Despicable Union Tactic

[Shamu]

As a retired member UAW Local 813 the below action by a local teachers union disgusts me.

 

I am embarassed that a union would use 5th grade students as a tool to advance their cause.

 

Absolutely disgusting. It has been my observation for many years that teachers unions use the students as a means to and end......MONEY. Their issues are rarely about providing a better education for the student but rather ways to feather their own nest at the expense of the student.

 

http://www.myfoxphilly.com/dpp/news/local_news/021511-kids-get-pro-union-homework-assignment

 

[Hunter1948]

I agree with Shamu you shouldn't use kids for anything to get a agenda put forth. I am also a retired caw local 222 member.

Maybe they should ask themselves why they aren't getting a good return from the union investments. Such as how  many shares they have in GM alone.  The teachers union is one of the riches unions .

[PimpedOutPete]

I totally agree shamu. Using children as a bargaining chip is totally inappropriate. Teachers maybe underpaid or overworked but this isn't the way to get your point across.

[Gump]

Teachers creed nowadays is "hurray for me and the heck with you".I don't think they care about education anymore,whatever they can get and whoever they will step on to get it.

[MoeBetta]

My wifes a teacher here in MD, we are one of the highest ranked states for education. The teachers in our county havent had a step increase nor cost of living raise since 2008. This year the school board is decreasing their salaries by 2 percent, killing their pensions, furloughing the teachers, yet they expect them to pay for education expenses. We spend about $1500 a year for supplies for the classroom that the school expects her to have in her room, but wont provide the funds. She is constantly doing things at home to get ready for the next day while at home, without being paid for it...The teachers are being shit on.

 

 

The unions are greedy tho.

[Shamu]

Let me also clarify that I do feel good teachers and education are one of the keys to our success going forward as a country.

 

I just have problem when the students become tools that the teachers use to obtain their demands.

 

Argue your case on merit and leave the kids out of it.

 

As things are now teachers are gradually losing the support of the tax paying public, including fellow union brothers.

[HarryWeezer]

Teachers are grossly overpaid in most districts. In the district Shamu mentions, teachers average $83,000. They work an average of 190 days a year. That's $436 A DAY, plus benefits the average taxpayer who pays their salaries could never hope to obtain. And to top it off, they are job protected pretty much regardless of performance through tenure. The most power unions in most states are the teachers. And without question, their primary concern is not the students, but their wallets (may not be the case for your wife MoeBetta; I'm just generalizing here.)

Meanwhile, the quality of education in this country continues to deteriorate. Teachers say it's because of bad/poor parents who don't get involved; but there are plenty of poor districts that are succeeding that put the lie to this claim. I've watched this for decades, up close. It began - doesn't it always - with federal intervention and so-called standards. To meet the standards, schools began teaching to the tests, or just plain lying about student performance. We began to graduate kids who hadn't earned the diploma; then went on to colleges who also just passed them along, and over the past few decades we flooded schools with "teachers" who don't know shit from shinola, who almost never get fired.

There's only one way to fix the horrible mess our schools have become: compete against them. Take that $15-$20,000 per student and hand it to private schools who hire on the basis ability, and fire on the basis of inability; which are performance driven because they must compete. And let the public systems die the death they deserve.

I know it's hard for some teachers in shit districts and I know there are a few districts where teachers aren't sufficiently paid. Easy to fix: move. That's what the rest of us do to find work. Or do something else. But the bottom line is too many teachers are doing an incompetent job and taking us to the cleaners for it.

In Tennessee, a right-to-work state, teachers can't be forced to join a union but we still have them and a bill has been introduced to outlaw collective bargaining. Teachers responded that that collective bargaining improves the quality of education. So we took a look at how students are performing in school with, and without collective bargaining. Guess what, in district without collective bargaining, students do better. 

We need to outlaw tenure, and we need to outlaw ALL public sector unions. No one who works for the taxpayers should be allowed to unionize.

  

[MoeBetta]

Do we really need unions period, they were created back when business owners treated their employees like crap. There are so many laws in place that they really arent nessessary anymore in this day in age. I do agree with what you are saying.  My wifes been teaching now for 20 years, makes about 65,000 yr, she has a Masters and Bachelors degree in Education...Just 2 counties south, near DC, the same teacher makes 100,000 yr. 

 

Each year she goes back to work, I can see a huge difference in how parents get involved with their kids, its really sad to say that alot of parents arent working with their kids or caring what their kids are doing in school. 10 years ago, my wife was a kindergarten teacher, when she held a parent teacher conference she would get about 99% turn out from the parent, now shes lucky to get 40%. Parents arent making enough time for their kids , to work on things related to school , like our parents did with us. Parents basically see school now as a babysitter. We need more parent involvement, we need  a family unit, not a single mom, not a single dad. We need functional familes to turn these kids around..Most of the problem with kids today and their education...starts at home!  Us parents need to recognize and man up, I have a 16yr old and a 12 yr old boy...its not easy, But I try to make time to help them when I can.

 

If they arent doing good in school, its partially my fault for not pushing them and getting the help they need.

 

 

 

 

 

 

All in all, it was inappropriate thing for those 2 teachers to give their kids that as a lesson. I do agree!

[PimpedOutPete]

The hell with that!!  I work for a Heath authority and our union  helps as much as they can when it comes to negotiations...  I would not want to go back to a situation where an employer can do as they please.. I dont agree with what the teachers union did there but they certainly even the field in my situation.

[Shamu]

Since much of the dialogue has morphed into a dialogue about unions I will say they are a necessary evil.

 

Giving the workers a united front can level the playing field in negotiations.

 

Restrictive job classifications are detrimental to our ability to compete with foreign competition. If a worker is limited to only his specific skill there is too much unproductive time and inflated product cost. Let a worker work 8 hours at whatever he is skilled enough to do.

 

Seniority is a poor way to determine the layoff order in slow times. Skill and performance should be the determining factor.

 

Tenure sucks. Teachers should be readily accountable for the performance of their students. I also see way too many "off" days or "in Service" days. They should not have summers off but should be operating in summer schools, at no pay increase, for children who need special help. Classroom size should be larger reducing the amount of teachers needed. Example, the US classroom size at 13 years of age is just over 18. Japan is 35. But Japans students perform better than ours.

 

Bottom line for me is for both employers and employees be held accountable for their performance. If you don't perform, get outof town. Understand this sentiment applies to the management team also.

 

Arrgghhhh................ to early in the morning to be getting pissed.

 

And for some insight into myself I have served as a union steward, alternate committeeman and participated in both contract and arbitration hearings. I have seen the dirty end of both sides.

[Angus]

Great teachers are easily worth 80,000 + a year.

 

The trouble are the bad teachers...which by far out number the good.  This is where the unions come into play.

 

Get rid of the unions and get rid of the bad employees.

 

Disclosure:

I am a non union electrical contractor whose employees EARN very near to scale. They have health insurance, paid leave, company matched 401 and education assistance.  THEY are in control of what the EARN and no one else. 

I was an IBEW member for 2 years before leaving. While there I was a project forum running 4- 5 projects with as many as 35 electricians.  The biggest thing I didn't like was that the guy working next to me was making the same as I was with half the effort. Maybe it was being raised on a farm (and I still farm today) I believe in the old 8 hours pay for 8 hours work.

 

One more thing.....my wife is a union teacher....with a masters degree +45.....and is at the upper end of her pay scale....BUT WORKS EXTREMELY HARD FOR HER KIDS...for her pay.  <----- notice the priority order.

[billyblade]

i love teachers and what they represent, but on the subject of the union using them to try and strongarm the govt for more money is reprehensible.....!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!