Next time you hear sanctimonious wails from the left about how Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) and Republicans want to take collective bargaining rights away from workers, remember that basic evaluations and disciplinary actions for awful teachers is something these union believe need to be negotiated and are not, in fact, the built in right of the employer (that’s you, the taxpayer).

Here’s “Exhibit A”:

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo stressed the importance of officials agreeing on a new statewide teacher evaluation system at yesterday’s State of the State address. Michael Mulgrew, President of the United Federation of Teachers, tells WOR’s John Gambling, Cuomo showed real leadership, but until Mayor Bloomberg negotiates the law the union will not act outside of those parameters. (Audio after the jump) (more…)

NEW YORK -  The new year has only just begun, but the United Federation of Teachers, the union that represents teachers in New York City, seems determined to make it a banner year for union selfishness.

The New York Post reports that UFT President Michael Mulgrew recently pitched a fit over the state’s plans to expand its standardized testing sessions for math and reading to three hours.

“It’s pretty clear right now the last thing we need is more testing,” Mulgrew said, according to the Post. “Test prep is one of the biggest dangers that our kids face in schools right now. Preparing kids to take standardized tests does not lead to real learning.”

What nonsense.

How many class sessions do teachers need to show students how to fill in bubbles on a test sheet?

How many class hours are required to help kids understand the strategies behind answering multiple choice questions?

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While Marxists spout equality and equal worth, they are not above claiming ownership of the Occupy Wall Street protests. Turns out some are more equal than others.

LaborNotes reports:

“Unions and other sympathetic groups called out their members to defend the [Wall Street] occupation—rallying to a phenomenon that’s put wage cuts, layoffs, and foreclosures squarely in the national debate. …

“Red-shirted Communications Workers—many of them recently on strike against Verizon—graduate student members of the United Auto Workers, building services workers in their SEIU Local 32BJ purple T-shirts, and Transport Workers Local 100 members were among the unionists visible in the crowd.

“The victory came ‘because of our unity and strength,’ said James Taylor of 32BJ. He also thought [New York City Mayor] Bloomberg had made a political calculation: ‘Especially with the unions out here, they can’t claim it’s just a bunch of college kids.’”

Unions of every stripe have embraced the #Occupy movement with full-throated chants and jeers.  According to LaborNotes, unions deserve the credit.

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From The New York Daily News:

As nearly 5,000 city teachers face the ax, their union shells out millions of dollars on feasting, boozing and partying, the Daily News has learned.

Free-spending United Federation of Teachers brass last year spent nearly $1.4 million for the UFT’s 50th anniversary gala at the Hilton – complete with a movie, a book and a paperweight.

Records show they:

• Ponied up $514,000 to 16 separate caterers.
• Dropped $278,417 on the annual Teachers Union Day ceremony at the Waldorf-Astoria.
• Bought $6,100 in gift baskets from a lower East Side candy store – and plowed $179,000 into training retreats at a Connecticut resort boasting golf, scuba diving and aqua aerobics.

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The Education Action Group believes that the New York City teachers union’s impending lawsuit over the release of teacher ratings exposes its true motivation to protect sub-par teachers and preserve the failing system.

New York education officials’ made the bold move to release rankings of 12,000 fourth through eighth-grade teachers recently to inject more accountability into an education system plagued by huge union-related costs, terrible graduation rates, and thousands of teachers that simply collect checks to do nothing.

The financial and other abuses the teachers unions perpetuate on public schools is a national problem that can only be corrected when citizens have unfettered access to all information available to make informed decisions. Transparency is critically important to ensure that all students receive the best education possible.

The New York City teacher rankings would, like recently released Los Angeles teacher ratings, lay the groundwork for a more transparent, effective public education system.

Unfortunately, the NYC teachers union, the United Federation of Teachers, has vowed to take the issue to the State Supreme Court in Manhattan today because UFT President Michael Mulgrew contends that the system is “unreliable and in a developmental stage,” the New York Times reports.

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