Posted on 03/17/2011 7:18:17 PM PDT by SovereignVA
Union members who oppose making up for budget problems by changing public employee salaries, benefits, and working conditions rallied in front of the Fairfax City Regional Library Tuesday, inspired by protests in Wisconsin.
"We make Fairfax work," said Michael Hairston, president of the Fairfax Education Association, the largest teacher's union in the Fairfax County Public Schools system.
"Partisan political attacks on the people that serve our community is not the answer," Hairston said. He asked protesters to join his group at a rally in front of the Fairfax County Government Center on March 29 at 5:30, right before the presentation of the FCPS budget.
The FEA was joined by several other unions, including the Fairfax County Federation of Teachers; the Fairfax County Government Employees Union, and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO). MoveOn.org was involved in organizing the rally.
Ted Kinnaman, a resident of Northern Virginia and native of Wisconsin, spoke about the fight between public employees unions and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), that began when Walker attempted to eliminate collective bargaining rights for most public employee unions.
"Politics in Wisconsin are now meaner than they ever were before," Kinnaman said.
Protesters at the rally opposed budget cuts at the federal, state, and local levels. In a press release, MoveOn.org decried the effect of potential House Republican budget cuts on Northern Virginia, including reduced funding for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.
Karen Conchar, president of the Fairfax County Government Employees Union, said the rally was also aimed at opposing the current freeze on salary increases for FCPS teachers' salaries.
"Even though we're not a collective bargaining state, we still want a voice," Conchar said.
Organizers circulated a petition opposing the use of cuts to services and public employees' salaries to resolve budget problems, favoring instead increasing taxes on the wealthy. The petition will be delivered to Virginia Senators Mark Warner (D) and Jim Webb (D) tomorrow.
We've got a date, time, and place: March 29 at 5:30, in front of the Fairfax County Government Center, right before the presentation of the FCPS budget.
Teacher unions in Virginia don’t have the power as in other states.
These people are really pushing their luck.
Lay ‘em all off and be done with them hogs. Then hire new eager youngbloods—that’s all.
Oooooooo! Excuuuuussseee me! You teachers only “work” for about 8-9 months each year. Please shut up and get to work.
These scum are a disgrace to the word “union”. They’re the kids of the bosses trying to pass as honest working people. Screw em’.
What was the number?? 60%+ of the 8th graders in Wisc cannot read?
Yep ya sure do. Ya make them taxpayers work like slaves so you can have pay raises and fat pensions.
Union Thugs Gone Wild!
Kenosha County WISCONSIN lures Illinois company - and up to 105 jobs
By Tom Daykin of the Journal Sentinel
March 17, 2011
A company moving from northern Illinois to Kenosha County was attracted by the opportunity to operate in a more efficient building and by Wisconsin’s improved business climate, a company executive says.
VIDEO STORY:
http://www.fox6now.com/news/politics/witi-20110317-walker-jobs,0,3283786.story
The real story here...is not Fairfax related, but Virginia related. The state simply has control over their budget and teachers. The union can talk all they want....but most folks in Virginia will not go along with property or income tax increases. It’s already a pretty hefty state income tax situation when compared to the other forty-nine states...so you don’t get much sympathy from anyone.
My impression, however, is that Republicans with money are loathe to criticize men and women who are their social peers, who run in the same social circles as they do, and prefer to think that the problem is only incompetent teachers. Social class should not be ruled out as a factor. Here in Texas, school superintendents are commonly paid base salaries of more than $200,000 a year plus benefits, going up to more than $300,000 in the case of Dallas ISD (Remember, no state income tax).
On the other hand, politics plays a major role. Rarely does a superintendent last more than four or five years, and so the benefits may reflect the “risk”. School administration is really just a form of appointive politics, right down to the ranks of school principals (and football coaches :-) Just as being a good classroom teacher does not protect a person from losing his job, the same is true of administrators who are outstanding managers.
Demanding a pay increase in this economic / revenue environment? That takes a lot of nerve.
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