the costs to consumers - and they did. Once foreign car companies started selling higher quality vehicles at lower cost, the unions were forced to make concessions or to die. Today, the UAW is much smaller than it was a few decades ago and the American consumer is better off.
Even FDR thought that public employee unions were a bad idea. There is no competition to constrain their demands and they work to elect politicians who will support them. If we are going to have public employee unions, there should be a requirement for a taxpayer vote to approve any union contract.
2
As a retired school superintendent I learned that strong teachers unions are good foe schools, communities and education. Weak unions hurt everybody.
23
I'm happy you had that wonderful experience, but my brother has sat on his local school board for some time, located in a primary farming community with little business and none likely in the near future. Each negotiating session was fraught with stress of the majority of the taxes coming from farmers struggling to hang on, only to see no compromise from the union at all when they demanded a raise each year. Yes, teaching is a state wide employer, but farming is not. Each year some of the traditional family farms folded, selling to the bigger more efficient corporations, and the union continued to gain yearly increases for their members.
In a off season discussion with a neighbor and teacher, my brother expressed his frustration with finances, tax increases when the mill rate was adjusted, and worrying who the next farmer was who would sell. He asked the teacher why there was absolutely no compromise or attempt to acknowledge that the rest of the community was suffering and why neighbors couldn't work things out. He was told that the union had impressed upon its members that if they ever did compromise, that would be the end of any raises and possibly the union. In order to preserve their ever increasing salaries, they must demand an increase each time. I suspect that the state level leadership had determined that course.
1
If you really want to see how weak unions can do more harm then good, then look to higher education. At colleges and universities, many with unions, the shift to using part-time, adjunct labor without benefits have quietly and steadily taken over most colleges. About 50 percent of classes are now taught by poorly paid part-timers. The full timers and their unions keep their heads down and protect what they have but do not work for the needs of the majority now which are the part-timers. The part-timers keep quiet because they are in pursuit of the more and more elusive full-time position. So, there is a two tier system where the full-timers generally have a solid job with benefits and the part-timers have nothing. Add this to the hostility around colleges and those that work for colleges now and you have an environment where management of colleges continue the abuse of workers while raising tuition prices to pay for more management. About a year ago, a small unionized college in the NYC region shut out it teachers with no notice including shutting down their health insurance, placing non-unionized professors in to teach the classes. It was an outrageous act that was barely noticed by the public or media. About two years ago a college in Long Island that was unionized closed down with only two days notice leaving the professors without jobs or health insurance. The union was one of the most powerful teachers unions in the area, they did nothing and no one seemed to care.
11
If the teachers want more money why don't they stop acting defiant and, in stead, offer a rational solution: why don't they recommend a full time school year ? That way, by putting in the normal 1920-hour work-year, rather than the 1080 hours they now work the teachers could earn more money. And, of course, the taxpayers would save money, because the hourly rate of pay of the teachers could be less, i.e the taxpayers would be getting more work per year.
Also, the taxpayers wouldn't have to find and pay for diversions for their children during the summer months, and the students would not suffer the negative educational effects of the summer discontinuity, and the community would benefit by the diminished mischief caused by students with nothing better to do.
3
On a per-hour basis, teachers in many (not all) areas are still underpaid. Asking them to work a longer school year is simply expecting them to work more underpaid hours. Longer school years also doesn't address other underfunding problems, such as when teachers must often pay for supplies out of their own pocket.
The educational benefits of year-around school have long been known, but the concept has not been popular with families or business communities. It is also a substantial increase in the tax burden with incremental costs for support staff, transportation and the like.
7
Teachers should still be afforded a good salary regardless.
But for a majority of teachers, summertime was for getting a full-time job to make ends meet. People who are required to get a Masters should also get a higher hourly rate.
7
That comment sounds like the usual dogma, entirely unsupported by the data. For example, $40K for 1080 hours of work comes to $37 / hour; doesn't sound bad, does it. Teacher lobbyists will claim teachers work 63 hours a week, or the such. A very few might, but they are only required to work about 30 hours per week; furthermore, many, many professionals also work uncompensated hours. You can't have it both ways: if you want to be considered a professional then you have to behave like one.
2
One one hand, much of the bargaining is done at the local level. As mentioned in this story, the very effective Racine local is an example, and good for them. That is how the system is designed to work. On the other hand, when locals are dictated to by state-level union leaders, there are issues. I learned this first hand as a local union rep dealing with employees of the Illinois Education Association, of which our local was part. All the IEA seemed to care about was wrapping up our issues as quickly and economically as possible. Resolution to the satisfaction of membership was not a goal of the IEA. Nor was quality representation by those hired to assist us. I was asked to lie to local members I represented to save the IEA time and money. As a result, I won't ever belong to the IEA again. It's a business and not a very good one.
1
In Ontario, Canada, the various teacher's associations (unions) made a pact with the Liberal Party of Ontario for much improved wages, benefits, pensions, etc. in return for their political support and huge financial contributions. A few of these organizations became part of a Political Advertising Organization, called Working Families Coalition that helped the Liberal Party to hold office for 15 years. Non disclosed payouts to the associations from the Party may help with a change this coming elections, however, almost 1 in 20 Ontario residents work for some level of gov't and collectively, along with their family members can swing an election which ever direction they choose. In BC, the teachers helped bring down the governing Party which they had feuded with for the past 10 years. The Ontario Teacher's Pension Plan is one of the world's largest investment firms, and their wage, benefits etc are amongst the highest in the world. Given the current student testing scores, not entirely sure there is adequate value for dollars spent.
I agree that compensation levels between the teaching profession and Canada and the USofA is not comparable, but one might suggest be careful of what you wish for.
I remember vividly a cir. 2010 conversation w/ y sis-in-law at a Hanukah table. She was the City school teacher (now retired w/ full benefits at 50, btw), and whined that they (the teachers) were only getting a 4% annual raise (after the previous two year raises of ONLY 2.5% annually) and that the insurance premiums were going to go up from zero (ZERO!) to something like $50/month for her family. I was then (and am now) a small shop owner w/ no health insurance, paying over 20% in business taxes so (among other things) her union would threaten to strike to lift the raises from 4% to 6...Again, this was during the financial crisis (aka the Great Recession). The teachers (and other city/state public employees) demand more and more insatiably, while the rest of the country is left to take care of itself. Btw, federal employees average 1% raises / year, have to pay fair med insurance premiums (about $600/month in my son's case) and they get no pension since 1984, I believe. We must hold our state/local servants accountable!
7
I am sorry for your plight.
I am hopeful your brother will be magnanimous in the futre
I'm sorry, but I don't believe it is possible for your sis-in-law to retire at 50, much less with full benefits. It doesn't make sense. Someone is pulling someone's leg.
The minimum criteria to retire with full pension for Tier 4 members is 55 years of age and 30 years of service; you can retire with less service at a reduced pension. Under the existing Retirement & Social Security Law all teachers and teaching assistants who joined on or after Sept. 1, 1983, are in Tier 4
http://www.osc.state.ny.us/retire/word_and_pdf_documents/publications/18...
https://www.nysut.org/members/retirees/teachers-retirement-system
4
Unions have two faces: one is the face that improves the employees life with better wages and benefits and conditions. Certainly today, when companies consider workers a drag on the bottom line that should be replaced as soon as possible with a machine, the union is beneficial.
But public unions are fighting to give employee benefits that too many of the taxpayers don't have. When the population not only pays more than 50% of their healthcare, have been forced out of pensions into 401Ks, have had no raise in years and face daily the threat of permanent unemployment, sympathy for the union is very low.
And when you add that union seniority protects teachers who are less than stellar, people who pay the high taxes get riled. So your kid's math teacher keeps the cushy AP job, even though half his students fail the test.
In those cases, the union helps the teacher, but also helps build the resentment from the tax paying populace that results in the terrible and unfair backlash we are seeing against teachers in many states.
Since I believe that the only thing that will help teachers is to lift the circumstances of the population that pays for them, I don't have a beef with the union, but I suspect that they should be aware of overreach. Because every one of those taxpayers knows that no one is looking out for them.
10
I'm always aamazed at people whose reaction to other people having unions fighting for them while they don't is to get rid of unions. How about forming your own unions? There had to be a collective counterweight to capital. Not capitulation.
8
No one stopping you from forming a "Taxpayer's Union"--oh wait, some folks tried that, called it the Tea Party...how did that work out?
Like anything, potential pitfalls in any "movement." I was part of a movement to throw out the "business unionists" (see comment from Joseph Thomas Gatrell, that is exactly the words we used...) in the CUNY faculty union. It took ten years to accomplish, and now our job is to WATCH and hold accountable those who we have elected in their place. Backsliding is always a possibility, with less attention to the "weakest" of members, the p/t adjuncts, who do the bulk of the teaching with far fewer perks or protections.
"Price of Liberty is Eternal Vigilance." Keep doing the work...
@CATHY: ["And when you add that union seniority protects teachers who are less than stellar, people who pay the high taxes get riled. So your kid's math teacher keeps the cushy AP job, even though half his students fail the test."]
You are right that there are many teachers who need to be removed as ineffective, and many are still in the classroom.
Few principals are willing to file charges because they know the odds that the replacement is going to
be any better are low, and the replacement may even be worse.
If schools could attract better teachers, the poorly performing ones could be let go under existing laws. What would it take to attract better college grads to teaching other than offering more money/benefits than other careers?
1
When the history of teachers' unions is written, I hope the consensus will be that they saved public education.
Individual teachers are both very powerful and very weak. It's really hard to control what goes on in a classroom, but very easy to control what goes on in public.
Poor pay and lack of respect tend to make teaching unattractive as a career. Even people who start out full of idealism quickly hit the barriers.
I've heard that in NYS the number of people entering the programs that educate teachers is falling dramatically. As the economy recovers and people with degrees have more opportunities, it will get worse. It's quite predictable that the quality of teaching will decline.
So, teachers uniting may not save public education in the end. That would be a loss for our nation.
10
Elected officials allowed public sector employees, (who voted as a bloc) to bargain for unsustainable pensions. Public saftey personnel were allowed to go out on "disability". Often these folk would be young enough to start a second public sector career. The rest of the voter base was asleep at the switch.
Public sector bankruptcy law is a growing field.
4
Correction: state and local sector employees hold the public funds (read: the American taxpayer) hostage. The Feds have long ago switched to a market-based approach: no pensions and meager salary increases (the last 5 years for example, have seen 0,0,1,0,1.9%, respectively. As voters, we MUST demand similar approach from our state and local officials!
1
i There should be no laws against unions at all if workers decide to join together that is their right,who is the govt to decide otherwise.
8
Joining together for the purpose of collusion and extortion needs to remain illegal and be vigorously enforced.
3
While the PR suggests otherwise unions ultimately work against the success of the enterprise. Seniority not performance is the basis for pay and over time, protection of seniority status trumps other needs, there are internal politics inside unions. Moreover, seniority motivates toward mediocrity not excellence. The stance toward management by unions is instinctively adversarial which complicates efforts for improvement, and adaptation to changing environments. Unions dues take money from employees and support union bureaucracies - greed is a human failing not reserved to management. In the public sector, tax dollars are the revenue basis for the operation not profits earned by delivering a superior product. The situations in Oklahoma and West Virginia are examples where extremes needed the weight of a union to make an impact. Wisconsin, however, is a state where unions had a long history of "success" at taxpayer expense. Excess again is not only the domain of management. Note the crushing pension obligations in Oregon, CT, MA, MD, CA and other states.
6
Hi,
Pension obligations in Connecticut are now crushing because they have gone underfunded for a generation. I certainly hope you are not suggesting that expecting a living wage to live off of in retirement after a lifetime (37.5 years) of dedicated public service is an 'excess' or an example of greed. Keeping the teacher pension fund fully funded is a battle the CEA has been waging for my entire career. As an educator, it's part of the deal you accept when you realize, after funding your undergraduate and masters degrees, that you will not be financially compensated at the same level as your friends with equal schooling who work in the private sector. Teachers may be overworked, underappreciated, and disillusioned (the disillusioned ones usually quit), but please, we are not greedy.
52
You totally discount the value of experience. Teaching is a craft that takes some years to develop. Then there is the ongoing education within the subject that comes out of the teacher's pocket as well.
You claim teachers are greedy. Gawd knows, any claim for increased compensation can be painted as greed. Especially when the aim is a living wage for what is a central job in our society.
Finally, when the schools have control over the quality of the raw materials and have control over all of the steps in the production of the "product", then you can use the lame manufacturing analogy. Do you know of any company that allows anyone at all to come in and work on their product? Which company makes a product with a will of it's own?
Teaching is not making a thing, it is developing a person.
30
Reality totally disproves your statements herein. Teaching is where supply far outstrips demand: every opening in vast majority of school districts generates dozens of applications; this is a simple fact impossible to deny. DO you suggest these are all altruistic high-fliers who pines for a miserable underpaid job (as you have described) out of their hearts' goodness? Of course not: cushy pensions at 50, 8-months work year with 6-hr work days (on average), way above average benefits, and lack of responsibility (teachers salaries MUST be tied directly to their pupils' performance, but they are - alas - not) are what draws these people in. It is no secret that the best, the brightest, the hard working and conscientious have stop pining for teaching degrees generations ago. This will only change when the teachers are rewarded and promoted on merit, not seniority!
1
The political factor is ignored here. Many of the teachers who felt compelled to take action had voted, and continued to vote, for the legislators and governors who treated them so poorly. Hopefully they will listen to union endorsements of political candidates who campaign less on cultural issues and more on the bread and butter issues of the classrooms and the teachers' economic well-being.
29
Demanding higher and cushier benefits and salaries, the teachers have become the 5th column of our society, undermining its finances and viability. The public must wake up and stop this hostage blackmailing situation by voting in only the politicians who vow to bring the teachers salaries and benefits in line w/ the rest of the market (read the private sector), as well as demand private-sector level accountability from teachers performance.
2
I am sure you are comparing teacher compensation with private sector employees with one or more advanced degrees. The idea that a union, public or private, is nonsense. Management, public or private, is responsible for negotiating contracts and providing the funding to support them. In both public and private sectors pensions are unfounded because of management, not employee failure. In the private sector this has resulted in the elimination of pensions and in the public huge unfounded liabilities. Blame management and voters who elect legislators who fail their responsibility.
4
@YULIA: It's easy to figure out how much teachers should get paid. At the current pay scale, almost everyone who is even remotely qualified can get a job because there are too few quality applicants to fill the need. School systems have to take almost every applicant because they cannot have uncovered classrooms. That's why Arizona uses high school grads as long-term substitutes and other areas are trying to attract teachers from Europe and Asia.
In order to have a staff of highly successful teachers, school systems have to offer a salary/benefits package which will attract enough QUALITY applicants to fill every position. What they are currently offering is obviously not enough or droves of TOP college grads would be fighting to get into teaching the way they do for the high-paying professions.
If schools districts want the best, they'll have to pay the best. That's the marketplace.
3
"Education is the true foundation of civil liberty." --James Madison
Additionally, there are few--if any--investments in the future that pay such strong dividends than an educated republic. Education helps citizens discern between truth and propaganda, between reality and alternative facts, between emotions and reason.
26
At the current cost of “educating” a student in American public schools, the goal must be placement in the corresponding job. In addition to the abysmal job they do overall, our indoctrination factories do an even worse job of aligning the student body with the subjects they study relative to current and future business needs. As we continue to throw money into the black hole that is the education-industrial complex, we need an efficient coordination of jobs and training in place like the military ASVAB.
1
I am of two minds about teachers unions. Much applause for higher wages, smaller class sizes, professional development, providing quality buildings, providing adequate supplies, etc. The basic laws of market: supply and demand say that supporting these initiatives with will provide higher quality teachers and better student outcomes.
Based on my experience in Baltimore, the Achilles' heel of teachers unions is the protection of incompetent teachers and circumscribing the number of hours teachers can work as if they are factory workers.
We now have a well known system labeled "the dance of the lemons." This is how the dance of the lemons works: a teacher is low performing and the principal wants to get rid of the teacher. It will take two years because of union protections and so called due process. That is a long time in the life of children. Instead the principal tells the teacher move on to another school and I will not give you a bad evaluation.
As for circumscribing the number of hours teachers can work Baltimore almost lost one of its high-performing KIPP schools because although teachers were willing to work extra, the union demanded compensation for "overtime" that KIPP could not meet.
Prescription for public support of teachers unions: Eliminate protections for incompetence and restrictive work regulations appropriate to the hourly factory worker. Fight for high salaries, professional development, adequate supplies and great infrastructure .
14
Due process is not the problem. If school administrators allow your “dance of the lemons” then it is administrators who should be fired and those who remain would get the message that making hard decisions is their responsibility. Always easier to blame the union for the shortcomings of management.
5
Jan,
Montgomery County, Md. had the most fair and balanced teacher evaluation system in the country. I first read about it here in the NYTimes by its best Education reporter, Michael Winerip. It was called PAR and still afforded due process under the contract. Poor teachers either resigned or were fired by a committee of their peers, parent and administration. The reason it’s not used around the country is because Montgomery refused to use VAM-using faulty statistical measures to evaluate teachers via test scores. Coming from Baltimore, I’m surprised you haven’t advocated for this.
As for due process, it’s an important measure. Principals go after teachers with strong opinions to best serve students instead of a principal’s bonus from good test scores. I support everything you do. No teacher I know wants to work with teachers who aren’t good. But don’t blame unions. Principals don’t want to put forth the effort it takes to either bring in mentors or do the necessary paperwork. Funny, because they make big salaries and teacher paperwork is way more than theirs. I have seen good principals turn around poor teachers or have them fired. But I will fight to my death for due process otherwise anyone can be fired without cause.
3
Cart before the horse, here, Jan Houbolt.
Yes, there are unwieldy and sometimes counterproductive "protection" measures.
But where do you think they come from? You honestly believe teachers, the good ones I mean, got together and said "Let's make sure the worst among us are guaranteed employment for life and paid a lot, too"? Because that's how you talk.
In reality the cupidity and spite of school leaders, unreliability of funding mechanisms, the artificial jealousy and hate ginned up regularly by politicians on the right provide permission for the abuse, the destructive insecurity, the public humiliation of teachers and employees in many other sectors.
Today, our entire economy is predicated on the conviction that employees are like paper towels, necessary perhaps but not worth much, easily replaced, and so easy to throw away. Just another irritating cost to be controlled.
Prescription for an effective education system: prioritize excellent teaching environments for the only people who actually do education: your teachers. Focus your ire on incompetence in the principals' offices, and inappropriate hiring, firing, compensation decisions. Perhaps hold your school boards a little more accountable. Maybe toss out the occasional outward sign of respect and approval.
If you can manage Herculean tasks such these, and commit to maintaining them, you'll get your fondest wish: teachers unions will simply go away.
Unions are a defensive response, not a cause.
What is even more delicious is the teachers in AZ forced Koch stooge Gov. Ducey to break his promise to not raise taxes and to cut taxes every year when he had to add an "assessment" to the vehicle license tax.
The teachers in AZ were smart. The governor tried to out flank them by offering the 20% over 3 years taking away their reason to walk out and, the theory goes, if they still did, the Republicans could bash the teachers for what could only be interpreted as greed in an attempt to turn public support against them.
They tried to guilt the teachers by saying parents could not go to work because kids are home (what do the parents do in the summer?), or that support workers (janitors and bus drivers) would not get paid (many of them work 2 jobs or are dual income.)
The teachers made it about not only their wages but the deplorable conditions of the schools, which means they were walking out FOR the kids, too.
Maybe it is time to repeal Taft Hartley.
57
A wonderful idea and bring back the Wagner Act, but not likely until resistance to what has happen to working people at all levels puts enough people in the streets; or people pay attention to who carries the labor of 'politician.'
2
Note. It was a regressive tax increase.
2
A transient victory for 'education', by forcing functionally illiterate politicians to do the right thing.Too bad that Unions, that were responsible of so many gains for teachers, are not stronger. I suspect that past abuses of corrupt Union leaders may have had a corrosive effect, devaluing it's function. Let's hope they'll recover, and that teachers' dedication to develop youth's talent is justly appreciated.
5
Yeah, a "corrosive effect" in the 1960s and 1970s maybe. They haven't had enough power to have that effect since conservative courts and politicians have done everything in their power to squash them.
24
Or it's a fake label applied to devoted underpaid officials and hipped up on Fox News and such'
The TEAMSTERS had some rear one in the days of Jimmy Hoffa, but the drivers were well paid and who cared. Made a good movie theme though.
Politicians do not have to read, they just have to count. Votes, and donations.
I agree that these amazing union victories could have only happened in states w/o entrenched union leadership. The New York City teachers/admin unions have barely reported on these strikes in their newspapers even though the current struggles around the country are the most significant labor events involving teachers since the 1960's.
While our unions in New York City provide us with some the best health care in the country, and higher pay, it is at a cost of harrowing working conditions, job insecurity, and constant stress. For example, when I called my union rep and complained about a high level of harassment and intimidation on the job, I was told "you and everybody else." It meant no help was offered and I was shamed into accepting conditions that impacted my health because they were known by the union to be pervasive around the city.
Union bureaucracies in New York City are out of touch with their membership's experiences on the job and have given away important job protections that kept teachers safe from the tyranny of administrators' whims.
The unions also demand allegiance to the Democratic Party, who has no interest in representing teachers, students or working class families as the latest pact with Cuomo has shown.
Bravo to the bravery of these teachers! May they change the nature of unionism for all of us.
4
If you are involved in Labor then assume those in power and management are not working on your behalf. They exist to only to protect the bottom line i.e. healthy balance sheet. The current crop of business leaders have been taught to view Labor through a lens of suspicion and as a liability that can be cut at anytime. Plus this is a case study in democracy. It only works if folks participate. If you are not vocal and active from the local level to the federal level then one will always get the raw end of the deal. For any right that was won can be easily lost due to neglect. When the many stop fearing the power of the few then real change is possible.
22
Well said, and absolutely right!!
2
yep, and you know why? - because without the "healthy balance sheet and bottom line" there soon will be no businesses to tax, no disposable income to spend, and ultimately no unions to exist (as the businesses would go bankrupt). Very few commentators here ask the real question: where does the money for higher salaries, better benefits, shorter work hours, and full retirements with 70% of the "last 3 average" come from. The answer of course: from the poor suckers - the state/city taxpayers... The public employees unions are the cancer on the public body.
1
How to pay? Get rid of all the sweetheart tax breaks (corporate welfare) for big biz. Support minimum wage increases and unions that raise overall wages. Universal health care that increases productivity and makes it easier for entrepreneurs to create businesses and jobs. There are lots of ways to pay that have the wonderful side effect of helping other folks have better lives.
1
Higher salary better teachers? There are many variables at play and they are often connected one to another. There is no guarantee for automatic results but in general the answer is yes. You get what you pay for.
https://edwp.educ.msu.edu/green-and-write/2016/can-increasing-teacher-pa...
https://www.creighton.edu/fileadmin/user/CCAS/departments/PoliticalScien...
Or as put by Tara Whitley
"While all the variables I tested influence math and reading test scores in some way, my
research and analysis supported one main idea: money trumps all."
5
A lot of what they are after here is just to be able to LIVE. I think knowing they will be able to live on what you earn will lead to an enormous reduction of stress, and with it a higher level of success in the classroom.
I think its very hard for people who haven't been faced with years of struggle with income insecurity to understand how it affects every other aspect of one's life.
18
Read what Freakanomics wrote about teacher pay.
2
Sally Field standing on top of the table shouting UNION UNION! My favorite movie about unions. Teachers need strong unions. Period. I was a NYC teacher for 25 years.
29
yep, which means you could retire with your top 66% after 25 years. Most of the country works 40 yrs on average and gets no pension other then the SS, yet you have the guts to demand us subsidising you. Ain't happening for much longer. Mathematically impossible.
2
@YULIA: ["Most of the country works 40 yrs on average and gets no pension other then (sic) the SS...."]
1) They should get a better education and
2) They should unionize.
As to comparing teachers with the average worker: Teaching should be compared with careers which require six years of college, not just to the average worker. Keep in mind that 68% of Americans do NOT have a bachelor's degree while teachers are often required to have a master's degree.
Like every other job, teaching should pay the market rate, not what you think it deserves or what economic class you believe teachers should be in.
It's easy to figure out how much teachers should get paid. Right now, almost everyone who is even remotely qualified can get a job because there are too few quality applicants to fill the need. School systems have to take almost every applicant because they cannot have uncovered classrooms. (In Arizona, those with a high school diploma have long-term teaching assignments because that's the best their communities can attract.)
In order to have a staff of highly successful teachers, school systems have to offer a salary/benefits package which will attract enough QUALITY applicants to fill every position. What they are currently offering is obviously not enough or droves of top college grads would be fighting to get into teaching the way they do for the high-paying professions.
If schools districts want the best, they have to pay the best. That's the marketplace.
1
Yulia, I have no idea where you got the 66 percent number. I wish I had a 66 percent pension. I worked full time for 37 years after earning a bachelors and masters degree. Not that I need to explain that I worked hard and earned what I have.
This becomes a dollars and cents issue. Weak unions charge little if any dues. If they have success, members will resist dues charges from stronger unions in the future. Once you've had some success for cheap, you're unlikely to pay more for future battles. The more success that weak unions have, the less likely that strong unions will be funded. Teachers in right to work states who succeed are unlikely to join dues-paying unions. I fear that the success of teacher efforts in these states will, in the long run, make it less likely that they will stand up for rights that only well-funded unions can support.
In order to restore the working and middle class, we need to restore unions to health. This will require that unions be brought under strict oversight to prevent the abuses, fraud, and criminal activity by a significant minority, that led to their virtual demise. We should look to Germany as a model, where unions work with business leaders as near-equal partners because both parties are served by a healthy, well-paid work force.
Strong unions do more that just increase worker pay and benefits, they establish work standards and qualifications that ensure higher quality. They also offer stability of the workforce so that businesses can do long term planning and investment. Most importantly, union workers can depend on a decent, sustainable paycheck, which allows them to be good consumers, thus driving the economy.
Corporate America and Wall Street have skimmed the cream of our economy for decades, putting little of it back, and the persistent lag in performance is a direct result. It's really no mystery why, despite near record low unemployment, wages are stagnant: there is no incentive to raise them. But restore unions and collective bargaining, and you will create that incentive and kick start a true recovery for ALL Americans.
71
Labor holding a spot at the table with capital is a central tenet of Marx and communism, making it patently unacceptable to any capitalist. Since the very definition of capitalism is an abject rejection of all other economic systems, free markets must refuse unions, pensions, wage laws, protected classes, consumer regulations and the leftists who support them. Capitalism, like nature, is cold, harsh and even brutal. Only the strong SHOULD survive.
3
"Survival of the fittest" is certainly appropriate...in the jungle. However, mankind decided eons ago that banding together, ensuring the survival of their WEAKEST was a better bet.
What makes you think you're among the fittest?
the real problem is how the money is spent. we have three layers of education administration in this country and all layers employ tons of bureaucrats. On long island every town has its own little bureaucracy. It makes the boards feel great but money is wasted
In may states educational money goes to sports stadiums and not education.
I suggest you look at the New York City Department website for where salary levels for teachers are explained. Those who think teachers are underpaid may be surprised. In most states it is hard to find STEM teachers because basically Randy Weingarten and the teachers unions take the position that compensation should be leveled
8
NY is not a valid example of teaching situations in most of the nation, but the exception in so many ways.
2
The few comments currently post cite "higher" wages as a bad thing. Change it to "livable" and see how their arguments stand up.
12
Yes, "livable" is the goal. No one is teaching because they think they will become wealthy from it. Trust me, I know from experience.
16
what is your point? no-one does A LOT of things - drive trucks, go to nursing, works at the airports or grocery stores, just to name a few - to get rich. But none of these occupations tends to go on strike holding public hostage, in effect, to demand more and more at the expense of the rest (we are all taxpayers in the end). Teachers are the most selfish and public interest - adverse bunch the world has ever seen.
1
The phrase “livable wage” is based in fundamental communism.
All you are advocating is driving up costs to the taxpayer without any real accountability. The strong teachers unions you advocate advance the interests of adults at the expense of children.
7
If you want poorly-paid teachers to be accountable for student performance and expect them to advance the interests of students while ignoring their own interests, you will wind up with few teachers and many glorified babysitters. Teachers will leave the district, state, or profession if they are not treated decently, and be replaced by people who can get no other job.
81
They are trade offs in all things. Taxes go to the common good even if you don't agree with the underlying proposition i.e. better schools, fire, police, and roads. Low taxes may mean more dollars in your pocket but will lead to a poor, undervalued, and overworked education system. Children learning in a good public system with teachers that are adequately paid is worth every penny. For every well educated child means one less falling through cracks due to drugs, crime, and etc. Better to have our taxes being spent on the front end seeing our children lives enriched. Than on the back end with our children growing up to fill jails which is even a higher tax bill. Next time you see a teacher thank him or her for taking the time to educate you and your children.
39
We also need to bite the bullet so to speak and begin to wisely ration who we offer education to, perhaps after the fifth or sixth grade. Every retail worker with a high school diploma, much less college credits, whose function is to stock shelves or perform other menial tasks represents a huge waste of precious tax dollars. My grandfather was put to work in a factory when he was twelve because he was physically big enough to do the work and the coal company that was paying the cost of the schools rightly knew that he had more than education for the job he needed to fill. Walmart alone, with more than one million workers represents the waste of perhaps billions of our overpriced education tax dollars.
1
The author downplays the political capital that weak unions can summon, largely because their weakness (1) makes them less of a threat to democratic control of schools and (2) forces them to seek political coalitions in the states and communities in which they operate. The reason that Wisconsin passed Act 10 in the first place is the decades of neglect and antagonism between teachers' unions and rural communities in the state.
Further discussion of this issue available here:
https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Local-Control-Democracy-Institutions/dp/150...
Just what does "democratic control of schools" mean to you?
"But, in the end, there is no substitute for a strong union in a long-term struggle against powerful antagonists." I've never heard your average Joe or Sally taxpayer referred to as antagonists, but I guess when it comes to public sector unions, the taxpaying public is the enemy.
9
Just a reminder that those public sector workers are taxpayers, too, and in the case of teachers are often struggling to ensuring adequate learning conditions for your children; you know, the citizens whose futures will ensure the viability of American democracy.
70
No, Chris. The enemies are Republican governors and legislators, and their wealthy anti-labor patrons.
55
Chris, the antagonists are not Joe and Sally Taxpayer, whose children we educate. We stand in opposition to those who want to punish unions for acting as the only counterweight to complete control of our society by big business. We stand in opposition to those who are willing to sacrifice public teachers at the altar of lowering taxes. We stand against those who want to destroy public schools in favor of taxpayer-supported private schools. We also stand for the right of teachers and other public servants to be treated fairly and earn a secure middle-class salary.
Scott Walker, as well as other Republican governors and legislators, leveraged the insecurity brought on by the Great Recession to wreak havoc upon public and private sector unions alike. Technically, the recovery has officially been going for the last ten years and the big business have been making out like bandits. It's time that the little guys get a fair share. We're going to keep fighting for it, because the forces working against us are powerful.
121
The neglect of labor and the union movement by the Democrats has been a major cause of stagnant wages since Ronald Reagan busted PATCO, the air traffic controllers union, in 1981 setting the stage for nation-wide Republican anti-union efforts. Our society is based on a delicate balance of forces once referred to in high school civics texts as Big Business-Big Government-Big Labor. What we have witnessed since the Reagan era is the convergence of Big Business and Big Government through massive campaign donations to anti-labor Republicans. This has led to the deplorable situation where worker's increased productivity has not resulted in increased pay for them, but only for corporate managers and their stockholders. The result is the massive income inequality between the rich and everyone else worsened by tax cuts. Unless and until we redress the balance of forces and reverse it, the trend will, as it seems now, be heading for an oligarchy where democracy ceases as it has most notably in Russia, but in other countries like Hungary, Poland and Turkey as well where we have government "of the wealthy, by the wealthy, and for the wealthy." It's time for the Democratic Party to return to their strong pro-union roots to save the middle- and lower-classes and the very democracy that has reached a "tipping point" under an autocratic president and cabinet of oligarchs.
95
Im a liberal progressive and remember the PATCO strike well. The PATCO strike was illegal, just like if our military for example decided to walk off the line. Don't blame Reagan for what he did, any President including Clinton or Carter would have done the same as Reagan. There is no way that either Clinton or Carter would have stood for a union telling them you have to buckle to our demands or we will shut down the entire nation's air transportation system. That would be insane.
1
@shend Reagan went well beyond what was necessary by not only by decertifying the union, but also firing all the air traffic controllers throwing the system into turmoil. All to send the strongest anti-union (Remember: Reagan was a disenchanted member of the aactor's union) message. Most labor historians cite this as the beginning of the demise of the American union movement.
No, Paul, you left out that Reagan was PRESIDENT of the Screen Actors Guild for 12 years.
And RR ordered PATCO back to work, and gave them 24 hours to do so. Nearly 2/3rd refused. That's on them, and no one else. From The AP --
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNudpj3amr0
You have a right to your opinion. You need to work on your facts, sir.
Teachers are expected to be miracle workers. Political and more local pressures are on educators not only to teach, but, interalia, to: develop individual students in oversized classes; compensate for input that children aren't getting at home; build curricula around tests; maintain high test scores for the benefit of a school district; reach into their pockets for needed classroom materials; possibly serve as security against school shooters; and make do with less than a living wage. For the amount of responsibility which falls onto educators' shoulders, and for the amount of schooling they undergo to work, you would think that their salaries would better reflect their true value.
Teaching is a vocation, but it isn't martyrdom. There should be a more equitable way of ensuring pay, so that teaching in the poorest areas or the most at-risk youth (who usually are not the top test takers) does not bring financial risks. Until the larger problems are addressed, unions are the only protection teachers have.
133
Study after study shows that the influence of teachers is much less than the influence of parents. Teachers have to be educated and certified/licensed, but any two idiots with gonads can have a child, fail to train it properly and send it off the school expecting miracles.
We have to train parents to produce school-ready children or go through the expense of having classes for ever-younger children. There are so many incompetent parents that Pre-K may not be enough.
3
Why all the animus here towards teachers and unions?
Many of the teachers who went out on strike were working two jobs just to pay the rent. Others had to not only purchase their own school supplies, but desks and chairs for their students. They went on strike not only for increases in pay, but also for improved funding for their schools and for their classrooms, which states have been cutting ruthlessly. How much is that tax cut really worth?
The backbone of a successful democracy is an educated populace. Why would anyone resent a living wage for the teachers who guide and mentor and teach our students? Today's students are our future leaders, decision makers, workers, and electorate.
I'm assuming everyone here badmouthing teachers and those who represent them would want the best education for their own children.
Why would you not want the same for all the other children in the country? Don't you realize that the future of the country depends on it?
202
Property taxes pay for schools. What happens to seniors who have to pay increases in property taxes, but whose SS benefits have not been increased in 5 years? How is this fair to seniors?
6
California had one of the premier public education systems in the country in the 1960s. To a considerable extent, Ronald Reagan's political career was launched, advanced by his support for Proposition 13 which cut state funding for schools and shifted the tax burden to local and county property taxes. That was the beginning of the end of quality public education in California and it served as a model for the evolution of the "conservative" political theory which has reached its zenith with Mr. Trump and Ms. DeVos. Anybody in California who cares about their kids future, and has the resources, sends their kids to private schools. Here in Florida, we rank number 50 in the country in per student education spending. The private schools (mostly parochial) are booming and McDonald's is "the best first job" for kids that manage to get a public school HS diploma. McDonalds actually copyrighted that slogan. Seniors, property taxes, and SS? You need an education system that works so that young people are able to get good jobs, pay taxes, and support SS. From now on, the cannibals are in charge and we're all on the menu unless we do something to change it.
9
In some states teachers cannot collect SSI. If their pension funds are insolvent, then what? We will be poorer sooner with no access to the same benefits you get now.
Meanwhile seniors, who take up a hefty amount of social services $$; have had their public school education paid for in full, were able to attend college for a pittance, had a job to be able to afford that house (whereas many of us in the field cannot) and are now being subsidized by the same teachers/community they live in.
I don't begrudge you for what you have earned during your lifetime but how ironic that you cannot see that the ones who came after you & are paying for your benefits can't even have the same quality level of living as you have had. How is THAT fair? Why should we nix the American Dream for our generation? Especially when most of us are also taking care of elder parents like yourself.
It's called the social contract; everyone pays to take care of everyone else. I understand seniors are on a fixed income but you should ask yourself why many teachers can't afford to get a house, have to work 2 jobs or apply for food aid to feed their families. Most carry more debt than a 20% house downpayment to do this job & STILL, folks want to complain that we have the gall to ask for a living wage?
While I sympathize about your taxes, your still well off than most of us who are teaching & paying into your SSI/medicare. You don't hear anyone complaining about that. Because its the right thing to do.
21
Very interesting. Good back and forth. Good juxtapositions.
1
The fundamental issue with teachers unions is that they fight for a system that has little to do with great outcomes for students. The basic issues espoused by unions are higher wages, tenure - which amount to guaranteed jobs for the poor and mediocre, the inability to align incentives in pay to quality of teaching and finally work rules that reduce teaching time. Teachers unions are designed for the worker and not the students. This basic lack of alignment will continue to plaque the effectiness of teachers unions
9
Chris's ignorance is again showing. Chris, you have the naive idea that teachers don't care about students enough to fight for their benefit. You ought to find out what teachers' unions really want. Try reading the positions or contracts of a selection of unions. Or even try reading Times articles about the demands of the teachers in Arizona, Oklahoma, West Virginia, Colorado, ....
60
Thomas Zaslavsky, Having spent the last 25 years involved with education, I’m very familiar with the nuances of the union postiions. The vast balance of terms are weighted to worker not student
1
If teachers truly cared primarily about their students, they wouldn’t join unions.
1
Oklahoma's future teachers appear to have taken a huge hit in the wallet during this year's political activity before and after the teacher strike.
Teachers blatantly politicized their students and apparently demanded the parents go along with the schools' use of children to further their goals.
If you know anything about the Midwest, you know this will be a factor for years when teacher salaries become an issue.
2
I hope L'osservatore really lives in Verona, where he can do no harm with his prejudice.
30
Actually, Italy is turning to the right now like a lot of other places in the West, so no guarantee that harm won't be done either way!
3
Will's Romeo & Juliet first appeared in 1597 where our scene was laid.
Here in SE Wisconsin, the very people who revered Scott Walker's vilification of unions and teachers, are experiencing the effects of what they wrought. There's a growing shortage of young people entering the teaching field, class sizes are increasing, music and art funding is dwindling, out of pocket expenses for parents of students are increasing, etc.
It's what happens when your only political concern is lowering your tax bill. Republicans and the ill fated Tea Party normalized self-centered world views while brainwashing their followers that taxing the rich was a cardinal sin.
Its all coming home to roost now.
247
" .. To really get teachers marching in lock step, Ms. Kunkel said, they needed the heft of a union."
That's right -- who cares about students? Parents? Taxpayers?
You don't like the working conditions -- quit. Now. Today. Get a job in sales, and make real money.
And let's not forget, under the single-payer theory -- most medical doctors unionize, to counter-balance the power of the state. Ready for doctor strikes?
All that weak and strong teacher's unions prove is that it is possible to ransom the future and continuity of young children's education to secure higher wages for their teachers.
Which is the exact reason why unions were and still are reviled.
4
SteveRR, why do you resist learning something true about what teachers and their unions want? All you have to do is read the Times. Apparently, you haven't.
25
You have it backwards. It is not teachers or their unions who are "ransoming" children's futures, it is taxpayers who don't value education enough to pay teachers a respectable wage who are the ones sacrificing the children.
91
Thomas - thanks for replying and for doubting my engagement with the issue - I know perfectly well what teachers want:
1. they want no choice for parents [eg. Charter Schools];
2. they want guarantees for lifetime employment via Rubber Rooms despite egregious incompetence [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/29/education/29rubber.html]
3. They want full year wages for working 80% of a year
4. they want to be able to teach technical subjects like math and science despite having no post-secondary education in actual math or science [at least in the case of a third of science and math teachers]