Neshaminy Teachers End Strike… for Now
by Education Action GroupPennsylvania’s Neshaminy Federation of Teachers has agreed to end its nearly two-week strike, and members will return to the classroom Friday morning. But that doesn’t mean the nastiness is over.
The school board had refused to continue contract negotiations while the union was on strike, which means the disagreements about future pay raises, health insurance contributions and retroactive pay are still unresolved.
State law requires that a three-member arbitration panel be brought in to help assist negotiations, reports PhillyBurbs.com. The panel will make its non-binding recommendations by spring. If the district and the union still cannot agree, the NFT has the legal option of going on strike a second time this school year.
School board President Ritchie Webb said that a second strike would prompt the district to file an injunction with the state, asking that the teachers be ordered back to work.
“Teachers need to understand that you can strike until the cows come home, but it doesn’t create more money in the district,” Webb said. “We have limited resources.”
The community seems to have had enough of the NFT’s selfish behavior, too.
“I think what the teachers are doing is greedy and insulting to us – the taxpayers,” said Tony Brillhart, according to LowerSouthhampton.Patch.com. “We pay them to do a job, not walk in front of the schools with posters.”
“They went to strike over greed and my daughter’s education is forced to suffer because of it,” said Shawna Frey, a sergeant in the National Guard who served in Iraq.
Like we said, the strike might be over, but the dissension and hard feelings remain.
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33 Comments
Since the union is the issue, expect school bombings at any time soon. Or valndalism. or attacks on the school board members. You get the picture. Unions=thuggery……..
I'm glad the unions are becoming more vocal and spending more time on the picket line. Because we get to see more and more copy like this: "The community seems to have had enough of the NFT’s selfish behavior, too."
And I'm banking on that meaning less public union power in the future.
If the teachers want to strike, they can. From the middle of June, through July and August. If not finished by September, they can be replaced.
This is union greed and stupidity. On display for every taxpayer to see.
Good luck with this one NFT.
ON EDIT: You people aren't worth what you demand now.
"The community seems to have had enough of the NFT’s selfish behavior, too."
Hellloooo – I think those of us in the private sector have had enough of ALL Gov't Unions "Selfish Behavior" !!!
These Union 'Leadership' Thugs are terrorists – holding this country and their members hostage, IMO.
Better start calling for resumes! Time to retool and upgrade the resources with NEW non-union teachers. Vouchers! Charter Schools!
Do you need any more reasons why unions should be banned in public schools? Parents cannot use the free market to educate their children.
Our local district bragged that the "average" teacher only makes $60,000 a year, and the State "average" is $68,000 so therefore we are really getting our moneys worth. According to the 2010 census the average yearly wage of a citizen in our county $24,000, with the school district as the largest industry/employer. Time to rid ourselves of the union cancer. It is killing the host.
Union 0 Sanity 1
I would have fired every one of those Striking Teachers.
Hey. It's for the children. The face of the left shows its true colors once again . All red. Alinsky red.
Don't back down to these stupid, selfish, whiney unions & their equally stupid, selfish, whiney members! We the Taxpayer can't afford you! Get a clue! Most of you aren't even worth it, looking at what ignorant fools they are sending out into the world. God Bless America!!!
——“Teachers need to understand that you can strike until the cows come home, but it doesn’t create more money in the district,” Webb said. “We have limited resources.”
The community seems to have had enough of the NFT’s selfish behavior, too.
—–
This is why unions lead to company (and job) destruction in the private sector and to massive overspending in the public sector. They never acknowledge reality. If the money isn't there, a raise is IMPOSSIBLE. In a time of 9 or 16% unemployment (depending on which number you use) massive tax increases to pay for raises would lead to politician unemployment.
Except, apparently in California and Illinois.
It's war against corrupt parasitic public sector unions. No retreat…no surrender…
The taxpayers cannot afford their selfish greed, and insolence any longer.
Any teacher not liking the program, can do something else.
Like dog walking or babysitting..
my 2 cents:
America spends more per capita on education that nearly any other country… but our teachers are some of the lowest paid. Why? ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS. The unions use these poor teachers as pawns, parade them out as an example of how underfunded out schools are. Then, when they get more money, most of it goes to the administrators, not the people teaching your students.
Yes, but teacher's unions are usually able to make pleas about how they ostensibly "help children." Against that kind of empty-headed emotional manipulation, the reply of "There ain't no money" usually falls on deaf ears.
Teachers low paid? Whenever those type of comments are thrown out I know the value of a public education is near nothing. Entry level public school teachers pay is relatively low (though not compared to private school teacher pay), but the benefits are high. By the time a teacher has been 10 years on the job their pay if higher than the national average and the benefits are still high. Remember, they are paid based on a 10 month year, they have full medical, and will recieve full pay upon retirement if they stay long enough.
How does that make them low paid "pawns"? People who believe they are are the real pawns. By the way, that was worth far less than 2 cents.
Remember, they're on strike…for the children.
All that has to be done is for the video to be played to the teachers AND the Boards of Education whereby the NEA Director made it clear – it is NOT about the children, it is about the Unions. Pretty much sums it up.
After sending two sons to private (non-union) schools I am of the firm opinion that school vouchers are the only hope for returning the Republic to educational excellence. The governments extorts money from the people and gives that money to it's union cronies. In return We The People get indoctrination of our children and substandard education. Every family that pays income taxes, sales taxes and/or property taxes should receive vouchers for the full value of education at the school of their choice, either religious or secular or any combination of the two, and be able to purchase the best education of their choice for their children.
Where to you live? I agree that the Administration is Overpaid too! I live in West Chester PA and the average
salary of the teachers is over 80K.
Attend your school board meetings. I do, and believe me in my district, it's all about the TEACHERS!
I fail to understand the self-defeating behavior of teachers. They should leave the Unions en-mass.
The Unions are opposed to charter schools. With budget cuts and possible lay-offs looming, it seems to me that charter schools would create the demand for teachers services. And when any particular groups services are in demand, the wages tend to go up. Simple supply and demand.
I would think teachers would love to be able to find employment in a less cumbersome, less bureaucratic environment. Teachers are constantly complaining of overwhelming student to teacher ratios. Charter schools would not only expand the employment base for teachers, but also effectively reduce class size.
You would think that teachers would be smart enough to figure this out…
What is needed is a law which *jails* union leaders as long as an illegal strike continues. And fines the union $10,000 per day.
"Low pay" my ass. They make more than any other non-STEM majors with 4-year degrees, despite being the *stupidest* students taking the *easiest* courses in any university– and they only work 3/4 of the year. In addition, they have invincible job security for life, no matter how lazy/incompetent/criminal they may be
I took many of those "easiest" courses at a public university to earn my teaching license. Even though I had to read books, write papers, build dioramas, and write lesson plans in some archaic format designed by a soul 20-years removed from the classroom, those classes were still much easier than others. It's very subjective: does your explanation seem to agree with someone else's interpretation, or does your method make me pleased? Teacher-training programs and teacher-evaluation programs both have much in common: more and better is needed.
I agree with all that you said, except for the "stupidest" part. I scorned those "Math for the Elementary Teacher"/"Science for the Elementary Teacher" nonsense courses for real classes like Calculus, Zoology and the chemistry classes/labs required by pre-med students. Sadly, I know I'm one of the lucky ones who became a teacher by choice, not because it was the only option available.
These ed-u-kay-tors are teaching the students in their community that the free-market system in their textbooks might have real-life applications. If you demand more than the market will bear, you may end the day with nothing. These union folks might believe that they are worth thousands of dollars in wages, benefits, and perks, but if the folks who provide the tax dollars don't want to pay thousands, someone has to go. I hope these educators find some wisdom, and soon.
I had to take a couple of classes over in the education department for my degree. A great number of them lacked critical thinking skills and were already Left Wing Puppets. The lack of common sense was deafening. Not all, mind you, but far too many. it was a lot like that in my own department, come to think of it.
You are the kind of teacher a kid is lucky to get.
“Teachers need to understand that you can strike until the cows come home, but it doesn’t create more money in the district,” Webb said. “We have limited resources.”
The government negotiators caved again and again.
They led the unions to believe that there was no end to the money and perks by never saying "H*ll no!".
They might just understand it if they all find themselves out of work.
They're no different than the OWS thugs, but probably not as intelligent:
-The "2000 Profile of College Bound Seniors," a report from the College Board which administers the SAT, tracked what majors 10,280 Michigan high school students chose in college. The highest SAT scorers shunned education majors, the lowest scorers chose education majors. Of the 6 percent of students who selected education as a major, their average math score was 35 points below the state average and 26 points below in verbal scores. Would-be teacher majors tied with “home economics” majors.
I moved out of the Neshaminy School District 10 years ago. At the time the school board was stacked with 50 year old retired teachers that where supposedly acting for the taxpayers. I pay less now in school taxes on a home twice the size of the one I moved out of. At one point, the taxes doubled over a 4 year period.
Part of the problem now is that the money goes to pay for opulence instead of what's important to teach kids. We had basic brick buildings in our schools because they were cheaper. Look at many of the schools being built now; olympic sized swimming pools that few students ever get to use, 2 or 3 gymnasiums, beautiful architectural buildings, etc. The money is just not being spent on what's important to teach children.
Look I'm not big on homeschooling. But, it is a way to eliminate unions, specifically, school unions. The other thing would to advocate for a charter school if possible. Either way there are solutions that can solve problems with the unions without the struggle of fighting the government. Think of it. If there were enough people that took an alternative route to educate their children, the public schools would not have clout to bring in more tax payer money. The other bonus would be that kids would not have to be subjected to silly curriculums. Ridding big government in this way can be done, and has been done in the past. As bad as the government is, it's still up to the citizens to whether this corruption continues or not. It's just whether we decide to change our lifestyles and our perception of government, and stop feeding the machine with our dependency. Yes, homeschooling and other alternatives are not as easy as public schools, but it's that or complaining about the bad teachers, unions, and big government.
I say complaining and not "dealing" because we don't deal when we try to fight big money with our vote and arguments via government. They'll still ram whatever they want down our throats, and all that we'll end up doing is simply complaining. When you fight through the government against an organization that is connected to the government, the one with the most money and connections wins. When you take that fight out of government, the one with real world perspective wins. Yes, the people for a time could win, but the corrupted government will only try again. If, however, we make sure that we do not depend on things such as public schools and bring up a culture of independency, then we win for sure. We'll be able to see corruption and get rid of it before it becomes a problem.
As for the unions, not all teachers like the unions, themselves. Some just want to teach, but have to pander to the unions because that's the only way to keep their jobs. However, I do find it odd that Dem voters are still Dems after they have to fight for their kids' education against unions when it's so obvious as to what is going on.
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