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| Will teachers strike? | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 20 2011, 10:48 PM (3,359 Views) | |
| Administrator | Mar 20 2011, 10:48 PM Post #1 |
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Illegal Teacher Strike Rumored After Union’s ‘Job Action’ Letter By Tom Gantert | March 17, 2011 The president of the Michigan Education Association, Iris Salters, said Thursday that a letter she sent out asking members to give the MEA the authority to initiate a “job action” was not calling for a strike. The letter states that on March 11, the MEA board of directors voted unanimously in favor of several actions the MEA would be taking to “ratchet up our efforts” around the “ongoing legislative crisis.” The letter from Salters goes on to state: “Let me be clear on what this vote means. It authorizes MEA to engage in significant activities — up to and including a work stoppage — that will increase the pressure on our legislators.” “The most pressing of these is the following vote that needs to be taken by each of your locals,” the letter read. The letter stated that the ballot language for this vote would read as follows: “Do you give MEA the authority to initiate crisis activities up to and including job action?” Salters said the letter was not a call for a strike but “an authorization of activities.” When asked what activities, Salters said, “That is for the board and my members to decide.” Would it include a strike? “I have no idea,” Salters said. “That’s all I am going to say on it.” “It sounds to me like they might be prepping for an illegal strike,” said Patrick Wright, senior legal analyst at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “To the extent ‘job action’ is a euphemism for strikes, strikes and ‘sick-outs’ are illegal under Michigan law.” “‘Up to and including a work stoppage’? That sounds like they are considering a strike to me,” said Paul Kersey, labor policy director at the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “It's hard to imagine what else they could be referring to.” The Michigan Employment Relations Commission is responsible for determining if a strike takes place. If teachers are found to have participated in an illegal strike, state law states they would lose pay for the day and the local union would be fined $5,000. ~~~~~ |
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| Mrs.M | Mar 21 2011, 01:16 AM Post #2 |
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Are the local unions fined 5K for EACH striking teacher?? and WHO gets the funds collected? the district?? chaching! Losing pay for the day would also save the districts - more than just chump change. Plenty of newly graduated 'kids' enthused and hankering for a job. They won't have to leave the state in search of employment. As far as Salters slave comment, she must remember her history lessons because Salters is only 66. Slave labor? Is that like the kids working at McDonalds, or the waitresses at Big Boy or Applebees? |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Otis B. | Mar 21 2011, 08:05 AM Post #3 |
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Salters had better remember that her union crony Jenny Granholm is no longer in the governor's mansion. There could be real consequences for an illegal teacher's strike. |
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| Ava | Mar 21 2011, 08:22 AM Post #4 |
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So what? Who cares?
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They feel the law is on their side. |
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| Administrator | Mar 22 2011, 11:17 AM Post #5 |
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MEA letter generates strike talk Mon., March 21, 2011 LANSING, Mich. — The Michigan Education Association says it is not necessarily calling for a teacher strike in Michigan, but a state legislator says that’s exactly what the union meant in a recent letter to its local presidents, according to media reports. Teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan. The letter from Iris Salters, MEA president, directs locals to conduct votes on whether to authorize the state union to “engage in significant activities ? up to and including a work stoppage,” according to reports in Michigan Capitol Confidential and The Grand Rapids Press. Michigan Capitol Confidential is published by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, which also publishes Michigan Education Digest. House Speaker Jase Bolger criticized Salters in a press release, saying the union was putting its interests ahead of school children and also endangering teachers’ jobs by asking them to participate in an illegal activity, according to The Press. The letter advises employees that they could be fired for striking, but reads that "It is simply not possible to replace all or most school employees in the state…It is, to say the least, a time-consuming and expensive process for school districts,” The Press reported. The letter also said, "There may be some inconvenience for your students.” Salters said the letter was not a call for a strike but “an authorization of activities,” Michigan Capitol Confidential reported. When asked what activities, Salters said, “That is for the board and my members to decide,” the report said. SOURCES: The Grand Rapids Press, “Michigan Education Association leaders criticized for asking members to consider strike over ‘attack on people of Michigan,’” March 17, 2011 Michigan Capitol Confidential, “Illegal Teacher Strike Rumored After Union’s ‘Job Action’ Letter,” March 17, 2011 FURTHER READING: Mackinac Center for Public Policy, “Make Unions Accountable for Illegal Strikes,” Dec. 22, 2008 < Previous Analyst: Bargaining doesn’t boost wage http://www.educationreport.org/pubs/mer/article.aspx?id=14769 |
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| Otis B. | Mar 22 2011, 11:42 AM Post #6 |
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Face It: Teachers Run an Easy Money Scam on Fellow Citizens http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_031811/content/01125108.guest.html Transcript from the March 18 episode of the Rush Limbaugh program: Remember, we had the audio yesterday, these teachers leading students in an anti-Walker chant, "Hey, hey! Ho, ho! Scott Walker's gotta go!" Can we get rid of the myth once and for all that school teachers, anymore, are these average, ordinary (as Obama wants to say), next-door neighbors who are just doing everything they can to further the educational experience of your children? That's not who they are. They are left-wing activists, active members of unions who are oriented first by a political agenda, second by their own well-being, and your kids come last. Can we just get that out in the open? And it's been apparent since this whole thing started. Now they're taking these little students and turning them into pawns to advance the union agenda. And it's all about -- I know I'm gonna get in trouble for this but it's all about -- people who know full well that they're getting a deal their states can't afford, being paid for by people who aren't earning half as much as what they are paying these public sector employees. We saw the protests in this state, we've seen them in Greece, we're going to see them in Ohio and Indiana, and it's a moment of truth. It's a moment of truth in defining what kind of country we're gonna be going forward. Are we finally gonna put the foot down and say, "There's gonna have to be some reason and sensible action, behavior, here on how public sector employees are paid. Or is the country going to exist -- are the taxpayers of this country going to have as their first responsibility -- the lifestyle support of public sector union members?" Is that the primary reason for the existence of taxpayers? Could these people who are making what they're making as a result of state and federal accidents, could they earn that money in the private sector on their own? Do they have the skills? Do they have the talent? Could they? Do they have the ability to even do what they're doing now reasonably well? You see them leading the students in these protests, so let's throw out the window here this Norman Rockwell version of Miss Carter in the second grade with the little students bringing in the apples. "Hi, Miss Carter! Hi, Miss Carter! I'm ready for my math test today." That's not what's going on. |
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| Administrator | Mar 22 2011, 10:28 PM Post #7 |
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Head of Grand Rapids teachers union said striking would be the last result Published: Monday, March 21, 2011, 10:01 PM By Monica Scott The Grand Rapids Press The Grand Rapids PressPaul Helder, head of the Grand Rapids Education Association. GRAND RAPIDS -- The head of the Grand Rapids teachers union told the school board he is confident a strike would be the last result to protest Gov. Snyder's budget and legislation educators say threaten their compensation and bargaining rights. Paul Helder, president of the Grand Rapids Education Association, said he spoke with Iris Salters, president of the Michigan Education Association. Last week, the MEA called on local district unions to vote by April 14 whether to give the state association authority to initiate "crisis activities." Those activities could include a call to strike, despite it being illegal in Michigan for public employees to do so. "There are many other options being considered," said Helder. He invited the board to join them, if there was a call for union action. "Agree to support our efforts to protect our students," Helder said. "Come with us (to Lansing), cancel school. We can make up the day at the end of the year." In a letter to MEA membership, Salters said teachers are "under assault in Lansing." She is referring to recent legislation, including lawmakers approving a measure giving broad new powers to emergency financial managers who take over struggling cities and school districts. Salters' letter said local unions' votes will be viewed by the MEA's board of directors at its April 28 meeting in executive session E-mail Monica Scott: mscott@grpress.com http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2011/03/head_of_grand_rapids_teachers.html |
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| Administrator | Mar 24 2011, 10:01 PM Post #8 |
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The MEA's Mob Mentality: If We All Strike, You Probably Won't Be FiredBy Michael Van Beek | 3/23/2011 4:50 PM The Michigan Education Association is asking its members to authorize “crisis activities” that could result in a “statewide work stoppage.” Michigan Capitol Confidential broke this story last Wednesday. Since government employees are forbidden by law to strike and can be fired for doing so, school employees participating in a strike would be risking their livelihoods. Addressing this concern, the MEA responds: It is simply not possible to replace all or most school employees in the state. A public school employee has the right to an individual hearing at which it must be proved that the employee engaged in an illegal strike. The employee has the right to appeal that determination through the Michigan courts. It is, to say the least, a time-consuming and expensive process for school districts. … Because there is strength in numbers, a unified action provides the greatest protection to you. Forget about looking out for the best interests of students (which the MEA falsely claims to do), this stance by the MEA doesn't even look out for the best interests of its own dues-paying members. Even so, one local teachers union already voted to authorize the MEA to consider a statewide strike, and, as many remember from their teenage years, peer pressure can be a powerful persuader. |
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| Administrator | Mar 24 2011, 10:02 PM Post #9 |
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Another Way to Deal With Illegal StrikesAbuse the privilege, lose the privilegeBy Paul Kersey | 3/24/2011 9:40 AM In response to reports that MEA is preparing to wage a statewide work stoppage as a protest against changes to the Emergency Financial Manager law, Representatives Paul Scott and Bill Rogers have introduced a two-bill package that increases penalties for striking teachers while streamlining the process of determining which teachers are subject to fines. In particular, striking teachers will put their teaching licenses at risk if the proposals are passed. The legislation is a positive step, but if the Legislature really wants to put an end to strike talk, there’s one more step that the state needs to take. Among the many difficulties with enforcing the strike penalty is the need for individual hearings to determine whether a teacher took part in the strike. Individual school boards are likely to find themselves bogged down in hundreds, perhaps thousands depending on the size of the bargaining unit, of hearings and then have to repeat the process in the circuit courts. The new legislation would relieve that burden somewhat; the school district would be allowed to consolidate employee hearings “unless the employee demonstrates manifest injustice from the consolidation.” But this is still only a partial remedy. Instead of hundreds of quick hearings, school boards (or the state superintendent of public instruction, who gains new anti-strike enforcement powers) will now be confronted with a single legal proceeding, albeit one with many defendants, who are likely to offer different explanations for why they were not involved in the strike, all of which will still need to be either verified or debunked. As long as anti-strike penalties target teachers there will be risks that innocent teachers will be caught in the crossfire. An individual teacher may have scheduled vacation or been genuinely ill, or may have avoided work because of concerns about picket-line violence. If individual teacher are going to be held accountable, they have to be given a fair chance to defend themselves. The best target for anti-strike penalties is the entity that usually orchestrates the strike: the union itself. The $5,000 per day fine against unions may sound stiff, but for MEA, with its $130 million budget, $5,000 is a pittance, the equivalent of about 20 minutes of the union’s year-round operations. And while a long enough strike against a large number of districts would definitely smart, the MEA’s power base — it’s authority as bargaining representative for teachers throughout the state and its power to collect mandatory dues from thousands of teachers who may or may not support the union’s positions — would be untouched. The union would almost certainly recover over time. And for a more typical strike against a single school district, this fine is, relatively speaking, still a pinprick. The strongest penalty would hit the union where it hurts — by removing the union as representative of teachers for a substantial period. To ensure that the union does not attempt to resume bargaining authority under another guise, the bargaining unit involved in the strike should lose collective bargaining privileges for three to seven years. In the process, the union would lose several years of dues revenue, a penalty that will add up to millions in a large enough unit. (This penalty should be bearable though, as the union will no longer incur the costs of representing those same teachers.) This rule would make public-sector strikes radioactive, and there is no reason why it should be limited to public schools. In addition, this penalty would simplify factual determinations greatly. A court would have one factual question to decide: was there a strike or wasn't there? Union hyperbole aside, collective bargaining for government employees is not a fundamental right. It is a privilege that the state has offered to local employees in hopes that union representation would improve working conditions, morale, and last but not least the quality of public services. Illegal strikes represent the ultimate abuse, and the ultimate failure, of collective bargaining in government. The Legislature should not flinch from taking privileges away from unions that intentionally misuse them. "Abuse the privilege, lose the privilege" is a very sound rule. http://www.mackinac.org/14795 |
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| Administrator | Mar 27 2011, 04:01 PM Post #10 |
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MEA chief has members weighing strike options Catherine Jun / The Detroit News Michigan's largest teacher's union is seeking authority from its statewide members to take actions against the state, ranging from local demonstrations to possibly a workers' strike. The move already has drawn criticism from at least one lawmaker, who has issued several appeals asking teachers to vote no. Advertisement In a letter sent to 1,100 locals earlier this month, Iris Salters, president of the Michigan Education Association, asked local leaders to take votes from members no later than April 15. In the letter, she lambasted Gov. Rick Snyder's proposals to cut school spending, particularly his plan to reduce per pupil dollars by at least $470. "MEA will not stand silent while Michigan's public schools and middle class are under attack," Salters said in the letter. She clarified that a yes vote does mean authorizing the union to take serious action, "up to and including a work stoppage" in order to "increase the pressure on our legislators." On Friday, Speaker of the House James "Jase" Bolger, R-Marshall, appealed to Michigan's teachers for the second time this month to "let cooler heads prevail and vote no." "It is unconscionable for union bosses to put their interests ahead of what's in the best interest of teachers and children," Bolger said in a statement. "It is illegal for teachers to strike and out-of-control union bosses at the MEA are now clearly telling them to go so far as to prepare to break the law." In the letter, Salters assured members that the statewide districts would not be in the position to fire all striking staff. Any striking teacher who faced such discipline would be defended by the union in a hearing, she added. "It is simply not possible to replace all or most school employees in the state," she said. Salter cited other "attacks" on education by leaders in Lansing, including a pending legislative bill that would outsource custodial and transportation jobs, as well as another that would mandate concessions in health insurance and 5 percent salary cuts for school employees. "Should lawmakers fail to end these attacks on the people of Michigan, we will not shy away from taking action to stop them," Salters said. The move was sanctioned by the MEA Board of Directors. The union represents 155,000 members. The authorization would last through the end of the current school year, the letter stated. Doug Pratt, MEA spokesman, defended the union's move, saying: "These votes are our way of increasing the awareness and action among our members statewide to stand in defense of our jobs, our rights and the futures of our students and communities." He said the union will not comment further on the status of the internal votes. cjun@detnews.com (313) 222-2019 From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110326/SCHOOLS/103260412/MEA-chief-has-members-weighing-strike-options#ixzz1HpdzWLGI |
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| Administrator | Mar 27 2011, 04:17 PM Post #11 |
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Total Population of Michigan 2010-9,883,640 http://2010.census.gov/news/pdf/cb11cn106_mi_totalpop_2010map.pdf Total members of MEA 2010-155,000 http://www.mea.org/press/pdf/salters_032311.pdf The MEA represents 1.5 percent of the total Michigan population. |
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| Administrator | Mar 30 2011, 11:39 PM Post #12 |
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Tougher teacher no-strike law pushed Bill would allow state to revoke licenses if union OKs walkout Catherine Jun / The Detroit News Michigan's school boards and administrators hope that proposed harsher penalties against striking teachers — including revoking teaching licenses — will take work stoppages off the table for good. While state law already bans striking by public workers, a proposed bill package, if adopted, would strengthen what many call a toothless law, as well as possibly derail current talk about work actions, including a strike, by the state's largest teachers union. "We're not ruling out suspending or revoking teachers' certificates," said Brad Biladeau, spokesman for the Michigan Association of School Administrators, which represents school superintendents and their staff. "We're hoping that teachers across the state will do the responsible thing." The Michigan Education Association, representing 155,000 teachers and staff, asked locals this month to vote by April 15 to authorize work actions to protest proposed education cuts and employee concessions. Actions, according to a letter to members, could range from a march in Lansing to a work stoppage. Doug Pratt, a union spokesman, said the results of the votes being conducted by MEA locals will not be released. On Tuesday, he did say that some locals have already conducted their votes on whether to authorize job actions. "Some votes have already occurred, others are still coming," Pratt said."Our members are using their democratic power within this organization to make their voices heard about how they want to respond to lawmakers' continued attacks on public education and Michigan's middle class." The possibility of a statewide strike has stirred both school officials and state lawmakers, as well as ratcheted up the debate over Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed budget cuts. To illustrate: On Tuesday, a photo of the governor appearing as the devil was removed from the union's Facebook page. The photo was not posted by an MEA member. The MEA's call has drawn angry responses in Lansing, including from House Speaker James "Jase" Bolger, R-Marshall, who has urged teachers to vote against any job action. "Why is the union holding a vote on illegal activity?" asked Rep. Paul Scott, R-Grand Blanc. "It's even baffling to me that it's on the table." Under state law, striking teachers and their union can be fined for each day off the job. However, fines and penalties rarely, if ever, have been enforced. Take, for example, a teacher strike in the Wayne-Westland Community Schools in October 2008. Unsuccessful negotiations culminated in the walkout by 800 teachers, shutting schools in the 13,300-student district for four days. Talks stalemated over health care and class size. Officials and administrators said few teachers, if any, faced penalties. Part of the reason, school officials agree, is that the state must hold separate hearings for each individual teacher, which is time-consuming and expensive. "There aren't enough teeth in the current statute," said Scott, chairman of the House Education Committee. "We've got to be able to hold budget discussions without a teachers union threatening to go on strike." Last week, Scott and Rep. Bill Rogers, R-Brighton, introduced two bills that would empower the state to call for hearings within two days of state notification of a strike. The state superintendent would also be able to revoke, or suspend for at least two years, the teaching certificate of a striking teacher. A teacher would be able to request a hearing. "We're in support of any type of effort to strengthen penalties," said Peter Spadafore, spokesman for the Michigan Association of School Boards. House Minority Leader Richard Hammel, D-Mount Morris Township, said the introduction of the bills appeared to be a reactive, political move. "I think it's just trying to prove a point to gain political favor," he said. "I think they're looking to overlegislate when there's already something in place." State legislators are on spring break until April 11. Both bills have been referred to the House Education Committee. Snyder's office did not respond to a request for comment. On March 18, Iris Salters, MEA's president, sent a letter to the union's locals seeking authorization to take work actions — up to and including a work stoppage. She said that leaders in Lansing were attacking the state's education system and the middle class and that a strong response might be necessary. Among the "attacks" she cited: Snyder's proposed cut of $470 in the state's per-pupil spending. The governor's plan to eliminate the Earned Income Tax Credit. A pending bill that would outsource custodial and transportation jobs, and another that would mandate concessions in health insurance and 5 percent wage cuts for school employees. Acrimony over school funding played out Tuesday in controversy over the MEA's Facebook page and its image of Snyder with satanic stars, red eyes and blood spatter. The photo appeared to have been posted on March 11, according to Michigan Capitol Confidential, an online news agency run by the Mackinac Center for Public Policy, a conservative think tank. The agency alerted the MEA to the photo on Tuesday morning, and it was removed minutes later. Ken Braun, managing editor of Michigan Capitol Confidential, said his staff had noticed even before discovering the photo that the tenor of comments posted on the page had grown remarkably harsh in recent days. "It's the kind of stuff you see on a lot of unmonitored chat rooms," Braun said. "It wasn't until we saw this picture that we thought, 'Whoa, this is over the line.'" cjun@detnews.com (313) 222-2019 Subscribe to Detroit News home delivery and receive a SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110330/POLITICS02/103300362/Tougher-teacher-no-strike-law-pushed#ixzz1I934A2Hj |
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| Administrator | Mar 30 2011, 11:54 PM Post #13 |
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Editorial: Head off teacher strike threat MEA president asks members to approve unlawful actions that could cost them their jobs The Detroit News Don't even think about it. Teacher strikes are illegal and for good reason — they are an intolerable disruption of the education process for students. Yet the president of the Michigan Education Association is seeking authorization from her members for a range of activities, from a march on the Capitol all the way to a strike, to protest school funding cuts. In a letter to members, MEA President Ira Salters urged them to gird for battle against what she called "assaults in Lansing." She's upset about Gov. Rick Snyder's plan to divert some school aid money to community colleges, and a new emergency financial manager law that could break union contracts to resolve a fiscal crisis in a school district. Advertisement The letter is laced with union lingo (job action, work stoppage, etc.), but what Salters' is clearly talking about is a strike. As an MEA memo acknowledges, if the union urges its members out of the classrooms, it is placing their jobs at risk. Obviously, this harms the students under their instruction. Local union members have until April 14 to cast their vote for or against authorizing the union to "initiate crisis activities up to and including job action," Salters advises. She defends teachers' increasing pressure on lawmakers as a way to "protect their rights and their future." The Legislature and Gov. Rick Snyder should head this off before it happens. Michigan's existing law against teacher strikes should be toughened and clarified. Two pending bills would do just that, and they should be accelerated. State Reps. Bill Rogers, R-Genoa Township, and Paul Scott, R-Grand Blanc, introduced the bills that would fine a teachers union $5,000 per teacher for each full or partial day lost to a strike. The bill would also require employees to pay a fine equal to a day's pay for each day they are on strike and would allow consolidating dismissal hearings to avoid a tedious case-by-case review. A second bill would require a striking teacher's license to be suspended for two years or even revoked. Currently, teachers have reason to feel confident their actions will go unpunished. Previous strikes by teachers have shown that enforcing penalties is difficult under current law. In 2006, Detroit teachers struck for 16 days. Wayne Circuit Judge Susan Borman delayed a week before ordering them back to work, and even after they disregarded her order, the judge ultimately dismissed charges against the union. No teachers were fired, much less fined, after that strike. A teacher walkout would take children away from the classroom and deny them much-needed instructional days. We hope teachers will make the right decision, and let their union leaders know breaking the law is not an option. If they don't, the Legislature and Gov. Snyder should make them aware of the severe risks of ignoring the law. From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110330/OPINION01/103300328/Editorial--Head-off-teacher-strike-threat#ixzz1I96lTFUk |
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| Administrator | Mar 30 2011, 11:56 PM Post #14 |
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MEA letter spells out actions to try to win support Local presidents, To put it bluntly, we are under assault in Lansing. The legislation being considered on a daily basis at the Capitol (emergency managers, step freezes, mandatory privatization, mandatory health insurance payments, budget cuts, etc.) are outright attacks on our students, our members, our communities and our future. And we must take action accordingly. On Friday, the MEA Board of Directors voted unanimously in favor of several actions MEA will be taking to ratchet up our efforts around the ongoing legislative crisis. The most pressing of these is the following vote that needs to be taken by each of your locals: Job Action Authorization Motion: The MEA Board of Directors directs that the president of each local holds a general membership meeting between March 14 and April 14, 2011. The purpose of this meeting is to conduct an election using the following ballot language: "Do you give MEA the authority to initiate crisis activities up to and including job action?" The results of this election shall be sent to President Iris Salters by each local by April 15, 2011. The compiled results shall be given to the MEA Board of Directors at the April 28, 2011, meeting, in Executive Session. Let me be clear on what this vote means. It authorizes MEA to engage in significant activities — up to and including a work stoppage — that will increase the pressure on our legislators. But more importantly, it is a way for us to ramp up our crisis activities and ensure our members understand the severity of the situation. It provides us with the backing of our members to engage in larger scale, public activities in response to these attacks on our rights and our future. It is certain that given the number of locals we have across the state that this action will garner public and media attention. Our message is simple: MEA will not stand silent while Michigan's public schools and middle class are under attack. These votes are our way of increasing the awareness and action among our members statewide to stand in defense of our jobs, our rights and the futures of our students and communities. Should lawmakers fail to end these attack (sic) on the people of Michigan, we will not shy away from taking action to stop them. Each step of the way, we will communicate with you about these actions, which are being carefully coordinated with our brothers and sisters from across the labor and progressive community (including with AFT, UAW, SEIU and AFL-CIO). For now, I ask you to hold these membership meetings and crisis votes as soon as possible and report the results to me. We will not be publicizing the results of these votes … rather, we will use them to make informed decisions about when and where we take actions — and how we communicate with our members about them. Another Board action on Friday called on me to communicate with each MEA member about the gravity of the situation. That communication is under development and will be shared with you before it is sent via U.S. mail to every MEA member. Expect to hear more from me on that by week's end. We will be providing you with materials and information (in addition to the constant communication to you and your members from the MEA Voice Online, Capitol Comments and www.mea.org to help support you in holding these meetings. As a start, attached is a brief Q&A about what this vote means and what consequences may come of it. Thank you for your leadership and solidarity as we advocate for our members and our students in these unprecedented times. I am confident that history will look back at 2011 as a turning point for Michigan — and I am steadfast in my belief that public school employees and Michigan's middle class will be on the winning side of this fight. Sincerely, Iris K. Salters MEA President From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110330/OPINION01/103300332/MEA-letter-spells-out-actions-to-try-to-win-support#ixzz1I97OsiTt |
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| Vanna White | Mar 31 2011, 06:22 AM Post #15 |
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Are we talking teachers or teamsters here? I guess the guise of being all about the noble profession and all about the kids has been lifted. Instead of sharing your opinions with your legislator and then letting the legislative process continue, such that those we elected vote on the proposals in front of them, let's hold the kids hostage and stomp our feet until we get what we want. I hope that most teachers are better than that and will not agree to such a plan.
Edited by Vanna White, Mar 31 2011, 06:23 AM.
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| Mrs.M | Apr 1 2011, 09:29 AM Post #16 |
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http://www.michigancapitolconfidential.com/14762 Illegal Teacher Strike Rumored After Union’s ‘Job Action’ Letter |
| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Administrator | Apr 1 2011, 10:01 AM Post #17 |
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Teachers should think hard about walking out on students Michigan Education Association President Iris Salters has "gone to the mattresses" with her fellow teacher union leaders, refusing to address any inquiries about apparent plans for a massive, illegal teacher strike in Michigan. Salters has set the deliciously ironic date of April 15, tax day, as the deadline for local teacher bargaining units to vote on authorizing a "job action," which has been widely interpreted as a possible strike. She has warned teachers to avoid making major purchases and has told them to prepare for up to two months of economic hardship that would only come from a loss of income. But the MEA may be overplaying its hand. Advertisement The union is, no doubt, emboldened in believing that it and its members will not be punished for an illegal walkout because teachers have avoided significant discipline for such actions in recent years, such as the 2006 walkout by Detroit teachers for 17 days. Michigan's Public Employee Relations Act, adopted in 1947, clearly states that teacher strikes are illegal and can result in the firing of walkout participants. Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, recently told me that five words describe his reaction to a potential walkout: "Remember the air traffic controllers," referring to President Ronald Reagan's firing of 11,000 air traffic controllers for their illegal strike in 1981. But a more localized warning might be more in order, and it can be summed up in one word: "Crestwood." Few probably recall 1974, but the Dearborn Heights Crestwood district fired 184 teachers for striking that year, an action that was upheld in the courts. The MEA might want to take note, especially since its job action threat would occur shortly before seniors are due to graduate. If they're planning to hold those students hostage for their own interests in maintaining attractive pay and benefit packages, MEA members are going to have difficulty finding sympathetic ears in Michigan. Public employee benefits come from the pockets of their neighbors and it's hard to imagine many outside of other public employee union members who are going to feel sympathy for state teachers, who earn an average of about $58,000 a year, according to the National Education Association, or for union leaders like Salters who reportedly is earning just south of $300,000 per year. Taxpayers should be prepared for the worst. The rhetoric coming from public sector union leaders has been extreme, and the MEA seems to have the tacit approval of state Democrats to walk out. Democratic Senate leaders Gretchen Whitmer and Bert Johnson told me they "don't want" teachers to strike, but they stopped short of issuing stern warnings against such illegal action. Johnson seemed to justify a possible strike. "I think the governor's proposals have pushed a lot of people into the corner, so … I understand why people are now beginning to fight back," he told me. The interests of students and their education have long been forgotten, and the MEA would rather you not recall the February report from the Michigan Department of Education that said that fewer than 10 percent of graduating students at half of state high schools are prepared for higher education. Based on the rhetoric and the bunker mentality we've already seen, there's little to indicate local teacher unions are voting against a strike. If they walk out, they're sure to get support from the UAW and other public unions and they will make Wisconsin look like a Fourth of July picnic. But they'd best be careful because state Republicans have been adamant in warning against an illegal strike, and they might make 2011 Michigan look like 1974 Crestwood. Frank Beckmann is host of “The Frank Beckmann Show” on WJR-AM (760) from 9 a.m. to noon Monday-Friday. Email comments to letters@detnews.com. Subscribe to Detroit News home delivery and receive a SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY OFFER. From The Detroit News: http://detnews.com/article/20110401/OPINION03/104010336/Teachers-should-think-hard-about-walking-out-on-students#ixzz1IHQ62g7E |
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| Mrs.M | Apr 1 2011, 12:17 PM Post #18 |
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Veteran
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I've heard out-of-state teachers are submitting resume's. This will be interesting. It may be one way to increase population in Michigan.
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| I'd agree with you, but then we'd both be WRONG. | |
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| Little me | Apr 3 2011, 02:45 PM Post #19 |
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From a friend who is a teacher. Feel bad about the thought of picketing. It's Illegal. What am I showing my kids if I do so? After all, everyone has taken cuts and hits, it's only fair. I have good friends!
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| Administrator | Apr 6 2011, 03:48 PM Post #20 |
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Administrator
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MLive readers debate potential teachers strike Published: Wednesday, April 06, 2011, 7:30 AM By Brandon Howell | The Bay City Times The Bay City Times MLive.com readers have sounded off on a potential teachers strike in Michigan. The Michigan Education Association (MEA) — the state's largest union of teachers and public school employees — sent letters two weeks ago to local union presidents and members asking them to take votes before April 15 authorizing job actions up to and including a strike. This action comes in response to Gov. Rick Snyder's proposed budget's ramifications for public education. Snyder in February proposed a $470 per-pupil cut in funding for public schools resulting from the diversion of $895 million in funds from the School Aid Fund to higher education. Snyder also budgeted for an increase in the retirement rate for schools from the current 20.66 percent rate to 24.5 percent. That means that for every $1 a district spends on personnel, it must contribute 24.5 cents to its pension fund. Some estimates — such as Bay City Public Schools' — suggest the total per-pupil cut amounts to more than $700. Snyder's proposed budget has many in public K-12 education upset. Simultaneously, educators and lawmakers alike are at odds over the School Aid Fund's purpose. As local unions, such as Bay City's, prepare to take those votes, MLive readers are weighing in on a possible strike. One commenter endorsed the idea behind legislation proposed by some Republicans in Lansing last week. http://www.mlive.com/news/bay-city/index.ssf/2011/04/mlive_readers_debate_potential.html |
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