Detroit teachers reject contract proposal, agree to strike

WFRV.COM ^ | 27 AUGUST 2006 | AP

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Sunday August 27, 2006
By RON VAMPLE
Associated Press Writer

DETROIT (AP) -- Teachers overwhelmingly rejected a two-year contract proposal by the city public school district on Sunday and decided to strike.

The Detroit Federation of Teachers, which represents 9,500 employees, said teachers plan to demonstrate at their schools Monday, the day they were scheduled to report to work to prepare for the beginning of the school year.

Classes are scheduled to start Sept. 5. Negotiations were expected to resume Monday.

``If I have to hold all the hearings personally and do nothing else for the next two months, I will do that,'' Detroit Public Schools Superintendent William Coleman III told reporters Sunday.

Union president Janna Garrison said some of the district's proposals included a 5 percent wage reduction and copays for health care benefits of up to 20 percent. Only two teachers out of nearly 6,000 voted to accept the district's proposal, the union said.

``The vote of the membership confirms the position of the leadership,'' Garrison said in a statement. ``Teachers are not willing to continue absorbing the cost of the district's mismanagement any longer.''

District spokesman Lekan Oguntoyinbo called a strike ill-advised.

``We're not trying to punish the teachers, we're asking them to make sacrifices that all other employees have made,'' he said.

The district says it needs $105 million in concessions from its unions, including $88 million from teachers, to balance its budget. The union says Detroit teachers already are among the lowest-paid in the area.

[xrp]

What a great example of professionalizing by federalizing.

What about the children?

[NavySon]

If Detroit's schools are as bad as I suspect,English and math test scores might go up there during the strike.

[ncountylee]

Saw an article that rated Detroit schools as the worst in the country.

[blu]

Gimmee gimmee gimmee!

[hsalaw]

What about the children?

They only matter when the dems can use them to bash Republicans. To heck with them when it comes to the damn unions - it's all about THEIR needs, not the children's needs.

[lawnguy]

Juan Williams, send your book to Detroit.

[Robert A Cook PE]

Concur: Some/many/most/all of the kids will probably do better out of school.

[DemforBush]

According to a story run just a couple months ago in USA Today, Detroit schools have a 4-year graduation rate of 21.7 percent the lowest on their list of the 50 largest cities.

That's beyond pathetic. And these teachers want more money?

[DuxFan4ever]

Get replacement teachers in there and start the school year. Get permanent teachers if the strikers don't come back to work.
They should be able to work under the provisions of the old contract if a new contract can't be agreed on.

[DuxFan4ever]

The district should file bankruptcy and start over with brand new contracts in every department.

[PzLdr]

Fire them. The kids won't get any dumber without them.

[A CA Guy]

Fire the union and hire without it.
Also give vouchers out.

Let's get some real education going.

[BCrago66]

How about 100 million worth of vouchers for the parents, and time-limted unemployment compensation for the public school "teachers"?

[Stegall Tx]

Oh my gosh! I was looking around the Detroit Public Schools web site trying to find out how much their average teacher earns and came across this little stat:

2004-2005 school year. Percent of students meeting or exceeding state standards:

Grade 8 science - 29%
Grade 8 mathematics - 35%
Grade 8 social studies - 8%

Fewer than 1 student in 10 meets or exceeds the state standards in social studies.

In fact, the chart this was taken from (pg 9 of 30 at 2004_2005_AnnualReportWeb.pdf ) shows only 8 of 45 areas where more than half the students met or exceeded the state standards!

Why pay these people anything? Fire the entire staff and start over. Or distribute the $1.6 billion (pg 27 of 30) back to the taxpayers and let them fund something that might work better.

Could it get worse?

[Youngman442002]

Do they have any students still in Detroit...

[kcvl]

Janna Garrison

10-29-03 How Teachers -Union- Killed A Dream & Large Gift

Teacher Federation in Detroit Stops $200,000,000 Gift for Schools

In 1999, an unassuming Michigan road builder named Bob Thompson sold his construction company for $442 million, an amount he and his wife Ellen believed was far more than they needed for retirement. His first act, which received national attention, was to distribute $128 million to his employees; about 80 became instant millionaires. Then Thompson decided to donate most of the rest of his money to public education, preferably in Detroit. After doing some research, he offered $200 million to build 15 small, independent public high schools in the inner city. A few weeks ago, Thompson withdrew his offer after the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) led a furious, and scurrilous, campaign against his generosity. The philanthropist is in seclusion now - friends say he is stunned and distressed - but his is a story that deserves telling.

More...

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

[Detroit teachers reject contract proposal, agree to strike ]

This should be good for a 25% increase in SAT scores right out of the gate.

[Riverman94610]

That low graduation rate is not compltetely the teacher's fault.
You can bust your behind in the classroom but if most of the kids have a "I don't give a ----" attitude then they doom themselves to failure.

[PzLdr]

True. But talk to a teacher and all they talk about is: [1] Their contract and how underpaid they are, [2] Teacher burnout, [3] The lack of respect they get as professionals, and what their shop steward is doing about it, [4] Why someone working 182 days a year shouldn't have their salary halved, [5] Why standardized tests, or any other objective method ofmeasuring how well a child is being educated is unfair to the child, and [6]How underpaid they are, and their contract.