Justin Katz
Something about the following quotation — offered in “State blamed for teacher strikes — from Bob Walsh gives me the impression that there’s a long-term plan behind the words: “We predicted this would happen,” said Robert A. Walsh Jr., executive director of the National Education Association of Rhode Island, which represents 28 teacher locals. “We…
Both intentionally and not, I’m on various email lists from conservative bloggers and activists from around the country, and their content is often too far toward meat-throwing for my tastes. I’ll admit, though, that I often chuckle at what the guys are up to and delete their messages. I’ve got to side with Dan Yorke…
Having just received the press release that the Tiverton School Committee sent around on Sunday, I’m surprised not to have heard the details of its side of the negotiation elsewhere: “Just as with the health care proposal, we have been working with NEA-Tiverton regarding salary issues,” stated deMedeiros. “However, it was our understanding that the…
All indications are that Tiverton’s teachers will be striking tomorrow. This bit from the Providence Journal adds a little bit of flesh (although not much) to the rumors floating among parents in town: The Tiverton School Committee and the union representing town teachers appear headed for a confrontation tomorrow, when the schools are scheduled to…
In an attempt to understand the “unusual” something (as Andrew put it) that led to simultaneous drops in Rhode Island’s poverty rate and median household income, I’ve spent some time sifting through the U.S. Census Bureau’s recently released data from its annual American Community Survey. The first resulting chart gives a pretty clear indication of…
I’d also like to thank Mr. Crowley — especially on Labor Day — for highlighting the tactical philosophy of one of his union heroes: Power is not only what you have, but what your enemy thinks you have Never go outside of the experience of your own people Whenever possible, go outside the experience of…
I’ll start by thanking Pat Crowley for taking the initiative of putting some actual details out there for consideration. Having read through his description of the NEA-Tiverton’s healthcare proposal — doing my best to see past his ham-handed spin — I find I can only say that it’s not enough information. Given the privacy of…
So this is the final month of severance pay from the editing job that I lost in the spring. We’ve resources for approximately another six months — longer if my wife goes back to work. The local economy is such, however, that even if we were comfortable putting our children in daycare to allow for…
It occurs to me that several buildings’ worth of kindergarteners began their school experiences last week in Tiverton. What a wonderful early educational experience this would be: The teachers union membership this evening authorized its negotiating committee to call a strike if it deemed it necessary next Tuesday. Amy Mullen, the NEA-Tiverton teachers union president,…
In a comment to my post on the Burrillville teacher strike, Pat Crowley challenges me as follows: Justin, I wish you would take the time to really investigate the issues instead of having this ivory tower, knee-jerk reaction. This relates to something that has bothered me as I’ve followed news reports about the Tiverton teacher…