It's nothing personal, teachers.. It's just your "turn"

[SoCalDem]

Union-busting simply MUST happen, in order to drive wages down.

Steelworkers found this out, when steel mills were closed down, in favor of cheap foreign imported steel...made with slave-labor abroad

Autoworkers found this out, when plants were closed down up north, and sent "down south", where eager, unemployed people would work for a lot less..and where states were eager to rape their own taxpayers-base to provide free-nearly free land, roads, utility-hook ups

Mill-workers found this out, when textile moguls closed down the mills, in favor of cheap cotton-goods made in India (or other "low-cost" producers)

Garment-workers found this out, when factories were shut down, in favor of millions of cheap-fingers across the globe, busily sewing stuff for pennies a day..and those closed-down shops,. make such fantastic multi-million dollar lofts, don't they?

Grocery workers found this out, as walmart slithered its way across the US, undercutting "name-brand" grocery chains who still paid union ages, but could not compete with walmart and the other chain stores.. they are almost gone now... their employees may still be "around", but most are no longer working..(for union wages, anyway)

and now it's the teachers' turn..

The powers-that-be just don't think you are a valuable asset, and since most of their kids go to private academies, they just can't see "wasting" all that precious money on union teachers, who are hard to fire..

"Big Bidness" just cannot allow a penny more in wages, than is absolutely "necessary"..and THEY get to decide what's necessary. If what you do cannot be "off-shored". they must be sure that there is a big enough unemployed-labor" base to fight tooth-and-nail for the few jobs offered. People will work for low wages, if the only other choice is NO wages..

It's all part of the cycle.. the plan, to get rid of unions...

[tonysam]

1. They aren't "hard" to fire, by the way. Administrators simply fabricate charges

to get rid of unwanted teachers knowing teachers rarely can fight back in the court system because of the expense.

[SoCalDem]

3. true, but a meme is hard to fight, isn't it?

If ONE teacher fights back & wins, it's extrapolated by the media, and run with.. like all the other "givens' that aren't..:(

[tonysam]

11. It's SO rare for teachers to prevail because of all of the obstacles.

Not only is the "can't be fired" meme believed by the public, it is also believed by other school districts which don't hire terminated teachers believing these teachers really WERE fired "for cause," despite the possibility the districts rigged the hearings.

[LWolf]

2. I don't plant to take my turn submissively.

:grr:

BTW, I am still laughing at your sig. :spray:

[Bluebear]

4. And this time the union busting is being aided by Democrats. nt

[Greyhound]

5. It always has been, nothing new. n/t

:kick: & R

[msongs]

16. barack w. bush lol nt

[Sancho]

6. and they want vouchers so the private schools can hire all those bad teachers!

:grr:

[SoCalDem]

7. hey.. a "bad" teacher is "good-enough"..if the price is right

:grr:

[NotThisTime]

8. When a parent pays 20 grand a year for a kid to go to school sorry BAD gets ya fired

And don't think Independent schools don't fire the bad teachers they do.

[tonysam]

12. They fire anybody they want; the teachers don't have to be "bad."

They just don't have access to a phony baloney "hearing" where the district throws everything but the kitchen sink at them, smears their reputations, lies about them, forges documents, tampers with witnesses, and all of the other goodies "tenured" public school teachers are treated to when they are dismissed.

[NotThisTime]

22. And when there is equal respect between administration and teachers none of the things you mention

come into play at all. Reputations are not smeared, lies are not told. Yearly grades, student and parent opinions are all taken into account, in the cases we've seen it was obvious that a good match wasn't made during hiring.

[Hannah Bell]

31. lol. there's never "equal respect" between the bosses & the workers.

[Gaedel]

35. Maybe the problem is

Maybe the problem is that administrators are teachers who were either incompetent in the classroom or who got tired of the classroom and finagled their way into administration. Possibly the "principal" in a school should be the "principal teacher" (where the name came from) and should be a "straw boss" with a reduced teaching load so that he can supervise the other teachers academically and be responsible for academic standards and for doing supervisory ratings on the other teachers. The actual running of the school (bus systems, cafeteria, buildings and grounds, supplies, student discipline) should be the job of a administrator or "provost" who comes up an administrative chain and is not an education major.

[proud2BlibKansan]

14. Actually they treat them like shit; they don't fire them any more often than public schools

My dad spent 40 years in private education. I taught in Catholic schools for 5 years. I didn't see any teachers fired while I was there. My dad - maybe 2 or 3. In 40 years.

[NotThisTime]

21. We have had only the best experiences with the liberal Independent schools

we have sent our kids to and YES, they did and continue to choose not to invite teachers back, and in our experience that was reserved for teachers who truly did not want to work with these kids. These teachers have nearly carte blanche to teach in any fashion the kids will learn. It's funny, when your kid feels safe, is listened to and respected, and all the other kids want to learn too, well respect combines with learning. Our SAT scores range average in the 650's for our seniors, there's mandatory volunteer work the entire school does every week grades 7-12, they play as hard as they learn. On the flip side if you talk to our teachers they know even with their Master's they are making less by working at an Independent school. The advantages of working there however far outweigh the lower pay and they come to work happy and well supported academically. Maybe we have chosen good schools (actually I know we have), but we've been fortunate. And for the record every child in America should have these academic experiences, not just my kids, which is why I'm still involved in my local schools.

For the record we have tried public schools roughly half our children's grades, and had the same result both times in completely different states. Just this year we've moved them back mid-year.

This isn't just about teachers, and THAT is what truly frustrates the living hell out of me. When kids get bullied, the emotional side of it still remains... the administration wants no part of dealing with it, the teacher's don't talk to the administration, administration doesn't talk to teachers, hell, parents don't talk to their kids and have NO idea what is going on, add in all the crap with standardized testing and mandatory scores with those and the whole system needs to be taken down and started over. In my opinion NCLB left behind a LOT of students and a LOT of teachers.... And while I am at it, why does any public school have to ask for things like PAPER for the classrooms because it wasn't in the freaking budget? The system is so flawed I don't see how ANYONE can blame any one group for the problem. So, of course I completely disagree with firing entire schools, it's outrageous, it is beyond the pale, however I do know that there were teachers that should not have been teaching. We have tried the public schools for too many years to not notice, but we notice the rest of it as well. Perhaps the teachers who shouldn't be teaching got that way because of the administrations attitudes to start with.

This is seriously more than one single issue... it is so many. So seriously important that we get it right, and yet that is not happening, just look around and see the complete ineptitude on your left and your right and you know how they got that way.

If you've made it this far I'm sorry it's so long, but I want everyone accountable, not just teachers, but I want them accountable too, but not based on JUST ONE TEST SCORE, that notion is absurd to say the least.....

[girl gone mad]

30. You're joking, right?

A friend complained to administrators because her daughter's 70 year old science teacher was falling asleep during classes.

Their response?

"We have hundreds of students on a waiting list who would love to take your kid's place."

[Sancho]

41. that doesn't make sense

most states can require retirement at 63, 65 or whatever. My wife and I have taught in 3 states. I've seen more arbitrary "non-renewals" than problems like this. If a teacher is drunk, sleeping, etc, most of the time they are suspended or let go pretty quickly - in a few cases after some remediation fails to fix a problem. No different than lots of employers. There are problems with the state failing to revoke certificates so bad teachers move to another district. Even in union schools you can often be non-renewed without cause for a probation period of 2-3 years.

On the other hand, I've seen bad administrators try to get rid of good teachers, and districts try to get rid of teachers with higher salaries. I've certainly seen administrators make things up in order to frame employees.

There are certainly schools that have problems getting and keeping good teachers. I've seen elementary kids with cocaine and guns, 6th graders pregnant by the parent, and been attacked on school grounds by a "boy-friend/step parent" who didn't like the social workers showing up and blamed me for "reporting" the kid's issues. I taught science in a school where a problem kid lit the school on fire.

Frankly, no one can "teach" in schools like that...even though there are some really good schools and teachers out there, the worst schools are not usually caused by bad teachers. The worst schools sometimes collect the teachers that are left over when no wants to work there. Unfortunately, it's pretty impossible to change the entire area along with the school.

[eppur_se_muova]

38. Parent?? Try mark, sucker, patsy.

If anyone can convince you to pay that much for a private school, you may as well just hand all your money over to total strangers, because you're only going to lose it all anyway.

[madrchsod]

9. the worse thing is it`s a democrat that killing off the teacher`s unions

[SoCalDem]

10. It's something else,,isn't it?

dems who try so hard to be bipartisan, and fall prey to the briar patch republicans.. It still irritates me to hear Clinton brag about how he cut welfare..and made it workfare...I'd bet most of what I have that those "workfare" jobs ended when the subsidies did..and are totally gone now.. but those people are still poor ..

I hate it when dems latch onto republican bad ideas, and try to tweak them just enough to make them "work"..:puke:

[Hannah Bell]

32. something like a million "disappeared" following welfare "reform," no job, no other source of income

what happened to them?

[SoCalDem]

33. They have probably bounced in and out of temporary, low-paid jobs

and are either homeless, or are couch-surfing at relatives' & friends' homes.. and any small kids they had back then most likely, would be grown up by now..(or nearly so)..women without small, dependent children are "invisible" :(

[proud2BlibKansan]

15. That's why it's so easy

If Bush was doing this the world would be screaming at him.

[Lorien]

25. Well, those of us on the Left would have been screaming

and the teabaggers would have been cheering. As it is both sides have nothing to say.

[proud2BlibKansan]

13. Damn. Sure sucks though.

:mad:

[NNN0LHI]

17. Recommended

[madfloridian]

18. Kick and recommend.

Good post.

[teacher gal]

19. Just want to add my kudos to your post SoCalDem

and yes, to your sig too!

Happy Easter!

[Bluebear]

20. and thank you for being a teacher :)

[Lorien]

23. People in the film industry have had their turn

films get made in Vancouver. New Zealand or Australia because the governments of those Countries PAY American studios to bring their productions there. America is too greedy and short sighted to invest in U.S. film production-or production of damn near anything!

[SoCalDem]

29. and even when there were more shoots here in the US, the majority of the

union film industry people made very little.. The lucky ones attached to network tv shows, or who were related to important people may have made a living, but most people in that industry are little more than occasional contract workers.:(..and with CGI, a lot of the people who used to dress sets, do prop work , work light boards, and even work as extras, have seen their jobs diminish as well:(

[Lorien]

24. Dupe. nt

[Nikki Stone1]

26. So what are you doing about this SoCalDem?

Other than making a derivative post.

[Lugnut]

27. I'd like to add mine workers to the list.

Mine operators would be thrilled to see the UMWA disappear.

[SoCalDem]

28. That's true, but as long as the US "needs" coal, and not many people will go down into the mines,

the mine owners have to settle for just making their lives as difficult as possible:(..and attrition is removing workers from the union rolls too :(

[Lugnut]

36. That's very true.

Surface mining is the method used in this area. All the men where my husband worked are nearing retirement age. Not many people know how to do the work nor do they want to.

[DiverDave]

34. Charley Brown said it too

Charlie Brown: Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, "Why me?" Then a voice answers, "Nothing personal. Your name just happened to come up."

Sorry, I just couldnt resist...carry on

[Stinky The Clown]

37. PATCO 2010

A kinder, gentler union bust.

[blindpig]

40. First they came for the air traffic controllers.....

my first thought.

[Neecy]

39. You make an important point

They've already offshored every job possible, now they're turning to those who can't be replaced by sweatshop labor - teachers, construction workers (look at New Orleans for how they're destroying the pay for construction work) - anyone who isn't already at minimum wage. Public transportation workers are being pressured around the country to take pay cuts. Cops, firefighters, city and county workers are being laid off and the next step is to screw them in negotiations because municipalities are so broke.

The beast has chewed off the arms and legs of American labor and now they're going for the entrails. Honestly, they won't quit until we're starving in the streets and they end up holding all the chips. I thought I saw unchecked greed during the Reagan administration, but those guys were pikers compared to this bunch.

[DailyGrind51]

42. In my district, you would be amazed at the trips the teachers took over spring break!

while the parents of their students were losing their jobs and benefits.

[Catshrink]

44. Half my kids went either to Hawaii or Mexico

the teachers stayed home due to 10% pay cuts -- and another 10% looming. Some of us won't have jobs next year.

Don't tell me you're subscribing to the meme that teachers make too much. I make a barely livable wage. Soon teachers will be paid $8/hr and treated like day care workers.

[conscious evolution]

43. When does the nationwide strike start?

[Catshrink]

45. Kick

[Morning Dew]

46. Look for the union label!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QHXaEpUwt0s

Look for the union label
When you are buying that coat, dress, or blouse,
Remember somewhere our union's sewing,
Our wages going to feed the kids and run the house,
We work hard, but who's complaining?
Thanks to the ILG, we're paying our way,
So always look for the union label,
It says we're able to make it in the USA!