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Union vs Emanuel
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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Mon Sep 10, 2012 1:10 pm    Post subject: Union vs Emanuel Reply with quote

How interesting. The liberals love collective bargaining, so Rahm should be enjoying himself, plus neither side agrees on what the issues are about. The Chicago way.

From the Huff Post:
Quote:
On Monday, Chicago's public school students won't have any classes to go to.

After weeks of negotiations, Mayor Rahm Emanuel's team and the Chicago Teacher's Union failed to agree on a contract. On Sunday night, CTU officially announced it was going to strike for the first time in a quarter century. So on Monday, instead of teaching, the union's 26,000 educators will protest.

"In the morning, no CTU members will be inside our schools," CTU President Karen Lewis said Sunday at a late-night press conference outdoors, surrounded by throngs of reporters and teachers. She appeared in a bright red jacket with crimson lipstick, the intensity of her wardrobe illustrating the defiance in her words. "We will walk the picket lines, we will talk to parents, we ... will demand a fair contract today, we demand a fair contract now," she said, calling the ordeal an "education justice fight."

But when it comes to exactly what the strike it about, the stories of the city and the union vary dramatically. Shortly after Lewis finished saying that the union was striking over contract negotiations, teacher evaluations, lack of proper air conditioning, and broader pedagogical issues -- such as class size and out-of-class services for poor kids -- Emanuel addressed the press.

"This is totally unnecessary, this is avoidable, and our kids do not deserve this," he said.

The mayor, who fashions himself an education reformer, wore no tie. While Emanuel usually doesn't mince words, his anger appeared more internalized, more resolute. At moments, he appeared to be on the verge of tears. His hand shook visibly as he took a sip of water in between statements. "This is a strike of choice," he said.

From Emanuel's perspective, after weeks of negotiation, only two issues remain unresolved. The first is a principal's right to choose the teachers that work in his or her school. "It's essential that the local principal who we hold accountable for producing the educational results not be told by the CPS bureaucracy ... and not be told by the union leadership who to hire," he said.

Second, he added, is the impasse over how to implement a recent law that requires standardized tests to count for, initially, one quarter of all teacher evaluations. "I'm telling you, these were the final two issues," he said, exasperated.


From The Foundry in June: http://blog.heritage.org/2012/06/12/chicago-teachers-union-demands-30-percent-pay-raise/
Quote:
It takes a lot of nerve to ask for a 30 percent pay raise. You’d better be sure you had a banner year. Yet in Chicago, where just 15 percent of fourth graders are proficient in reading (and just 56 percent of students graduate), the teachers union is set to strike if the district does not agree to a 30 percent increase in teachers’ salaries.

The average teacher in Chicago Public Schools—a district facing a $700 million deficit—makes $71,000 per year before benefits are included. If the district meets union demands and rewards teachers with the requested salary increase, education employees will receive compensation north of $92,000 per year.

According to the Illinois Policy Institute, the average annual income of a family in Chicago is $47,000 per year. If implemented, the 30 percent raise will mean that in nine months, a single teacher in the Chicago Public School system will take home nearly double what the average family in the city earns in a year.


These Chicago teachers really have it rough. I wonder what the benefit package includes?
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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 9:03 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I now see that the pay raise that was offered by the city was 16% over 4 years, but that was rejected by the teachers/union. The average current pay is 74K per year without benefits, plus Chicago is one of the highest paid districts in the country. After the 16% over four years increase, the average pay would total over $86,500.

How does the city manage this? I guess not too well.

From July 29, ChicagoNews:
Quote:
City Hall’s budget deficit for 2012 is projected to reach $635.7 million and could approach $800 million within a couple years, Mayor Rahm Emanuel said Friday.

The new mayor said he would balance the budget for next year while maintaining his campaign pledge not to raise taxes and without cutting resources devoted to the police department.

“I am not going to ask people who feel nickeled and dimed to pay more for a system that has not been restructured,” Emanuel said.

But Emanuel would not rule out a tax hike in 2013 or later.


From ABCLocal, July 31:
Quote:
Chicago's 2013 "budget battle" began Tuesday with a report on the city's projected deficit, which is huge, but a lot lower than expected.

"The deficit we had last year has now been cut in half for 2013," said budget director Alexandra Holt.

Holt said the good news -- that Chicago's projected 2013 deficit had shrunk from $740 million to $369 million -- was due in part to structural changes implemented by the Emanuel administration during its first year. They include grid-based garbage pickup, a wellness program for city employees and workers compensation reforms.

And, the economy has improved, providing a boost in expected tax revenues.


Looks more like the US government, but they can't print or borrow money, so when or how does it end?
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mat-ty



Joined: 07 Jul 2007
Posts: 7850

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 3:24 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

72 grand, 15 grand in benefits, 14 weeks off, no accountability. Sounds like a dream job to me. Looks like Dead fish has his nuts in a ringer. I guess those are the tough decisions you have to make when you have to BALANCE A BUDGET.
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nw30



Joined: 21 Dec 2008
Posts: 6485
Location: The eye of the universe, Cen. Cal. coast

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 4:49 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

And yet with all that, you get this.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
U.S. Department of Education: 79% of Chicago 8th Graders Not Proficient in Reading
By Terence P. Jeffrey
September 10, 2012 (CNSNews.com) -

Seventy-nine percent of the 8th graders in the Chicago Public Schools are not grade-level proficient in reading, according to the U.S. Department of Education, and 80 percent are not grade-level proficient in math.
Chicago public school teachers went on strike on Monday and one of the major issues behind the strike is a new system Chicago plans to use for evaluating public school teachers in which student improvement on standardized tests will count for 40 percent of a teacher’s evaluation. Until now, the evaluations of Chicago public school teachers have been based on what a Chicago Sun Times editorial called a “meaningless checklist.”
In 2011, the U.S. Department of Education administered National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) tests in reading and math to students around the country, including in the Chicago Public Schools. The tests were scored on a scale of 0 to 500, with 500 being the best possible score. Based on their scores, the U.S. Department of Education rated students’ skills in reading and math as either “below basic,” “basic,” “proficient” or “advanced.”
Nationally, public school 8th graders scored an average of 264 on the NAEP reading test. Statewide in Illinois, the 8th graders did a little better, scoring an average of 266. But in the Chicago Public Schools, 8th graders scored an average of only 253 in reading. That was lower even than the nationwide average of 255 among 8th graders in “large city” public schools.
With these NAEP test results, only 19 percent of Chicago public school 8th graders rated proficient in reading while another 2 percent rated advanced—for a total of 21 percent who rated proficient or better.
79 percent of Chicago public school 8th graders were not grade-level proficient in reading. According to the U.S. Department of Education, this included 43 percent who rated “basic” and 36 percent who rated “below basic.”
In the 8th grade math test, Chicago public school 8th graders scored an average of 270 out of 500, compared to an average of 274 for 8th graders in “large city” public schools, and 283 for 8th graders nationally as well as statewide in Illinois.
With these NAEP test results, only 17 percent of Chicago public school 8th graders rated proficient in math while another 3 percent rated advanced—for a total of 20 percent who rated proficient or better.
Thus, 80 percent of Chicago public school 8th graders were not grade-level proficient in math. According to the U.S. Department of Education, this included 40 percent who rated “basic” in math and 40 percent who rated “below basic.”

http://cnsnews.com/news/article/us-department-education-79-chicago-8th-graders-not-proficient-reading
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 5180

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 10:51 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

It is encouraging, however, that the Chicago teachers union is supportive of a teacher evaluation system that will properly reward the 15% 4th grade reading proficiency and the 50% high school graduation rate. They just don't like the evaluation system that is on the table.........or any other system that has ever been proposed.

Forward!!
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mac



Joined: 07 Mar 1999
Posts: 17742
Location: Berkeley, California

PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 11:45 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Perhaps a little more complicated than right wing talking points. I've probably been in classrooms watching teachers more than most principals. There are some real problems, as well as some benefits, of the value added teacher evaluation that is one of the core issues here. But I don't expect deep thought or consideration of viewpoints from the real world by gybe, NW, and techno. Have any of you even heard of Dian Ravitch, or read her book?
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boggsman1



Joined: 24 Jun 2002
Posts: 9118
Location: at a computer

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 8:14 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!”
George Carlin

MrG . Are you voting for Virgil Goode in the upcoming presidential election?
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techno900



Joined: 28 Mar 2001
Posts: 4161

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:06 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

mac said:
Quote:
Perhaps a little more complicated than right wing talking points. I've probably been in classrooms watching teachers more than most principals. There are some real problems, as well as some benefits, of the value added teacher evaluation that is one of the core issues here. But I don't expect deep thought or consideration of viewpoints from the real world by gybe, NW, and techno. Have any of you even heard of Dian Ravitch, or read her book?

Perhaps not so complicated. For 34 years of my career I was in education (2 in public & 32 in independent schools).

One of many reasons that some public schools do such a poor job is apparently the main reason for the strike - job security/evaluations. Unions do an excellent job for their members, allowing the crappy teachers to stay in their jobs for a lifetime to ensure that the students continue to receive a sub-par education.

For the 32 years I was in independent schools, I was on 32 one year contracts. You either did a good job or you got the boot at the end of the year. This is why independent schools are thriving even in a recession, parents recognize that a quality education is a 100 times more likely to occur in a private school than in a public one. Yes, there are many excellent public schools too, but most are not so lucky to be in one of them.

Big districts like Chicago are doomed to failure, especially with big union support. The teachers are the only winners, with big salaries, great benefits and job security. Too bad the kids, families and the community get the short end of the stick.

So mac, where is your support, the union or Rahm? Sort out the complications for us.
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 5180

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:30 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

We've been through this before with strident accusations of union busting in Wisconsin and elsewhere. Rahm Emanuel and many Democrat politicians send their kids to private schools for a reason. Performance will always decline over time when there is no incentive to excel........and employees will get used to whatever compensation they receive and think they deserve more, regardless of comparisons with other jobs. Fiscal reality is finally taking hold. When someone as liberal as Emanuel is forced to acknowledge that, we are provided with a little insight into how dire the situation is. The teachers unions are an impediment to advancement and have been for decades.
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mrgybe



Joined: 01 Jul 2008
Posts: 5180

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:32 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

boggsman1 wrote:
“Just think of how stupid the average person is, and then realize half of them are even stupider!”
George Carlin

I thought George Carlin died before the last election.
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