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January 10, 2009
How To Achieve the Eighth Highest Pay in the Country ... And Where the Method May End
Increases in teacher compensation in Rhode Island have been achieved on "They got it, so we should" reasoning. The gains in one city or town's contract are referenced in subsequent negotiations in other municipalities. I had always thought that this was done informally, however, until I saw Item #3 of the Tentative Agreement, first page of the expired "Agreement between East Providence Education Association and East Providence School Committee":
For 2007-08, the maximum step of the basic salary schedule shall be ranked number 12, based upon the thirty six school districts excluding Davies and School for the Deaf, who have settled contracts as of November 1.
The City Council and School Committee of East Providence, not color blind to budgetary red ink, may put an end to this ... tradition. Certainly this possibility has occurred to the EPEA, which sent out an e-blast, below, to its members suggesting attendance at Tuesday's East Providence School Committee.
The East Providence teachers are defending all of our rights in their fight not to allow the school committee and city to unilaterally roll back their wages and impose co-share amounts. East Providence teachers will be attending the school committee meeting Tuesday evening at East Providence City Hall (7:30 PM) and can use your support. Local President, Val Lawson, and the entire local union are staying united and fighting for all of us.Come and show your solidarity! Stand up for Collective Bargaining!
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I say that the taxpayers of East Providence show their solidarity with the brave members of the East Providence School Committee and show up in force to let the union pigs in East Providence know that we have had enough of their c**p. For too damn long they have been screwing the taxpayers and it all stops NOW!
Posted by: Mike Cappelli at January 10, 2009 7:48 AMDoes anyone really wonder why the automakers are all bankrupt? The union pigs are doing the exact same thing to our schools. They cost more and more, and we get less and less. It's time to tell the unions go to hell!
I guess demanding more money how public service thugs do it for the kids.
Posted by: mac1 at January 10, 2009 9:50 AMHooray for the EP School Committee and Hooray for the EP Taxpayers that elected them.
How about changing that nut-bag clause to "If the maximum step of the basic salary schedule shall be ranked number 12, based upon the thirty six school districts excluding Davies and School for the Deaf, who have settled contracts as of November 1, then any disgruntled Union hack is FREE to go take a job in one of those other higher paying districts".
The new operating model for ALL Union contracts has to be "We will pay what WE can Afford to pay, not what our neighbor can afford to pay ...and if you can't afford to stay with us, by all means, LEAVE".
Granted, this is a difficult concept for coddled Union folks like the EP Teachers or Providence Fire Fighters' Union President Paul Doughty who believes his herd of sheep should be paid what other North Eastern cities pay as opposed to what the city's Taxpayers can Afford. But to F'ing bad if these fools don't like it.
Patrick Crowley recently wrote on his RIFutureless blog "is it a successful business model to lower your prices year after year even if your production costs rise each year?"
He makes a very good point. Our production costs in the form of Healthcare and Pensions have been rising year after year. Mr. Crowley is right. We need to RAISE prices, not lower them, in the face of increasing costs. Hence, our Union Teachers need to start paying a higher price for THEIR ever increasing cost of healthcare and pensions.
Hopefully our School Committees are paying attention to Mr. Crowley's good advice.
Posted by: George Elbow at January 11, 2009 1:01 PM