March 18, 2010 10:35 am

Teacher’s Union Says No To Contract Concessions

How is it that the Norwalk Federation of Teachers thinks that teacher layoffs are a preferable alternative to postponing raises and/or longevity increases? The usual dance over “budget cuts” versus flat spending is taking the first spin out of the BOE ballroom.

Interim superintendent Michael Nast outlined proposed areas where spending changes can achieve the flat budget. Originally, the BOE had proposed an increase to last year’s budget of about $5 million. Once the Common Council voted on the cap, that set things in motion for the BET to hold firm on the no increase.

Last year, the BOE approved an administrators contract with a 3% increase and step increases as well.

Loonie Tunie

For your viewing pleasure, I offer the following clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcCXnXDiKoQ

The part of Bruce Mellion is played by Daffy Duck, the City/BOE is portayed by the Genie in the Lamp, and Bugs Bunny plays the poor unwitting Taxpayer.

Please avoid the butter on your popcorn, as Bruce’s performance is enough to kill ya. Enjoy TTTThhhaaatttt’ss All Folks!!
Braemar

Not working/living in Norwalk, many topics are not ‘close to me’ and my opinion would be moot. This however, is different.

And yes I agree that I can not see (having seats on both sides of the table) how layoffs are prefereable to spreading the loss. Unions usually see the budget season as Crying Wolf as it has been reapeated for so many years.
“Hello,” the forest beacons, forget the trees.
Kurm Udgeon

Mellion takes the union intransigence to new heights of arrogance and stupidity. It’s now time for the mayor, the council and both the BOE and BET to grow a pair. It has been far too long that this union has blackmailed this town over their contract. Other city workers are going along with the need for static budgets, the teachers need to follow suit. This union has outstayed it’s welcome. Maybe if half of the schools are closed as in other towns, they will get the message.
Norwalks schools are top heavy in administrative salaries, underperforming academically, and nowhere I would want to send my children. When are teachers going to have to take responsibility for their kids learning and results of their job performance? When is the public going to put their collective feet down and demand some real results and quality of education for their hard earned tax dollars? When is enough enough?
Anne Sullivan

Dear Kurm,
Living up to your name quite nicely. ALL NPS teachers not taking “responsibility for their kids learning and results of their job performance?” Really? May we see your data on that?
CT Taxpayer

Kurm Udgeon – You are overstating your case because it is unfair to say that teachers are unwilling to accept responsibility for their students’ learning. It may well be true of too many teachers, but it is certainly not true of all teachers.

Your suggestion about closing half the schools, as is being done in a couple of places in the nation, is simply unworkable in Norwalk. The places where the schools are being closed are districts that have suffered severe drops in enrollment, and so they really don’t need many of their schools.

I don’t know enough about the position taken by the NFT to make a judgment, but I do know that the union leadership feels that teachers have already made a significant contribution toward reducing the deficit by changing their health coverage. That is true. However, in these extremely difficult times, it is better never to say “never.” The NFT and the district should keep the lines of communication open. (Then again, maybe they are and we just don’t know about it.)

The salaries and benefits of the teachers represent the majority of the school district budget, but not to be overlooked are the contracts of the administrators, including the central office administrators who have individually negotiated contracts. They need to set the example.
Tina

The Norwalk super should follow the lead of the Rhode Island super who fired the entire pool of teachers. Unions that refuse to give concessions think that parents will just throw money at schools under the guise of “its for the children” until we’re taxed to death. Fire all these teachers if the union won’t bend. There are plenty of teachers willing to work for less pay in this economy who aren’t only concerned about their pocketbooks. When I went to PTA meetings 10 years ago I used to have hope for teachers, now I just see people milking the system for benefits, pay and tenure. Teachers used to be respected. Now teachers = leeches.

Sam

Tina,

Screw You! Teachers work hard. You wouldn’t last half of a day in my class. Now let’s see who the leech is!!

Loonie Tunie

Ladies & Gentlemen, Now, for your viewing pleasure we bring you the sequel, DAFFY THE GREEDY SLOB. Featuring Bruce Mellion reprising his role as Daffy. Once again, Bugs Bunny plays the unwitted Norwalk taxpayer.
**Viewing Hint: Watch Bruce’s, err…I mean Daffy’s eyes bulge and lick his salivating lips when he sees Norwalk’s budget money. That Bruce! Whatta’ Natural! Whatta’ maroon!
CT Taxpayer

Tina, you need to read the entire story of that high school in Rhode Island, which has a high school that has been so bad that it needs restructuring. She didn’t say she would fire all of the teachers, although she threatened a large number of them.

Norwalk doesn’t have schools that are anything like the R.I. high school. Besides, I think the R.I. superintendent relented when the teachers agreed to a longer work day.
Tina

CT – Here is the full writeup on the RI super. CNN did a great piece on her today. She fired the entire school. The school can re-hire no more than 50% of them for the September year. So, you’re right, some teachers may be given an opportunity to come back in the fall – but 100% of them were given termination notices that their jobs are gone at the end of this year.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/03/17/rhode.island.school.reform/index.html?hpt=C2

My point was merely, academic quality or not, unions need to stop thinking they can get 2-5% increases every year. Every other company/business does layoffs and people move on with their lives. If a union won’t do concessions, and we won’t raise taxes, then 10-15% of teachers should be expected to lose their jobs. That’s no mean. That’s no unfair. That’s life.
Braemar

Yes, the firing staff in Rhode Island was a result of No Child Left Behind rules for the years of poor performance by students in the once a year testing. It is the same for any schools in any state. That firing is one choice among four that can be used to react to the student poor performance over time. The state of RI had already taken over that high school and also failed at re-organizing for better performance.

Sad to say that many poor areas have students who arrive in kindergarten already about three years below average. Some catch up in a few years and some never do. Most of those unable to make more than a year’s growth per year to catch up to average peers drop out, feeling a mismatch to classes and studies.

It is difficult for staff teach in a way to move those students more than a year each year when they have little or no foundation to build on. Yes, I agree that ‘s a teacher’s job. Some learners are not going to make a year’s growth in a year, never mind surpass that goal. There is the job the learner has to take on consistently. No one can make someone learn. You can only present lessons in the best possible ways, and be open for interactions to know where to make another explanation.
John

The union should hold strong. It is likely that no one would actually be fired because the money could be saved by not refilling positions opened by retirement or resignation. The union could get their raise and the city would save on the salary and benefits not being paid for the unfilled positions.
OLD TIMER

I wonder who gave a press release, and why, on the prospect of contract negotiations. That is never helpful, if anybody is really serious. The union president has no authority to start discussions, requested by the City, by agreeing to give back anything won in prievious negotiations and part of a contract.
If he is approached to start negotiations before the normal time, he has to go to his executive board, get their decision if they are willing to negotiate, (why ?) and form a negotiating team. He has an obligation to do his best for his members. I don’t think the present contract is so close to expiration as to make now the right time for negotiations on a new contract. If that is correct, and the City is asking for re-negotiation on an already settled contract, the City is trying to break that contract and should not expect much help from the Union president.
Without knowing who gave out this story, it is hard to make a judgement, but a press release now, accusing the union leadership of bad faith, is hardly a good way to initiate negotiations.
Why would anybody think the best way to limit spending is to break a contract ? What effect does breaking contracts have on credit rating ? Why are so many here so quick to blame the union for management’s mistakes ?
Are the teachers and the City really talking, or is this press release just a trial baloon to see if such talks might happen ? Figuring out how to run a school system, within a budget cap, and the terms of existing contracts, is not a Union problem, it is a management (administration) problem.

Update on Schools

Old Timer, credit rating? Press releases from boe?

The city’s credit rating has absolutely nothing to do with the budget of boe nor following students progress with each instructor.

Far as trial balloons go, someone sure has a good aim with that sure shot Red Ryder. Quick as Chuck Conners his’ self.

The wabbit sticks his head outta his wabbit hole, looks around, sniffs the air, ducks back in his hole.

What does the wabbitt sense?

A sentient Norwalker

We are all missing the real issue— some people think that it’s ok to raise class sizes everywhere (EXCEPT COLUMBUS) to save a few bucks. I don’t give a rat’s tookis if the teachers want the plan, I don’t want my kid to be in a class of 28 other kids—- if you don’t go to a Title 1 school, you kids have almost no aides in their rooms. So, we’re going to crowd them even more and give the teachers less help.
Have we lost our minds?

turfgrrl

A sentient Norwalker: In answer to your questions, yes we have lost out minds. There is no data that says class room size matters. Globally. Nationally. Love how Maine has the smallest average class size and the lowest average SAT scores. As for Norwalk, well now where has our class size gotten us thus far?

Kurm Udgeon

No one seems to remember that the boomers went to school with class sizes which were well over 30 due to there not being enough schools to accomodate all of the wave of boomer kids. In those days, before the advent of the teachers union, there was a far better quality of education, because everyone seemed to care about education and their jobs weren’t secure for no reason. Those children turned out to be the best educated group of students who grew up to be the most productive generation of citizens ever in this country.
Where did it go wrong? Tenure to start. In the real world no one gets to keep their jobs because the rules say that once you have worked somewhere for three to five years, no one can fire you no matter how badly you perform the duties of your job. Also, in the real world, no one gets more money just because they take another class which may or may not have anything to do with the subjects they teach. In any other non-union profession, you don’t automatically get pensions, health benefits and automatic pay raises. These perks make teachers and those in their union jobs see the world in a very different way from the rest of us who don’t know if we have a job tomorrow.
There is no easy answer to these dilemas, but the union position of teachers being immune to the pain which the rest of us have to bear needs to change. And tenure is anathema to learning. So all of you teachers who are reading this need to get a grip and stop showing your outrage and use those academic minds which you supposedly have, to reason that you are not above the rest of us, and need to share the pain for the good of us all.
Braemar

While I submit that I was a boomer and had 40+ in some classes, our peers had families that supported discipline at school and we had no models crying out for them to act out in the classroom. We were not taught in the multi-senses fashion, were not using technology during lessons and were not in flexible small groups to meet with staff for small group intervention learning. The teacher often assigned work and we sat and did that. Such a plan does not work today.

Why? Students are not using time to do independent practice in class. They do practice at home and have new material in class. The amount of new matierial presented to students since the 1950s is amazing to learn. Also teachers watching students work would be considered wasting students’ valuable time with the professional.

Many opportunites are given to students these days for success that would be taken away by the large class set up. The state’s curriucla frameworks for objectives and lessons will not fly in that situation. And there will be “Plenty of Children left Farther Behind”.
Fred Flinstone

A few questions for everyone to ponder.

Are you a product of N.P.S. ?

Don’t you have to have, something, before you lose it?

Confused?

Reread qustion one, s l o w l y this time.
Where are we?

The point of this thread was that the teachers’ union said they would not consider reopening their contract. This happened after OTHER municipal unions including the Norwalk Assistants & Supervisors Association AGREED to REOPEN their contract and GAVE BACK a 3% raise that they NEGOTIATED FOR in prior years. They did not have to do it, but they did, in GOOD FAITH and to help the City meet its goal of not increasing taxes something like 8 or 9% next yr. The high level managers who are not union members (Department Heads, such as the Finance Director, DPW head, etc) all did the same. It is very, very discouraging to watch the teachers say the equivalent of ‘scr*w you’ to the taxpayers AND to their fellow city employees. It is also discouraging to read letters to the editor where taxpayers blast municipal employees for being greedy & not giving anything back, & blast the administration for not reducing staff, when in fact last yr 38 municipal jobs were eliminated (which everybody seems to have forgotten) . The facts are, we are already ‘doing more with less’ , and we are indeed taking wage cuts. Peter Berman, are you reading this? His letter did not even mention Board of Ed, just the City. Very discouraging & perplexing.

Apathetic Voter

Part of the reason Norwalk is in such a money crunch is because of all those “early retirements” that were being touted as the way to save money in 2009. Unfortunately whomever thought the retirement idea up neglected to take into consideration how much these retirements were going to cost the city by way of pension and insurance payments. And when you also add the fact that more people took the early retirement package than the City expected them to….. is it any wonder that in the current economic situation we now find ourselves in severe financial straits?

OLD TIMER

Where is all this story coming from ? Was there a real approach by the City to the teacher’s union, or are we getting bits and pieces from informal conversations between people in the administration, or the union, with some reporter, or mere speculation ?
If, and when, there is a formal request by the City to re-open an existing contract for the purpose of taking back something, then we might have a real story.

Kurmudgeon: Before there was a teacher’s union ? How far back are you looking ? There has been a teacher’s union since at least the 40′s. The first teacher’s strike in the country was in Norwalk, in the 40′s, over the issue of gender based wage discrimination. Classes were larger years ago and it would be hard to prove that adding a few students to each class now would be harmful.
Taking a 28 student class up to 31 students, should save a lot of money.

turfgrrl

Old Timer: Mellion said it at a BOE meeting. It’s not the City that asks to reopens the contract, but the BOE, and someone on the BOE said they wanted to.

OLD TIMER

BOE is the City. If they asked the Union president, at a BOE meeting, to agree to change an existing contract, they knew before they asked he cannot do that. Some genius thought it was a good idea to get him on the record in that format. What a clever way to re-open negotiations. If there is any hope to change the contract, that was the worst possible approach.
Older Democrat

That Rhode Island story is amazing-wonder if it could happen here? Those teachers wanted $90 an hour to work overtime to teach their failing students-that’s a reason to fire them immediately. Norwalk is already under state supervision for having so many low performing students. Maybe the new super will get tough with Bruce Mellion and use this example for renegotiating the contract.
OLD TIMER

How does overtime, at the rate agreed to in the contract, justify firing someone ? The City negotiated with the teachers and agreed to a contract. Now that the City is not taking in the projected income they expected, they want to re-open a contract and take back something the agreed to. While that may be understandable, there is nothing automatic that gives the union president the authority to agree to any change in the present contract, anymore than the mayor or the superintendent has the authority to agree to changes in the contract. There is a process, it is in the contract, and the BOE members should know that. Expecting the union president to give away anything at a BOE meeting was foolish. Criticizing him here for playing by the rules is not fair. How loud would the criticism be if the new superintendent agreed to give the teachers big raises, at that same meeting ? We all know that would be beyond his authority, just as giving away anything at that meeting is beyond the union president’s authority.
The commenter that brfeaking contracts has no effect on credit ratings has obviously never broken a contract with a bank.
John carvel

Hey old timer… would you happen to remember if the City reopened the contract in the 70′s when inflation and the cost of living skyrocketed so they could give union members more money?

annnonymous

Exempt all teachers who were teaching in the 70′s.

John carvel

Be easier to just tie raises directly to cost of living incrrases. If it goes up 1%, raises only go up one percent. If it goes up 10%, so will raises. That way there is no risk to either side on multi-year contracts.
OLD TIMER

No contracts were ever re-opened to give anybody more than what was in a contract. There were times unions made gains, but there was always give and take. Neither side is ever happy with the results their negotiating teams bring back. Many times getting approval by the council or the BOE, or the union membership, has been very hotly debated. In recent years, unions generally have given back more than they gained, not just City municipal unions, but unions all over the country, in many industries.
While salaries have not been cut, they have not kept up with cost of living and benefits, especially medical insurance and pensions, have suffered. Big companies used bankruptcy as a way to void contracts and never missed a day in business or lost any assets, but retirees saw pensions reduced. Top executives continued to do very nicely. Union members see themselves taking the blame for mismanagement and slipping further behind all the time. Union members are not unreasonable, but re-opening a contract without some incentive beyond helping an administration save face will not be easy. Reading some of the comments here will not make it any easier. The administration brags about “no-layoffs”, but how many jobs disappeared and were not refilled ?