Teacher pay dispute goes to court
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Teacher Pay Dispute
A judge declines the National Education Association Rhode Island's request for a temporary restraining order to prevent the school committee from making deep cuts.Published: January 6, 2009
Updated: January 6, 2009
CRANSTON, R.I.—A dispute over teachers’ pay in East Providence went to Superior Court on Tuesday.
A judge refused to issue a temporary restraining order to prevent the school committee from making deep cuts, and he continued the hearing until Wednesday.
The school committee on Monday cut teacher salaries by 5 percent and began to collect 20 percent of their health care premiums.
The state Labor Relations Board is expected to hear the dispute in March.
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Reader Reactions
gugjoe- what happened to your cousin is unexcusable. I hope the person who assaulted her was thrown in jail. Also, I know alot about what it is like to be a public school teacher because I have relatives that are public school teachers here in RI. However, the system can no longer afford these outrageous benefits. Nobody gets free health insurance anymore, it’s too expensive and the taxpayers can’t afford it. With the Governor scheduled to announce major cuts in the current year aid to communities, everything needs to be done to avoid a supplemental tax increase. If that means taking a hardline approach on people without contracts (like EP), then so be it. The economy is terrible and it is just going to get worse. The bleeding needs to stop. Not just with teachers but with the way the school departments in this state have been mismanaged for decades. It’s time for a single state wide school district with one teachers contract. New York City does so I think the little state of RI can handle it.
I can’t understand why the teachers can’t pay what the police and fire are paying. They are all city employees. Doesn’t seem fair.
The EP school committee should all be impeached——speak up parents or your children will be the losers here.
What needs to happen here is the whole state of RI teachers have to strike—let the courts send them to jail—-take the consequences, if that is what it takes to recognize their value in our system——the EP school committee is trying to cut their pay and Obama is calling for mory pay for teachers
zippy-you have no idea what it involves to be teaching in a public school—-I have a cousin(a female) who was assaulted from behind with a chair by a student while trying to break up a fight—-she almost died—-catholic schools have responsible parents paying for their childrens education—-you know nothing of the goings on in public schools
You raise valid points “remy”, but the contract already expired. No laws have been broken.
“gugjoe” the only “idiots” are the people that think it is unreasonable to pay 20% for health insurance. But I do agree with you on one point… the teachers should all resign, that way they can all be replaced by people who actually want to teach. Let all these overpaid/underworked public school teachers get a real job where they have to work all year get paid alot less for it. The teachers that really want to teach work in catholic schools for no money. Get a real job.
I hope the school committee of the city of East Providence succeeds in their battle with the teachers union and sets an example for all the other cities and towns throughtout the state. I applaud you! Keep up the good work.
This is not about anti-union or tax rates, it’s about contract law. The city agreed to the contract with the union, so you cannot just change it at their whim. If the city gets away with this, then your credit card company or Mortgage Company or anyone else that the average person has a contract with, can just be changed at the whim of big business. The city has to negotiate whatever changes they would like to see.
If the teachers wait 2 weeks and take cuts in those 2 weeks, they are nuts—coaches should resign their coaching jobs and shut down all interscolastic related activities for the 2 weeks and then everyone resign—-go get new jobs—-screw Carceri—let him teach and see what it’s like. All you teachers go into the workplace and take the jobs of some of these idiots that belittle your job.
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