School Contracts

[Mothra]

I heard on the news this morning of the many school districts that are continuing to negotiate into this 11th hour before school starts, or in some cases, after school should have started.

Can someone who knows explain this phenomenon to me? Do we only hear about it at the end of the summer, or have they really just started the talks two weeks ago or what? What is the process to negotiating a contract, in RI, for Teachers. I don't want to know how it is for other industries. I want to understand why, on the night before school is supposed to open folks are still duking it out around a table while parents and kids sit and wonder whether there will be school the next day.

[Frankie811]

It's all about the same s#$@t different year. The unions rule in this state.

[MikeR]

It sucks. I live in Tiverton and have two boys in the system. Teachers are on strike tomorrow and I have to arrange babysitting because teachers won't work. I think teachers unions should be outlawed. They already get a good wage and benefits. Here in Tiverton they are striking because they want raises more than the community can afford to pay them.

[Recchia]

this happens so late every summer because the school boards purposely wait til the last minute so the teachers will feel more pressured to get a cheaper contract.

[Mothra]

this happens so late every summer because the school boards purposely wait til the last minute so the teachers will feel more pressured to get a cheaper contract.

[runawayjim]

So it is the school boards, not the Teachers Unions?

[smcbride11]

They already get a good wage and benefits.

[Lone Ranger]

Oh my bleeding heart.

[smcbride11]

Oh my bleeding heart.

[runawayjim]

interesting... most school districts i'm familiar with start at around $35-40k (public schools of course, the ones that strike). tenure should not exist except in college level teaching. the stuff taught in elementary and high school is not subject to a whole lot of interpretation by the teacher.

even if my mother taught in the public school and her union went on strike, she would be crossing those picket lines everyday because she cares about the kids and not about some stupid contract that some big wig making more than double what she makes tells her to care more about. that's what a teacher is all about, not about the contract or the money or anything like that. it's about making a difference. i'm still debating leaving IT and going into education at some point.

[f1rehead]

Oh my bleeding heart.

[jencoleslaw]

teachers, so i am told, do not go into the profession for the money. so, teachers, especially in public school systems know what they are getting into when they go to school to teach school, right? so how come all the outrage when the salaries suck? if you want to make 80K a year then be something else, don't be a teacher. the time to make major changes to how this country funds education, and what this country values, is not the day before school starts via contract negotiations. nothing chaps me more than when school is delayed because of a lack of a contract. if it is the city's fault for not bargaining in good faith then the city should be fined, if it is the teachers fault for not bargaining in good faith, then their union (and thus their members) should be fined.

oh and i so don't want to hear any bs about how teachers do so much outside the classroom and have to buy their own school supplies. try working in non profit where you get few, if any, benefits, often work all weekend, no overtime and no money for things like office supplies and toilet paper. but if you sign up for that kind of work, if it is worth it to you to try to make change and mold young minds, then suck it up! if not, then get a job at a bank and push paper all day long.

[runawayjim]

teachers, so i am told, do not go into the profession for the money. so, teachers, especially in public school systems know what they are getting into when they go to school to teach school, right? so how come all the outrage when the salaries suck? if you want to make 80K a year then be something else, don't be a teacher. the time to make major changes to how this country funds education, and what this country values, is not the day before school starts via contract negotiations. nothing chaps me more than when school is delayed because of a lack of a contract. if it is the city's fault for not bargaining in good faith then the city should be fined, if it is the teachers fault for not bargaining in good faith, then their union (and thus their members) should be fined.

oh and i so don't want to hear any bs about how teachers do so much outside the classroom and have to buy their own school supplies. try working in non profit where you get few, if any, benefits, often work all weekend, no overtime and no money for things like office supplies and toilet paper. but if you sign up for that kind of work, if it is worth it to you to try to make change and mold young minds, then suck it up! if not, then get a job at a bank and push paper all day long.

[smcbride11]

teachers, so i am told, do not go into the profession for the money. so, teachers, especially in public school systems know what they are getting into when they go to school to teach school, right? so how come all the outrage when the salaries suck? if you want to make 80K a year then be something else, don't be a teacher. the time to make major changes to how this country funds education, and what this country values, is not the day before school starts via contract negotiations. nothing chaps me more than when school is delayed because of a lack of a contract. if it is the city's fault for not bargaining in good faith then the city should be fined, if it is the teachers fault for not bargaining in good faith, then their union (and thus their members) should be fined.

[runawayjim]

Just because you don't go into a profession for the money does not mean that you're not entitled to a wage that allows you a reasonable standard of living. I'm not trying to defend the teachers or the unions or anything, but it's completely absurd that we spend so little on our education system. I'd call teachers the most important people at forming the way young people think (behind their parents, of course), and it doesn't make any sense at all to me that we (meaning the government) ignore them to the point that we do. But I digress.

The negotiations go so late because both sides are trying to beat up the other one... It's a negotiating ploy they use to try to force the other party to give in, so school can open in time. They're technically not allowed to strike, so a judge will always force them back to work after a few days - but in the mean time each party is going to use every chip they've got in order to get the best contract. Remember, teachers aren't paid for the days they're on strike, so it's not in their best interest to do... if they do strike, that means there's a sticking point in the contract that's so bad that they feel it'll affect their standard of life - usually strikes are over health care and retirement funds, not salary.

[webbage]

Apparently RI already has the 8th-highest paid teachers in the nation. Why are they striking again?

[smcbride11]

Most of the strikes I'm aware of in RI have been over retirement or health care, not salary. I'm only reasonable knowledgeable about a couple districts, though, so it's possible that I'm wrong.

Also, keep in mind that average salary is a really bad measuring stick... I'm unable to find median salaries, but I'd venture a guess that the median is substantially lower than the average would suggest...

RI does not have a state-wide salary schedule, either. If you're working in a low paying district and see that the average salary is $54k (4th in the nation), but you're not within $10k of that number, well, you'd be angry too. You cannot switch jobs in education like you can in the private sector, so there's no argument where "they should just find a new job".

[smcbride11]

Sorry to reply to my reply, but I found some cool info.

http://www.neari.org/matriarch/d.asp?PageI...07tchrsal%2Epdf

The numbers on top are the "step" - that's what you'd make in that year of employment.

Notice that in most districts, it takes 8 years of continuous employment in that district to reach the RI average salary of $54k. That's how misleading average salary is.

Also, if you happen to move from another state into many districts in RI you're automatically considered step 1 - no matter how much experience you have in another state, RI has no statewide mandate requiring that experience to be recognized.

[jencoleslaw]

Sorry to reply to my reply, but I found some cool info.

http://www.neari.org/matriarch/d.asp?PageI...07tchrsal%2Epdf

The numbers on top are the "step" - that's what you'd make in that year of employment.

Notice that in most districts, it takes 8 years of continuous employment in that district to reach the RI average salary of $54k. That's how misleading average salary is.

Also, if you happen to move from another state into many districts in RI you're automatically considered step 1 - no matter how much experience you have in another state, RI has no statewide mandate requiring that experience to be recognized.

[runawayjim]

So, that whole stepping thing? That's a union thing, right? That's not something that the state requires, is it? What would it take to get the teachers to dump the union?

i saw on the tv news that one of the union beefs with the district was the health co-pay. they were willing to pay $50 PER YEAR only. Per YEAR? Mr Coleslaw pays more than that PER WEEK and he works at a hospital.