With Dems like Mayor Emanuel, who needs Republicans?

If that's what you think, your a fool. Teachers work 12-14 hours a day inside and outside the classroom. They are responsible for our children's education and more and more is put on them ever year. The way things are going preschool teachers are going to have to potty train kids soon. You have no idea what you are talking about and your screen name fits perfectly.

Let's not let the eduform swine swipe our sense of humor. In addition to everything else they've swiped.

the other reagan democrats on DU and avoid trying to defend an indefensible position by just staying away from the issue.

... that are trying to ( and succeeding in) dismantling the profession.

Check the ed forum. There's talk that they're going to name a new ice cream flavor after me.

I'd have thought a sarcasm -stickie would be insulting to my fellow DUers but I guess I was wrong.

OK.

90%.

90% of the membership in a 25K union voted to authorize a strike. And leadership was at the table last night, and this morning.

THAT's how it's done. No one outside the union can claim to know better than these members. Good strike, good luck!

K&R.

trib is a rightwing rag still.

Of that total, 98% voted to strike.

Don't misunderstand, especially for a union this size, it's an outstanding number.

I wanted to be a teacher back in the day. Then I found out that in Indiana, you have to get a master's degree and the pay would start at about 30k a year. I decided a master's degree was worth much more than that! No thanks.

Considering the amount of education a teacher is required to have, the work load (class room, prep time, homework grading, extracurricular activities, etc.), and the personal expenditures: all that is enough. But then when you consider the responsibility each teacher takes on, not only of TEACHING a society's future but just of watching out for the well-being of those children . . . . .

Too many people in my family have been or are teachers. I've done my own little stints at it. And two of the most influential people in my life were teachers: Patricia Quast, Ridge School, 1958-59 fifth grade; and Charles C. Schlereth, Spanish 3 & 4, Arlington High School, 1964-1966.

I stand with the CTU. Rahm Emanuel, eat shit.

after ten years of work.
http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/June-2011/Chicago-Teacher-Salaries-The-Long-View/

Then again, I probably would want more than $47,000 to live in Chicago.

It's not a matter of whether teachers make more than someone or less than someone else. It's that they should be adequately compensated for what they do.

Also, it should be noted that not all the contract demands are for salary increases. Some have to do with the quality of education.

And I'm a Chicago native. No way would I live there again, not for any money, but every child everywhere deserves quality education.

and the eye of the beholder is set by "how much do eye make?"


also, about quality education, they want to set a maximum class size and I think that would be a problem. Because it is kinda tough to balance these things, with populations increasing and decreasing. I mean, you might shoot for a class size of 25, but some years you are gonna have 26, 27, or 28 and some years you will have 21, 22, or 23.

that most people who put themselves at the center of every measurement have a very narrow view of things. And most of such people -- though I certainly wouldn't want to cast aspersions -- tend to be of a much more conservative mindset than I.

Then again, I'm an avowed lower-case-s socialist. Maybe you're . . . . . . . not.

just because eye tell you what eye think.

I might also note that 40% of households in Illinois make less than $36,000 a year, and 60% make less than $58,000, according to ITEP http://www.itep.org/wp2009/il_whopays_factsheet.pdf

Also, some 700,000 people in Illinois are unemployed, and are thus making nothing.

And why should it be an "aspersion" for somebody to be more conservative than you, especially if you are well to the left of the center?

I am not sure why being left of center means wagging your finger at somebody making $33,000 a year (and who two years ago made $11,000 a year for about 4 years) and demanding that they unconditionally support somebody making $60,000 in the name of solidarity. Where is the solidarity for those making much less?

post #50.

u is on ignore

always good to see the "socialists" support the poor and working class

http://www.democraticunderground.com/10021295174
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1061299
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1002908833

You can fight for your own rights and for economic justice, since you are underpaid.

Or you can complain about those who are given just enough to make a decent living, as hard-working and overburdened professionals.

Funny, I never notice that teachers make more than what I make. I notice that bankers - the predators and destroyers of the world - make more than what my whole neighborhood makes.

nor do I consider myself underpaid.

Nor was I complaining - just stating facts. "One of the most poorly paid professions" does not seem to fit the facts, no matter how much teachers like to hear it.

And there are many people working in banks and credit unions who might consider themselves "bankers" and yet not "predators and destroyers of the world", nor do they make more than entire neighborhoods.

Bobby Kennedy said "It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others , or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance."

Unfortunately, I think it is from numberless diverse acts of greed and selfishness that also shape human history, that have helped to destroy the world. Not just the greed of a few bankers, although they doubtless have done huge amounts of damage. Or the greed of the top 1% or the top 4% or the top 9%. http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=732414

The statement was that teachers are among the lowest paid among the 'PROFESSIONS'.

People who spent years going to school to earn degrees so they can work in their chosen profession. Like doctors and lawyers.

Do you think doctors and lawyers are contributing to the destruction of the world by earning the high salaries many of them make? In Cuba eg, doctors don't make much money at all, some of them have second jobs driving cabs to make up the difference.

Do you think we should pay professionals the same rate we pay non-professionals?

How about sports figures? Are they helping to destroy the world by the insane salaries they are earning?

Movie and TV stars? Rock Stars? Do you think they deserve the obscene amounts of money they make but teachers don't even deserve a living wage?

The question is, why the hatred for teachers lately in this country?

I think the answer is clear, the demonizing of teachers is a necessary part of the campaign to take Public Education funds and turn them over to Private Corporations.

Bush started it with the cynically named 'NCLB' and his Sec of Ed if you recall, slammed the teacher's union, but then had to resign after the backlash they experienced.

They always make that mistake, which Rahm is making now, they think they can control people, then they discover that people like their teachers and their unions. It's a fly they keep finding in their Corporate ointment.

Teachers ARE the most underpaid of the PROFESSIONS but worse, they are the least respected by our Government, under both parties now. Because the goal is to destroy the Public School System and replace it with Private Corporation Run Charter Schools where huge profits can be made by people like Rahm's buddies who he has already given millions to. Funny you don't see that as a problem.

You're right, there are countless bank clerks who get stiffed for a lower salary than many teachers make, and some of them may delude themselves into identifying as "bankers." They obviously weren't who I meant, but you've already got your pious (and yet tediously hair-splitting) monologue to deliver, so don't let me bother you.

is something about him that has never been right. I remember the rumors, when he was the President's chief of staff about his verbal expletive driven attacks against friendlies who disagreed with his assessments. As usual it will take a long strike, which will hurt the children and striker's families. These politicians are thinking about money and that's it. Not the children's welfare. Smaller class size is important to be able to give individual care when learning I would think.

ideas are 'retarded' in his opinion and didn't want to hear from them..

It's no surprise to find out he would be anti-Public School and teachers.

It always troubled me that President Obama put so much faith in him.

If there was a list of reasons why Democrats didn't do as well as they should have when Obama became president, rham would be near the top.

The first 4 years were far right of center for my comfort. The next four years I am very curious about how they will unfold for the party for the nation.

The teachers I know personally are very hard working and care deeply for their students education and development. Class size does matter and especially from K-6 as social growth and study habits are established and learning patterns are set. It is a crucial period and every school in the nation should set reasonable standards. Chicago back in the 60's and 70's had high standards for their schools and the administration pyramid wasn't so stacked and overpaid and overloaded.

Best of luck to Chicago teachers plotting our future one student at a time. No I live in California where elementary education was top of the list.

When he was in a position of party leadership he spent most of his time recruiting ex republicans and rather conservative democrats that were in the blue dog mold. The packing of blue dogs (who were there because they were 'electable' and ironically booted out later) was one of the reasons that Republican fillibusters and Shinnanigans weren't more effectively communicated to the American people by the White House as the blue dogs provided cover for them and the White House didn't want to divide Democrats. (understandable)


So no, I don't trust him. I wish he hadn't gotten to speak at the convention.

He never should have gotten the nod or nomination to run for Mayor of Chicago, though he does seem to be a good choice in the Daley tradition.

With any luck he will wither and fall off and out when someone runs with a strong labor background to primary his butt out and get a real Democrat in office.

...to put up with all the other stuff like nasty, smartass kids and other assorted bullshit makes being a teacher a rough life.

But private charter schools are a wolf in sheep's clothing -- a means of destroying public education and tax-funding for it.

If lowering CEO salaries would be a disincentive to the performance of corporate CEOS, wouldn' lowering teacher pay be a disincentive to the performance of teachers?

Most CEOs earn far more than they need in order to do good work. We should raise the taxes on CEOs in order to cut their pay and increase the salaries of teachers in order to continue to attract good people to the field.

Beyond student teaching, I did not teach K-12, but I know just from that short trial period that teaching is a really, really tough job. You are on your feet and interacting with kids all day long. That's exhausting enough for any normal person. Then you go home at night and for the weekends and you grade papers and plan future lessons.

Rahm Emmanuel should try spending a school year in a classroom with Jr. High kids. He would probably quit half-way through.

Someone should challenge him to try it. Except I would feel sorry for the kids having him teach them.

those teachers would not rather be in the classroom today, they do. Teachers know that days out of the classroom will hurt kids, so this decision was not made lightly.

But the things the CTU are fighting for are because they care about kids. Smaller class size, music and art restored, textbooks on time.

I support them.

Solidarity from a WI teacher.

AP news does the same thing.

picky, picky, picky.

That song is a great question for the third way types here on DU.

Hell. It's a good question for our president.

Rahm is a hotheaded schmuck and 'Zeke' fought against single-payer / universal health care during the whole ACA fight, if I remember correctly. I've got no use for either of them.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/01/22/1057238/-Zeke-Emanuel-Harangues-Liberals-About-Rising-Health-Care-Costs

how do they get more money for the teachers who are already either the highest paid or second highest paid in the country?
you cant raise taxes,they are already astronomical in chicago.
do you get cop salarys to pay them?
how about firemen?
who do you fire?

there is simple no more money.

This whole bullshit about Chicago being broke is just an excuse to privatize city services. I find it funny that schools that has undergone recent renovations are starting to become charter schools, like Crane. It is not just the teachers, Rahm Emanuel is trying to privatize our public schools, garbage collection and snow removal. This isn't just about money it is about protecting our schools from being put up for sale to the highest bidder. It is about providing students at public schools the same high quality education and the same resources that Emanuel's children enjoy at their private school. How can students learn when they don't have the proper material and support to learn. Basing teacher performance off of a standardize test score and using it as a means to fire teachers.

$100 million to Rahm's beloved charter schools.

Rahm found that money for bike paths, and millions more for charters on top of that, but he can't find the money for libraries, art, or fair pay for the teachers.

especially to bail out chicago
in addition even if illinois had 100% estate tax you can only impose that on state residents. anyone with a 5mil estate has a 2nd home in a warm climate like florida. if they establish residency there (not that hard)then no estate tax for illinois
or that chicago,with its heavy irish population that has real political power is going to tax churches?

I like real world solutions not fantasy ones.

that would solve the budget problems. but its not a realistic possibility
in addition the teachers are on strike now. so if the school board gives them what they want not that means a bigger budget hole to fill. so are you prepared for massive layoffs when it comes time to fill the budget hole if taxes arent raised

he becomes an anti union right winger.
sorry but critical thinking allows for the fact that the union isnt always right.
and just because you dont tow the "party line" 100% of the time that doesnt make you a right winger
thats the type of thing id expect from the tea bagger nut jobs who call anyone not conservative enough for them "rinos"

reducing class sizes costs money.
they is no more money.
period.
it's time the teachers realize that. they school district cant pay them what it doesnt have.

This is not just about money for the teachers. They also want a library in every school and counselors for the kids who are dealing with a ton of violence in their lives. The school district can pay them double what they are getting payed now if they want, its all about the priority of administration, they would rather pay a billion dollars for a advertising campaign to make sure every kid is in class on the first day, when many of those kids won't be there day 2.

Bottom line: Chicago can afford what it wants to afford.

This autonomous governing Board of District 299 affords an entire floor of lawyers that move between City Hall and the CPS legal department.

This Board can tax, pass ordinances, and affords well over 100 six figure salaried downtown bureaucrats who wouldn’t be caught dead in your children’s classrooms -- each of those bureaucrats equals three classroom teachers.

This Board affords this past three-year revolving door of expensive general superintendents with their treadmills of so-called innovation. This Board affords the high cost of a middleman bureaucracy that run your children and teachers on those ‘reform’ treadmills -- who then sort your children as ‘data’ and tell you how much money they will ‘afford’.

When you can link all the proof of Chicago's impoverished budget, you can make your claim.

claims that he can run a big city. Why? Because he worked for a bank before he worked for Obama.

Anything authentically 'Chicago' about his qualifications for mayor here?

Went to Northwestern, lived in Chicago for the majority of his life. Was elected 3 times as Congressman from the 5th district of Illinois (in Chicago) before working for Obama. He's the exact opposite of a Carpetbagger.

an affluent public school that spends double the illinois average.

Graduates include Donald Rumsfeld and John Stossel.

Emanuel attended part of his grade school years in New Trier and continued attending school there until he graduated HS. He didn't spend his formative years in Chicago, but in an high-income suburb of Chicago.

He spent his summers at camp in Israel.

He did his BA at sarah lawrence (NY). Only his master's was at northwestern.

to install a new department of high-paid rahm PR flaks, etc.

They can afford to maintain teachers' health benefits and give them the already contracted raises they rescinded last year.

Also to reduce class sizes.

They should be making twice what even the highest paid teacher in this country is making.

Are you saying these professionals do not deserve to be paid according to their qualifications?

What do Bankers make? What do THEY do for this country?

What do politicians like Rahm make?

What do lawyers make?

What do doctors make?

Why do you object to decent pay for one of the most important professions in any country that claims to be a democracy when education is the foundation of any decent society?

Bankers don't strike. Policitians, lawyers, doctors don't strike. No professionals strike, that I know of. That's not to say that the teachers don't have valid issues. It sounds like they do. But in those professions (lawyers, doctors, bankers), the people leave if the job doesn't pay enough. That way, they get more money, if the company wants to keep them.

Any time you enter a job that is primarily female, you can expect lower pay and longer hours. That's the way it is, sadly.

Perhaps Chicago should be the spark that helps elevate pay for women in general?

listen to a single word further that fuckwad has to say ever again.

SOLIDARITY!

Pull up the full quote, as initially reported, and not paraphrased or pasted together by bloggers.

about himself by using that word as an insult, he also clearly demonstrated that he despises Progressive Democratic. So what ideas does he support? The question is then, what is he doing in our Party? HIS ideas are more in line with the other party.

I wouldn't care about a personal insult, but he attacked Progressive Ideals, and that is far worse imo.

"OMG he called us retarded!!"--I actually have no strong opinion on him either way, neither like him or hate him, but I really hate dishonesty.

He called it a retarded idea to try to convince the Blue Dogs to stand up for the Public Option. That's quite a big thing, especially considering his and his brother's corporate connections.

If you don't know anything about him, find, but most of us know quite a bit about him and imho, he would be a lot happier in the other party. His policies on economics especially are very harmful to this country, because they are Republican policies.

for teachers and kids.

I have former students on that line today. I am enormously proud of them, and I'm wearing red in solidarity and support.



Laura

do you think the next step is to enforce the independent mediator's recommendations (which both sides apparently hate?)

Thanks for the thread, xchrom.

...after watching an interview between Charlie Rose and Rahm Emanuel, I have come to believe Rahm Emanuel has serious emotional problems, particularly in the area of forming sincere connections to other human beings. It probably affects his actions in situations such as this (i.e., what a schmuck).

btw, xchrom, you always post the most thought-provoking articles! TY!

Thanks xchrom!

Rahm represents everything that is wrong with today's Democratic Party.

"New Democrats" ??!!!!!
What the hell was wrong with the Old FDR/LBJ Democrats?
Those "Old Democrats" are why I joined the Democratic Party 46 years ago.

The Third Way, DLC, "New Democrats", Centrists, Triangulators,
Free Traders, Privatizers, de-regulators, are a cancer in our Party.

'taxes' is both the point and a smoke screen.

most of the time people don't want to shrink taxes -- they just want control or 'their cut' of those taxes -- rather than have those taxes spent on rational programs that benefit the public welfare.

i'm beginning to cast a jaundiced eye on how and why bureaucrats/technocrats constantly misspend public funds -- how do admins live like kings and queens compared to everyone else?

i don't trust any privatizing attempts for tax dollars -- and i think there is plenty of evidence to skeptical.

and Rahm laughs it off. What Siegelman did wrong was he did not take any money.

These people are despicable. Our whole system needs a good cleaning out, a thorough disinfecting and then it needs to start all over, this time with actual laws that work.

That should be an OP. Some DUers think this is all about salaries.

I have huge classes ranging from 29 to 35

And teachers are judged by student's test scores when it's one who has to allocate their time amongst 30?

Sigh.

Thanks for trying and for teaching.

these are inclusion classes. It shouldn't allowed.

CTU elected new leadership, not union bosses but teachers, built strong ties of solidarity with the community and other grass roots movements such as Occupy movement. This strike has big potential of spreading national, as it is de facto a political strike against the corporate model.

we can only work to rule

And "illegal" strikes are also nothing new, Rosa Luxemburg.

makes me think of Oaxaca uprising not so long ago. And this day and age our grass roots movements are getting their education from indigenous peoples, instead of trying to educate and "civilize" them.