Remember when teachers, public employees, PP, NPR, PBS.......

@Leon Said

That union leader was violating state law in taking taxpayer money. Don't know about you, but no way am I excusing that.

@Willi Said

union leaders getting huge pay sucks just like a ceo making huge pay sucks.

it sucks money from the pay the workers might get.
or money to improve product.
but as long as the rich are rich, the poor should be happy

@Leon Said

Perhaps he was still high from the power some of these unions have.

Teacher unions should only serve the purpose of protecting its constituents from bureaucratic abuse. Nothing more, and definitely not establishing pay and tenure at the expense of money for childrens' quality of education.

I f***ing lost my job because of it.

@shinobinoz Said

How so? I thought he was getting paid by the union members?

@Willi Said

he i think is getting higher public office retirement pay because his union boss pay got included.

@shinobinoz Said

Interesting. Some separation package like the CEO's get it seems.

@Willi Said

a teaching job?

@Leon Said

Yes, PE. Which was cut, as well as my certificated employment, along with 500 others, because teachers in the union refused to take a slight pay cut.

@Willi Said

i wish i didn't miss the bus to ceo school

@Leon Said

Yes, PE. Which was cut, as well as my certificated employment, along with 500 others, because teachers in the union refused to take a slight pay cut.

@shinobinoz Said


You & me both!

@shinobinoz Said

That was mainly because of cuts and the enforcement of No Child Left Behind. Unions are only further down the line in why you lost your job.

@Leon Said

No. In early 2010, in exchange for 5 furlough days last year and this year, our union negotiated a restitution of those 5 days AND a pay raise on top of that for next year. The hope was that the economy would be recovered by then.

Of course the economy is not. So the district, still losing money as a result, wanted to extend those furlough days and eliminate the pay raise until later to avoid layoffs. The union would not budge.

The result is I lost my job as one of those layoffs.

The union should not be negotiating a pay raise in the midst of an economic downturn.

@shinobinoz Said

Maybe. Without the union you would prolly have been paid much less then you were when you were employed. Unions are a mixed bag. But mostly I find that they have a positive impact on american jobs.

@Leon Said

I have no qualms about getting pay raises.....during times when the economy supports it. The district only wanted to extend the cuts and put off the pay raises until the economy dictated it.

Otherwise they would have no choice but to conduct layoffs and increase class size, as the district put off layoffs for two years during the worst of the recession, by wringing cuts everywhere till they were bone dry.

Our union is too strong for their own good and for the good of education of children.