Chicago teachers being laid off without due process

[erodriguez]

Neater-DuBow is an overachiever. She's sought and won national board certification, one of the most prestigious designations a teacher can achieve.
In 2008 she was one of 171 CPS teachers honored by Mayor Daley and CEO Arne Duncan for earning the certification.

However this is the letter she got in the mail informing her of her termination:

Dear colleague:

Please be advised that your position is no longer available effective August 31, 2010 due to Redefinition. As a result, I regret to inform you that you will be laid off and honorably dismissed effective August 31, 2010. Teachers honorably dismissed are not entitled to either the Reassigned Teacher Pool or the Cadre.
On behalf of the CPS, I thank you for your service to Chicago public school students.


Sincerely, Office of Human Capital

Why was she laid off?

Before she lost her job, Neater-DuBow saw an opening posted in the CPS Bulletin for someone to teach art and dance at Multicultural Arts High School. She supposed the job was for someone who'd be working alongside her. But then she was fired, at which point she supposed that's how her job had been redefined.

"It seems my position was kept open, after I'd been kicked out of it," comments Neater-DuBow, "so that, presumably, my first-year principal could replace me with someone cheaper . . . and/or with someone without tenure. I'm sorry if that sounds judgmental, but I just can't imagine any other explanation for all that has happened."

Teachers who have served Chicago are being dismissed like trash. There is nothing honorable about it.


http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/cps-tenure-teacher-firings-chicago-teachers-union/Content?oid=2351149

[gratuitous]

1. The way it will play out . . .

The teachers' union will sue the district for failing to follow the contract. The district will fight the lawsuit, and lose. The laid-off teachers will have to be reinstated with back pay (less any salary they received from other jobs during the pendency of the lawsuit, which will be years), and depending on the contract, the district may be required to cover the union's attorney fees. The district will not have gained a goddam thing, they will have wasted thousands of dollars, dozens of teachers will have to go elsewhere for jobs in the meantime, and there will be less money available for the schools and students.

And the school board genius who decided this was a great way to save the district some money will be running for higher office when all this shit comes down, eager to do similar "favors" for other agencies.

[Better Today]

2. Yep, we say we want well educated, well trained teachers but as soon as they

get their masters or special certifications that make them more costly, and tenure they got while they taught during their advancing education/certification... well, too bad, now they're too expensive to keep. Seems teachers are more valuable to us than say defense contractors, but what-the-fuck, let's pay mercenaries $100K a year and expect highly qualified teachers to work for pittance.

[lynne]

3. Welcome to the world of the laid off US worker -

- I'm not a teacher but I got laid off without due process in January. I had been in the position for about 20 years with excellent reviews. Although I had two decades with the firm, employees with less tenure and experience - and less salary and less benefits - were kept on.

It is not about the employee. It is about the bottom line. Mid-management is being reviewed and rewarded based on how they can cut expenses and that includes salary. We'd better get used to it because there's no indication that things are changing.

[LWolf]

5. I'm sorry.

:(

This teacher wants due process for all workers.

Are you part of a union?

[erodriguez]

4. kick for the evening

[senseandsensibility]

6. Thanks for posting

So sorry to hear about this.