After reading what some people think and listening to what some people say about Mullica's teachers, I can't remain silent. I am a teacher in Mullica, one who has not been here for very long. This has been a great experience for me, and my wish is to remain in this school until my retirement. Not everything is perfect, but we have great supportive staff members and many, many parents who are active in our school. Like some others here, I worry about my job. I know that the state is squeezing money from every district, and expenses continue to go up. Less state money, higher costs and a desire to keep tax increases down make a few of us very nervous. We cannot say anything because we have to be good union members. We are told not to put our student's work on the hallway walls as a protest. It makes me sad for the kids who are so happy to see something of theirs hung up on the wall. They come to me excited to see their own work displayed. It is sad to hurt children in this way. We are painted with a broad brush as uncaring members of a demon union. We do not even know what the local negotiations are about. We are fed very little information and have to take the word of our negotiators that they are acting in our interest. I think that they are, except that their requests may wind up costing me and some of my other colleagues our jobs. I have talked to a few of my co-workers, and they like being here too. They do work for the kids. Please don't let a few people who are acting aggressive or who sound unreasonable make you think that none of us appreciate it here. I hope I can stay, I hope we all can stay.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Local Teachers Not All Cast From Same Die
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10 comments:
I sympathize with this teacher. There are many things wrong with the educational system in New Jersey, and one of these is the process which requires each school board to negotiate a contract with its teachers. This, in essence, creates an acrimonious relationship between these two groups that should be working together to provide the best education for the children. Dedicated, caring teachers are caught in the middle during negotiations as the union initiates job actions that ultimately harm the students. The end result of this process is a new contract and a rift between teachers and school boards that often never completely heals.
The obvious solution to this problem is to move all of the negotiations to the state level and have a uniform state contract that would take into account the differences in school districts (urban, suburban, and rural) as well as the cost of living in various parts of the state (North Jersey and South Jersey). This would save thousands of dollars, would result in a better working relationship between the teachers and school boards, and would eventually do away with the huge salary discrepancies that now exist between school districts throughout the state.
"We are fed very little information and have to take the word of our negotiators that they are acting in our interest. I think that they are."
That's the logic that got the schools into this mess in the first place.
This article is a very sincere attempt to express what must be a very frustrating situation and really goes to the core of this whole thing. Teachers are very idealistic and very trusting for the most part. Most of them are too busy trying to teach and do the extra hours work instead of getting involved in the NJEA business end of it. Most do not also become politcally active nor are they skilled in labor relations or negotiations. Therefore they trust the NJEA and its officers to attend to those items.Also as other posts have stated the NJEA more or less has a lock on them to force them to stay in that union through fees and intimidation and peer pressure. I think after reading the article the NJEA takes advantage of their general staff by not telling them everything and tries to control the direction of the labor relations and talks. I believe this teacher when she mentions how limited and controlled the metings are. I assume most contract questions are answered with the smokescreen"we cant discuss this because we are in negotiations". It also seems that the staff is really being held hostage regarding the control of information. I do feel for the writer and her fellow teachers but the key points are that they elected their representatives, and they (at least I assume here) have the ultimate vote if there is going to be a strike or not. I also am unclear as to whether or not the leaders have gone back to the staff with the offers that are on the table . I would hope that the staff knows exactly what the offers are and what alternatives there are before a strike vote is ever even brought up. Once that vote passes things will get much more serious and a lot worse and it will the local staff who will face the results all the time being told "it was their vote and they knew what they were doing when they broke the law" I wish the writer well.
I agree with the 2:21 PM poster. If the teachers are going to elect the most militant and self-serving to represent them during labor negotiations year after year, they have no cause to later say we didn't want this.
And please, stop saying "it's for the children", if it was, you would hang their work up and stop wearing those buttons the NJEA is spending tax dollars to buy. Who is reading those buttons? The children and it means nothing to them and as a taxpayer, it's a slap in my face everytime I see a teacher wearing one. It doesn't make me feel bad for you, it makes me unsympathetic to your cause. Do you really want to be turning the parents, who are your best advocates, against you?
The teachers and staff who are ELECTED by the teachers to represent them in negotiations are just that, elected to represent the teachers. Unfortunately, the teachers and staff so selected have been loud, immature, greedy, unprepared, uncooperative and vindictive. An example of loud and immature in the last negotiations was the use of cowbells, yelling and a walk through to disrupt a board/superintendent dinner held at Mullica while the event was in progress. The demand was a 16% increase with no contributions toward benefits. An example of unprepared and uncooperative was the lack of a written document from the teachers and staff on what they wanted. They had demands but it wasn't written down and to get them to write it down it took months of wasted time and effort. The use of t shirts in the class room is unprofessional and especially difficult for the children of the parents on the board. For the teachers and staff to claim that they are not in communication with their negotiation team and therefore do not know what is going on is very sad and disingenuous. They are your representatives, demand that they tell you what they are asking for. When they want action such as a march or t shirts say no. Hold them accountable. Most of all, look at the people that you have voted to represent you. Are you sure that this is what you want?
The board will have no recourse but to lay off teachers and staff if the unreasonable demands of the NJEA continue. Contract negotiations have never been about the students. In Mullica it has been been give me, and give me more with no consideration of the taxpayers of this community. Where has the greed taken NJEA now?
Seems to be a lot of anger and a long memory about the last contract tactics. If NJEA is stupid enough to call for a strike there will be a back to work order coming from a judge very quickly. If so, will NJEA allow their union to be held in contempt by judge? Anybody been in front of a judge after being held in contempt? The public wont be very forgiving or understanding this time. Also isnt a union for protection of all members? To think the union wants its benefits knowing a few of their own fellow workers will lose jobs in such times is thoughtless , cruel and selfish.Keep everyones jobs and take a cut if you have to.If it is also true about not putting up childrens work and wearing t shirts in class shame on you for subjecting the innocent kids to all this. Disrupting the Board dinner is also shameful .While NJEA can boast about its percieved power the leadership needs to remember the law regarding strikes isnt on their side and its only been the goodwill of the public and the board that keeps them out of legal problems. Try to settle this so your staff, the school and the kids can get back to normal.
RE "Seems to be a lot of anger and a long memory about the last contract tactics."
What's past is prologue, regrettably.
There is a legal process for teachers to show their contempt for their union leaders - decertify the NJEA as their bargainng agent. Have the guts to petition the NLRB and send a true message that you are for the kids and not for yourselves! Otherwise, its just a bunch of hot air.
The teachers for the most part are locked into the NJEA with the mandatory payments they have to make if they leave. There is another teacher union called the AFT which I believe is actually the Teamsters . I think that organization is prevelant in Pa, I'm sure that there would be a lot of red tape and legal obstacles the NJEA has in place through their political allies in Trenton to make it difficult if not impossible for the staff to bring in another union for representation.
Maybe a better short term fix is to call for a vote of confidence in their negotiation team(if indeed they can do that). These are educated intelligent people so I assume that at least they are getting updates, proposals, counterproposals before and after every meeting. The worst thing they can do is sit back, not ask questions and assume for the best. The NJEA must have their regional team involved here and if so they are not going to allow any givebacks that would effect the entire state in contract negotiations.I also hope that the members still have kept the right to vote on any job actions and not given that right to the team to call them If so they have lost control of their contract.As stated before on this website the NJEA can stir up all sorts of emotions and create ill will and bad feelings with the Board of Ed and the community, When its all over the leaders go back to Trenton and its the local staff who has to deal with all the aftermath for years.
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