Posts tagged teacher
How Public Employees Learned to Stop Worrying and Love to Strike
August 22, 2023 // The issues in all these cases aren’t the same and dynamics are different between government and the private sector. Government strikes are illegal in 39 states and there are a bunch of hoops — arbitration, mediation, fact-finding — that are mandated prior to strikes even in some states where strikes are legal.
How unions and employers dodge accountability
June 26, 2023 // As it turns out, her collective bargaining agreement—with wording agreed to by both the school district and the union—allows the superintendent to make decisions “for the good of the district.” This broad language essentially allows the school to transfer the teacher as they wish and erases any recourse she has if she believes there are questionable motives behind it all. Because neither the school board nor union would address her concerns, this teacher has had to turn to her community for assistance. She is asking people such as former students to contact the superintendent/school board to make the case that she should stay in her position. No teacher represented by a union should find themselves caught in between and left without representation. With two parties in negotiations, there’s always someone else to blame. And this story serves as a reminder as to why both employers and unions often support collective bargaining for reasons that can hurt employees.
Sterling Bay seeks $300M from Chicago teachers fund to kickstart Lincoln Yards
June 14, 2023 // If CTFP ultimately becomes the primary financial partner, it would be a surprising collaboration, given that the Chicago Teachers Union, whose members have been among the most vocal opponents of Lincoln Yards, has a lot of influence over CTPF. In Gloor’s pitch, he said, “It’s an unbelievable, generational opportunity to invest in the city” and called it “the most important deal we’ve ever done with Sterling Bay,” the outlet reported.
Soldotna teacher, union head arrested for sexual abuse of a minor
June 2, 2023 // The dispatch notes that in the last two years, he’s been on “full-time release from teaching” while serving as the Kenai Peninsula Education Association president. Per Alaska State Statute, both second- and fourth-degree charges of sexual abuse of a minor describe crimes committed by an adult against someone who is 16 or 17 years old while the perpetrator is at least three years older than the victim and occupying a position of authority over them. The charges describe sexual penetration and sexual contact, respectively.
Tennessee House Committee Abandons Critical Protections for Teacher Salary Increase
April 12, 2023 // Taxpayers should not be the bills collector for union dues. Unions should collect their own dues and teachers should have the transparency of knowing how much they are paying. Union dues should not simply be another obscure deduction on their paycheck. Worse, teachers’ largest salary increase in Tennessee history could be skimmed by the union. The Tennessee Education Association’s bylaws allow the unions to implement artificial rate hikes for union dues when teachers get raises beyond standard cost of living increases. The unions then use that money to support causes that do not represent Tennessee values. The House Finance, Ways and Means Committee’s failure to safeguard Governor Bill Lee’s vision to get Tennessee teachers and taxpayers out of the business of financing union dues collection is disappointing.
Chicago Mayor Lightfoot ousted; Vallas, Johnson in runoff
March 1, 2023 //
Op-Ed: John Grande: Hartford Federation of Teachers shirked its duty to represent me
February 23, 2023 // This skewed process is one reason why unions exist. I should know—I was a member of the Hartford Federation of Teachers (HFT) for 29 years, a building representative for five years, and helped negotiate two teacher contracts. I always stood up for my colleagues when administrators treated them unfairly. Though I resigned from the union in 2018, teachers still call me when they need advice. I knew that I could effectively defend myself in front of an unbiased third party during arbitration. But only the union can start the arbitration process. That’s when the surprise came: HFT’s vice president emailed me saying that because I was no longer a dues-paying member, the union would not initiate arbitration. Over 30 years of teaching service. Thousands of dollars in dues payments. A union appreciation plaque for being part of a team that negotiated Hartford teachers’ last good contract. None of this swayed union officials whose representation I, by law, must accept.
David R. Osborne: What one teacher did when her union didn’t represent her
August 31, 2022 // The Westinghouse teachers aren’t the first educators in their state to have their workplace upended by a union supposedly dedicated to working on their behalf. The PSEA is notorious for ignoring the needs of its membership. Last year, the union spent only $1 out of every $5 of dues actually representing its members. The other $4 went to overhead, politics and lobbying.
Public employee First Amendment rights shouldn’t be a secret
June 28, 2022 // Unions could earn the allegiance of public workers, giving those who want nothing to do with them a reason to keep giving them money. They could stop pursuing political agendas. In other words, they can become responsive to their members and make themselves attractive to potential members so that they earn voluntary membership — something every other private organization (and these unions are private organizations) must do. Constance Cooke, Office of Financial Management, paid leave law, overtime, rest and meal breaks
Opinion: Joe Ocol, Teacher, Chicago, Illinois
June 14, 2022 // “Of course, politicians use money and power to get union endorsements. If some union members don’t trust the politician endorsed by the union, their union dues are doomed. This is wrong. Where is freedom of choice in the union?” “I don’t think we should allow an organization to be so powerful that its officials brazenly abuse their power. There must be checks and balances. I think there even ought to be a lifestyle check on all the top officials of the union. Is it true that one can become rich being a union official? Is this what this is all about, that there’s money in being a union official? If so, there ought to be a lifestyle check or an audit of these officials. And it’s about time.”