Collective Bargaining, Respect
and Education. . .
There’s a lot of lip service being paid to the importance of education in
modern America. House Majority Leader
Eric Cantor provided one quote in support of education when he said, "A great education is the foundation that Americans need
to climb the economic ladder of success, and to build a bright future." That type of comment is heard frequently from
all sides of the political arguments as well as is common refrain in conversations
across our nation. According to this
line of thinking, education provides the opportunity for individuals to improve
their social and economic status, and therefore is important enough to merit
close attention from those in leadership positions.
However, there is
always a "but", or some other follow up comment that provides an
opportunity to attack a political opponent, or to advance an agenda. In the case of education the statement of
support is usually followed immediately by a critique of the shortcomings of
our existing system. Once again Mr.
Cantor provides us with an example when he goes on to say, "For far too
many children in our country, a quality education remains out of reach and kids
without access to a quality of education struggle to even see any opportunity
to get ahead." This supposed
concern for the children of America is used to build an argument against public
education and for privately run, publically funded school systems.
Poverty and inequality, not
teachers, are the drivers of deficits in...
CommonDreams.org
School choice has been a
divisive issue, but both chambers are moving...
In order to advance
the agenda of privatization there is a need to find someone, or something to
blame. In education we find most of the
blame is placed on the educators who work in classrooms, especially those in
public schools. Critics point at the
Achievement Gaps, test scores that compare unfavorably with those from other
nations, and complaints from political and business leaders that our students
are unprepared for the competitive global job market. Far too many people are willing to point out
the shortcomings of our public schools, while solutions to the problems our
public schools face.
A central idea of
market-based education reform is to improve teacher quality by increasing both
the risks and rewards of the job. The problem, in many places, is that
teachers' jobs are becoming...
shankerblog.org
Sure, it’s mostly the courts,
but charter schools and testing regimes are...
The Daily Beast
Wisconsin has become
a leader in the movement to attack educators and to undermine public
education. Whether it was the QEO from
the Thompson era, legislation that specifically targeted educators wages and
benefits, or Act 10 that was a more sweeping attack on the public sector in
general, the results are the same. From
almost any aspect, economic, social or political, education is a profession
that is less than desirable. Prospective
educators must find ways to finance their education and training, but receive
less money than other professions with the same educational requirements. This translates to student loan debt that is
a financial burden for many educators long after they graduate and become
professional educators. Educators are
vilified and widely disrespected, especially by those in powerful
positions. Educators’ expertise is
ignored in policy making, and attempts to speak out against current “reforms”
are chastised as laziness, or a defense of a failed status quo. The loss of collective bargaining rights
across the state puts hard earned benefits in jeopardy and eliminates
protections that allow educators to advocate for their students.
Want to
make money? Don't pick these five majors.
WALL
ST. CHEAT SHEET
The 2011 Wisconsin
Act 10, also known as the Wisconsin Budget Repair Bill was signed into law in
June of 2011. The controversial legislation primarily impacted the areas of
collective bargaining, compensation, and retirement...
wpr.org
Public educators
in Madison have been fortunate in many ways.
Because of the support of the community, the willingness of our school
board and administration to extend our contracts, and the strength of our
unions, MTI, AFSCME and the building trades, MMSD employees have continued to
work under a collective bargaining agreement despite the passage of Act
10. However, all is not rosy here. The collective bargaining agreements that
have been negotiated since 2011 have transferred significant power from employees
to MMSD. Wages, benefits and working
conditions have been impacted by these concessions and employee stress is at
extremely high levels.
This week the
Madison School Board voted unanimously to approve negotiations for a new
contract that would keep collective bargaining in MMSD through 2016.
Meeting in closed session
Thursday night, the Madison School Board inched...
madison.com|By
Lee Enterprises
This is good
news in some ways, but many employees are apprehensive about what negotiations
will bring. The question of what we will
need to give up in order to get a contract is a specter that lurks in the back
of every employee’s mind. We know that
in past negotiations MMSD administration has looked to place limits and
controls on planning time, sought to have unilateral control over wages and
insurance costs, and placed other restrictions or created policies that have
negatively impacted educators, as well as students. The effort to make changes in elementary
planning time that was successfully fended off a couple of years ago is an
excellent example. Now we see new ideas
being put forward that continue to chip away at a contract that is the product
of years of struggle and compromise.
Ed Hughes says labor rules
giving current teachers the first shot at...
madison.com|By
Lee Enterprises
While it is true
that MMSD employees should recognize the reality that we currently work in, and
many school district employees across the state would be ecstatic to have the
contract we have (as opposed to district written and implemented handbooks),
the fact remains that all employees deserve a place at the bargaining table. MMSD employees are leading the fight to try
and maintain our voice in the workplace.
We want to do what’s right for our students while at the same time
making sure that employees are honored and respected. There is hope that we will be able to
negotiate in true good faith, but recent experience makes us question just how
good that faith will be.
This uneasiness is
certainly justified, especially in a climate where we are seeing statistics and
data used to attack our profession and our public education institutions. The drive to quantify educational efforts is
creating havoc in educational policy, and we need to continue to question the
“facts” that are presented and listen to the professionals who work in our
schools.
Why do these things
correlate? These 20 correlations will blow your mind. (Is this headline
sensationalist enough for you to click on it yet?)
tylervigen.com
As we move
forward into negotiations I am urging all members of the Madison community to
pay close attention to what is unfolding.
Will we see an effort made to address the needs of students, educators
and the community? Will we see the
voices of stakeholders listened to? Will
budgetary concerns and questionable data override what is truly best for those
who work and learn in our schools?
Over and over
we’ve heard about the strengths of MMSD.
The community, the employees and the students have all been touted as
reasons for hope as we work to address the challenges we face. Over the past year we have seen the power of
collaborative efforts between staff and administration. Educators and administration have worked
together to create a Strategic Framework, we've collaborated on task forces
addressing issues like assessment and engaged in discussion about important
topics in joint committees. Projects that
improve communication between educators and administrators provide a glimpse of
what MMSD/MTI partnerships could look like in the future. These efforts show just how much potential
exists when educators, administration and the community join together.
This potential
is only realized when there is true communication, collaboration and mutual respect
between all parties. A collective
bargaining agreement negotiated in true good faith will provide one of the only
examples in our state to counter the belief that educators and their unions are
the enemy of quality schools and true education reform. Despite what we are told to believe, educators
aren't the enemy. Neither are
administrators or school boards. Our
enemies are the inequities that exist across all aspects of our society. Our enemies are those who seek to divide us
and create conflicts to expand their own wealth and power.
By successfully
negotiating our contracts we can show the rest of the state the power of
collaboration over segregation and conflict.
We can make Madison the example of how people can resolve problems
cooperatively and address important issues in positive, progressive ways.
The Good, The Bad and
The Ugly. . .
The Good . . . Paying workers a living wage makes sense
economically and socially. Trapping
workers in low wage jobs with little opportunity for advancement creates a
class structure that can easily become permanent. Frederick Douglass offered this opinion, "experience
demonstrates that there may be a slavery of wages only a little less galling
and crushing in its effects than chattel slavery, and that this slavery of
wages must go down with the other."
The minimum wage hasn't kept up with the cost of living and therefore
needs to be raised. Having the support
of business owners increases the power of the message.
When Fred DeLuca founded
Subway, the minimum wage was $1.25. It's...
Think Progress
For the second time this
week, a CEO of a major fast food company came...
Think Progress
The Bad . . . Actually this is a mixture of good and
bad news. This Iowa
Iowa Secretary of State Matt
Schultz's (R) two year, $250,000...
Think Progress
A federal court ruling
striking down Wisconsin
wbay.com
The Ugly . . . During the debate about Act 10 we heard
many comments about the power of union money in elections and how this was a
threat to American democracy. Now, these
same people are arguing in favor of allowing conservative issue groups the
right to advocate and educate the public on issues of importance. We can't have free speech for one side of an
argument and not for the other, if this happens then speech isn't really free,
is it?
A federal appeals court has
declared key aspects of Wisconsin
madison.com|By
Lee Enterprises
Why isn't this
getting the coverage it deserves? A
"leader" takes responsibility for what happens under their
leadership. Blaming recalls, blaming
Obama, blaming anyone else isn't leadership.
Gov. Scott Walker's
administration reported Thursday that just over 28,000 private sector jobs were
created in Wisconsin last year, the lowest
annual amount since Walker
sheboyganpress.com
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