East Providence teachers ready to restart talks
Published: September 17, 2009
Updated: September 17, 2009
EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. - The East Providence teachers union has offered to resume negotiations with the School Committee.
But the teachers continue to reject the committee’s call for paying teachers based on performance rather than seniority.
Union president Valarie Lawson said in a statement Wednesday that the committee’s proposal is “another publicity stunt” and “smoke and mirrors.“
Teachers have been without a contract since Oct. 31. Negotiations broke down before that and mediation and arbitration have not resolved the issues.
The School Committee voted to cut teacher salaries nearly 5 percent and force the educators to pay 20 percent toward their health care costs.
The union has challenged the action in court and before the state Labor Relations Board.
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Reader Reactions
zuzupetals, I cannot help but respond to your comment about reminding America that contracts and unions are what some people imposed on the labor system (unions mostly affect taxpayers, not companies at this point) to instill and secure that illegal actions were not being contrived which would inevitably hurt us….
The validity of contracts that unions constantly spout off about were not upheld during the bankruptcy of GM. Bondholders, by contract, should have gotten preferential treatment over the unions pensions for ownership in the reorganized GM. Instead, the bondholders were left with far less, instead of more, than the unions, which was not the way the contracts were suppose to be enforced. The bondholders represented many pensions for the private sector that were completely walked all over by the current administration and the unions. Like it or not, the bondholders should have held a higher stake in the company than the unions, legally. So please, don’t speak of union contracts like they are the golden law and should be upheld and they insure against illegal actions. Unions only pull the wool over the eyes of the union members by such propaganda, not the general public. Most of the bondholders that the unions illegally stole from during the reorganization of GM were middle class American pensions. So much for the unions giving a crap about middle class America. Union officials care only about one thing, union officials, and the dues they collect from the ignorant sheeple who follow them. They are big business, and like any big corporation, they don’t care about you or me or any of it’s members.
to Chesapeake,
Thanks for posting. I want to introduce you to “life in the real world”.
I’m assuming you are about to move into college with ideas of the new intellectually stimulating world of higher education. Forget about it. The students today are in a dog eat dog race for grades because they know what the job market will be when they graduate. It stinks out there for mediocre students.
Forget about the “Animal House” days of casual college life. Life is NOT FAIR and you will be subjectively judged from here on as to how well you perform regardless of the obstacles you face (an impossible boss or customer, illness, etc.).
If you aspire to anything of importance, look to your side in the classroom. There is the person you will be measured against. If you want no measurements, forget about college, put the money into a foreclosed house or live with your parents. Everyone from this point forward will be measured in an unfair and subjective manner, including teachers. Learn this point now and you will succeed. Ignore it and you will forever be posting on how unfair life has been to you.
I wish you well! Any person of your age who takes the time to be involved (on either side of an issue) is off to a good start.
Hello,
My name handle is “Chesapeake”. I’m 18 years old and a senior.I just want to say thank you to all my teachers. There has never been a time when I haven’t recieved help when I’ve asked. I believe it is up to a student and how that student holds his or her education as a priority, as to whether they will succeed.
I can’t understand how a teacher can be held accountable for a student not willing to do the work.
As far as Kennethnkn; Seven posts down.
You say you are a teacher yet you didn’t respond to my counter point on your idea that republicans caused the financial breakdown of this country.
My father read your posts, then read mine. He suggested I persue you. I intend to. On every issue you raise.
On this one also:
You wrote this:
Posted by ( kennethknk ) on September 14, 2009 at 7:20 pm
{I acutaly take some of your coments print them off and show them to my students how most of the Republican voters think, Not just around here but nation wide it helps so when they are ready to vote they have a good idea what Republicans and Democrats represent and who addresses the isues.)
I don’t think this is a good thing for a teacher to have his own political agenda and influence children.
You just wrote this:
Posted by ( kennethknk ) on September 18, 2009 at 9:33 am
As I read some of your comments most of you forget that all teachers in the Country are our Nations childrens future and we are getting our butts kick by third world countries.
From what I understand it’s third world countries that influence children on political issues.Also considering you hateful speech about all Republican politicians it is irresponsable for you to teach kids your kind of politics.
Please respond: I’m not going away.
ristinks…come spend a week at my school and you’ll feel like you worked 1100 hours in 5 days!
Rating and ranking in the private sector is full of unfairness, but it exists anyway. If you have an impossible customer who demands $1 worth of services for 10 cents, that’s life, you’ll get rated on an impossible customer.
The problem is that teachers want risk based pay and benefits but in a riskless, guaranteed employment environment. Go get a job in Walmart if you want no risk.
wow, ristinks. just by the name i should assume that you are ignorant and bitter but for whatever reason i still feel compelled to respond. I apprechiate most people, if not all who have left comments. they are intelligent and well thought out. your comment is however, so ignorant that it is an embarrasment that someone would be so ridiculous. first, teachers work seven hours a day of required, in class work. To assume that they work less is based on nothing. To assume that they work more is based on the fact that every teacher works beyond their hours by at least 10 more hours a week.
second. every year teachers are not only cut, but asked to give up vital aspects of their contract. must i remind america, that contracts and unions are what we imposed on the labor system to instill and secure that illegal actions were not being contrived whcih would inevitably hurt us as working America in the long run. third, the idea that teachers make too much money is ridiculous. I can assure you that as a fifth year teacher, I leave work each day, only to travel to my second job where I make the supplemental income vital to my yearly salary. I then come home after that and plan for at least two hours. fourth. I have been told by everyone who has lived with me, been in a relatinship with me, etc. that although they work in the private sector, their job is a cake walk compared to that of a teacher. I mean really, you have NO IDEA WHAT YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT. sometimes, ristinks..its best to not speak at all. as it is in your case.
I agree with Rep Robert Watson…abolish school committees and give the decision-making process to the Mayors & Town Councils. They have to decide on the budget so let them decide what’s best for the students with the parents.
The UNIONS would try to block this at all costs because they can put pressure on the these committees and go from city to city holding up a contract as the standard and telling their union members to accept nothing less. This handcuffs the Mayors in every city and town.
Don’t you find it odd when cutbacks come to public schools/colleges, it’s the students/parents who suffer….think aout it:
1) the students get LESS financial aid
2) programs are cut
3) services are cut
4) sports are cut
5) TEACHERS are NEVER cut…....
Many teachers in RI are making over $75,000/yr for 1100 hrs of work—-that’s half the hrs most people have to go to work for…......and they MAKE more than most…..and MOST people would kill for their benefits!!
WAKE UP RI…..THROW THE BUMS OUT!!!
Citizen2341, The federal government is attacking the social security system as states are attacking the pension system and benefits are being cut . You cannot collect SS until 65 (depending on when you were born), the contributions consistently go up and the benefits go down, we are all sharing in the pain of benefits being cut and than cut some more. I don’t feel anymore pain for teachers than I do for the rest of us. The unions seem to think that teachers benefits are the only ones under attack, we all are. We as taxpayers are consistently asked to keep up with paying into benefits for teachers yet our taxes cannot keep up with our own benefits, how is that fair? It is not and the taxpayers are tired of it.
I think the point that parents need to play a MUCH bigger role in the education of their children is a very, very good point and one of the major issues as to the break down of our education system. No question about it.
Unfortunaly, I respectfully disagree regarding the unions and truly believe they are the biggest problem of all and I know I am not alone in this. While the unions represent the teachers, the school committees represent the taxpayers and we will, it seems, always go round and round and the education of our children will continue to deteriorate. That is why taxpayers deserve choice and the voucher system gives that. It is a shame as sooner or later, something is going to give, and it probably won’t be pretty. Teachers are fed up, taxpayers are fed up, it is not a good situation at all. I am all for a voucher system, unfortunately, I do not see that coming to full development for some years, but it will happen eventually. I do not know a single parent who does not support it, it is just a matter of time before they become more and more outspoken with the politicians in this backwards state and it moves forward with it at a more rapid pace. The taxpayers have a right to allocate their tax dollars the way they see fit, and how they feel it will benefit their children the most. If done right, it could also open up more opportunity for teachers without the burden of the unions holding them back.
As I read some of your comments most of you forget that all teachers in the Country are our Nations childrens future and we are getting our butts kick by third world countries.
It is not because of salaries or bad teachers it’s our systen itself.
Most parents in this country do not participate in there childrens lives never mind there education they leave it for other people and for many reasons.
We now have federal mandates in education though it was grossley underfunded by the Bush administration we now have Obama,s help on this and from what I see he trying but the Economic situation he was left with is not good and we will need to get creative to fund it properly.
In my opinion we need a Federal mandate that says Parents of students will put in the required efforts and place penalties on them if they don’t.
Our Nations freedom and it’s childrens future is at stake smarten up don’t fight over crumbs like the Republicans want to keep you poor and stupid why not put the money in our childrens educations not in the Greedy CEO,S pockets.
mpd444 well said!
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