A blog designed to facilitate communication about education, teaching, schools, labor issues, social justice, politics and ordinary life. Statements or expressions of opinions herein 'do not' represent the views or official positions of DCPS, American Federation of Teachers, Washington Teachers' Union or its members. Views are my own. Anyone who claims otherwise is violating the spirit and purpose of this blog.
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Jan 30, 2009
What's Up With Our Union Contract Proposal ?
Haven't heard nary a word from our teachers' union president, George Parker about our pending contract proposal. Today is the day it was supposed to be presented to Chancellor Rhee's negotiating team. Let's hope there will be an update on our weekly Sunday robo call. Stay tuned for more. (Posted by The Washington Teacher).
I'm concerned it's not going to be worth the wait but keeping positive thoughts.We'll be watching that Constitution and
ReplyDelete14th Amendment carefully across the country. Hang in there DC teachers. Do you want a firetruck and a marching band ? Hopefully 1.4 million teachers won't be pulling the fire alarm on this radical Rhee contract. Let's go Union team ! Where are the lawyers and what are they saying ?
Go get Mr. Parker on this blog and tell these teachers what the day lights is going on ?
ReplyDeleteIf it's not radical Rhee's contractual terms of we're not sure to agree!It's the mayor of NY cutting the educational budget 770 million and that's 14,214 teachers.Call your political favorites and it beats 911.
ReplyDeleteAnyone want to make a prediction on when the WTU folds?
ReplyDeleteKat... when it folds??? The WTU has folded already! You are all waiting for a proposal that has NO money for pay raises. The city has NO money and the money that Rhee is waiting for is only attached to her proposal. I will be voting NO for anything that comes from the WTU! I only wish I could remove myself completely from the union... they are taking my money and yours too! Hurry up and read this because I am sure that Candi will remove it asap!
ReplyDeleteWell, Anon, I meant "officially folds." Closes up shop. Turns the lights off. Goes home.
ReplyDeleteI have not joined the union. In all conscience, I couldn't. I was a steadfast union supporter when I came to DC, but I find the WTU's in/actions deplorable and embarrassing. They make unions everywhere look bad.
Kat,
ReplyDeleteI agree with you about the union. They give knew meaning to the word inept, ineffectual, pathetic, bumbling, etc., etc., to such extent that their collective picture should be pasted in the dictionary next to those words. But we make up the union. We can change who the union is. We can actually attend their Saturday pow-wows. We can vote in people we think/pray/hope will do better than this bunch (not too hard when you think about it - I know a few 10 year olds...).
I do believe that if we lose the union completely, if it does fold, then you can expect management abuse to jump. It will come in terms of class size, hours, pay. Oh, we'll be given that sweet lie of "I've got corporate money all lined up, trust me" but it will be the piece of chocolate on that funny little metal thing that if I can just get it off... The money is a tool to allow for an easier way to rid the system of costly teachers, not inept teachers, costly teachers. Look at what is going on in NYC with Bloomberg and Klein and their budget woes http://accountabletalk.blogspot.com/.
I didn't agree with the Bush administration but I didn't stop voting the last eight years, I didn't opt out of being a citizen, I paid my taxes whether I agreed with my government's actions or not. The union takes your money whether you like it or not so use your power. Put Parker and the Stooges out of office. Make noise at their meetings. Use your vote.
WTU leadership is a National Embarrassment.
ReplyDeleteWTU EMPTY PROMISES & WORDS + MEMBERS WAITING IN VAIN-- these are what WTU is reduced into for more than a year now.
ReplyDeleteWTU has been bleeding out its integrity.
GP keeps issuing memo, robocall, and press releases about WTU's updates on its updates. It's becoming a broken record to a point it's effing annoying.
If I can only get my membership fee back, I'LL FREAKING DO IT IN A BEAT.
See, that desire to get one's membership fees back...that's one reason I won't join. Don't I give them enough $25.17 per paycheck) to do...what, exactly? Hold catered meetings to impress Weingarten, who doesn't show? Pay the salaries of disgruntled employees who are eagerly waiting to jump ship? Get treated like you-know-what by the WTU office staff?
ReplyDeleteI hear ya, Lode. I also fear the loss of protection that any union's disappearance might result in. (Although I really question WTU's ability to protect anyone, especially someone new like me. Actually, I doubt they would -- they treat me like a scab.) But I never believed sticking with "the devil you know" to be a wise action plan.
Fenty will find a way to rid DC of the WTU (while still leaving Obama's image squeaky clean) and then Rhee can move forward with her plan. They already have a way to do it; I believe they're just biding their time. Really though, the WTU doesn't need Fenty's or Rhee's help when it comes to making the union look bad.
This entire situation continues to embarasses me as a DCPS teacher. Parker has lied to the wtu members again and again. I will never forget him trying to tell teachers we have no tenure and no defense against Rhee. What a lowpoint when he admitted defeat. Thank God some of us resisted. Notice he nevers put anything in writing. There will be no raise or retro, no job security and no contract. He is such a poor speaker and presenter also. Most people are simple not going to believe anything he says. Did you see him on DC Cable TV. He spent an inordinate amount of time digging in his nose while sitting behind another speaker. Gross me out. That is not attractive to us young teachers -President Parker. When it was his time to testify, he had no written testimony and jumped into a reckless diatribe about "bad kids" while poking in the air with those long "ET" like fingers and rolling his eyes backwards. OMG what an moron! Maybe he was symbolicly digging in God's nose looking for answers.
ReplyDeleteTeachers are in trouble. At first, Rhee says she loves him. Now she will not talk to him. Nathan Saunders, the 2nd in charge, will not have anything to do with him either. I feel so bad for all teachers on Plan B's or 90 day plans. It is directly attributable to Parker. So Weingarten enters and forces him to submit a proposal, at least we think he submitted a proposal. Knowing Chicken George he probably did not do it. Now we have to guess what he has done. More importantly, what is in this proposal? We have no clue. If he is supposed to be representing us he has a responsibilty to confer and inform us before the fact and not after the fact. Parker is completely untrustworthy and anything he is a part of teachers are going to get screwed royally. Once again we are siting around asking What is George Parker doing?
Well, when the bar is so low (cough, cough...Barbara Bullock...cough), someone like Parker looks mighty good, don't he?
ReplyDeleteOK, it's time. Rhee got the proposal last weekend. Now the public should see it. Where is it??
ReplyDelete