Detroit Slashes Teachers’ Wages 10%

[Modern School]

Detroit’s new emergency financial manager, Roy Roberts, is imposing a 10% wage cut on all 10,000 employees of Detroit Public Schools (DPS), according to Labor Notes. On top of this, he is making them pay 20% of their own health care (up from 10% last year). All of this is possible thanks to Michigan’s Financial Martial Law bill, passed in March.

The law gives appointed financial managers the authority to impose budget cuts in cities, towns, and school districts, cancel union contracts and remove any elected local officials.

The wage cuts come on top of an already devastating 2011-2012 budget that shut down or privatized 14 schools and fired 800 employees. Furthermore, most of the district’s unions had already made concessions such as accepting furloughs.

The district has lost nearly half its schools over the last three years. Nearly half of all Detroit children will be attending charter schools this year.

Modern School
http://modeducation.blogspot.com/

[midnight]

1. I don't agree with this crap.... Not if we allow the rich to keep this outrages tax breaks...

[RKP5637]

4. This country is on a high speed train right to the bottom. I take that back, a low

speed train, we don't have high speed trains, not technologically advanced enough.

[RKP5637]

2. Sometimes I wonder who is going to stay in Detroit if they can get out. n/t

[Fearless]

3. The model of the president's pro-corporate education agenda no doubt.

At what point does this become slavery?

[RKP5637]

5. I used to wonder that, but anymore I think we're there. The rest of the

world is going to run (running) right past the US.

[pa28]

6. Half of all students are in charter schools?

It's the shock doctrine again. Let's not kid ourselves; public policy decision makers look at privatization as conventional wisdom and will see Detroit as a model instead of a warning.

Please get involved locally right now.

[RaleighNCDUer]

8. No matter what the educational results of this is, too.

Their agenda has NOTHING to do with education. It is all about making money off education.

[Fearless]

9. +1000!

[progressoid]

7. Christ, it's depressing logging on to DU simetimes.

Sometimes I wish I were blissfully ignorant of the shit-hole this country is in.