Posted on 04/02/2018 7:56:23 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Oklahoma teachers walked off the job on Monday, closing schools statewide as they demanded salary rises for some of the lowest-paid educators in the United States and more funds for a school system reeling from a decade of budget cuts.
“We’re walking because our students deserve more,” the Oklahoma Education Association, the state’s largest union for educators with about 40,000 members, said over the weekend.
Oklahoma’s Republican-controlled legislature last week approved the state’s first major tax increase in a quarter century to help fund pay raises for teachers, hoping to avert a strike with a $450 million revenue package.
The funding would raise by $5,000 the pay of teachers beginning their career, and provide a raise of nearly $8,000 for those with 25 years’ experience, lawmakers said.
That fell short of teachers’ demand for a $10,000 pay increase over three years for teachers and a $5,000 raise for support personnel.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
Teachers are SOOOOOO 19th and 20th century.
Khanacademy.org
Is OK a right-to-work state?
Then fire them all and start hiring replacements.
This could be an opportunity to dump the worst teachers that the unions protect.
Keep ‘em closed. Let the kids play outside, go to the library, make an animal friend.
When I was in elementary school, the teachers went on strike for a month....It was great!
This is a Communist game. SOMEONE will always be last! One state’s governmental “servants” after another will riot. This will never end.
If you don’t like your pay and benefits, including every summer of your life OFF, find another job.
Do like Reagan did with the air traffic controllers. Back to work in 24 hours or your fired.
Set aside all the arguments - "They only work 9 months a year." "great benefits" "etc". I was only interested in raises, because THAT'S what everyone said that they needed.
IMO, raises were lousy. The pay difference between a new hire, and a 20-year teacher, wasn't much.
However - and you knew that a however was coming - The pay scale is public knowledge. You could easily look it up, and say, "OK, if I start teaching, my salary will be X. After 10 years, it will be X + a percentage. If I get such-and-such a certificate, and a degree, it goes up another specific percentage."
No secrets and no surprises. 5 minutes worth of online looking will tell a prospective teacher *exactly* what they'll be making, and when, and how to increase it if they so desire. If they don't like the plainly spelled out roadmap, then they need to work elsewhere. I'd no idea what they were complaining about - it was all right in front of them, right from the start of their college career.
Wish that I had it mapped out like that in the private sector, would help me make plenty of decisions. "Gee, WBill, you're getting a 3% raise when you get your MBA. Is it worth going 60K into debt?" Nope, I gotta roll the dice, just like all the other schmoes in the private sector.
Holding taxpayers hostage.
West Virginia caved, and frankly I don’t see why this is going to end any differently.
Once working moms (who are the majority) miss enough work they’ll be screaming at their State Gov to give these teachers anything they want.
How is this different from blackmail? “Pay us or your kids won’t be able to go to school”.
The saying about blood and stone comes to mind.
Just what do the students get out of this? Other that a day not learning anything
They will avoid another shooting inside a school.
any teacher teacher that is not back in the classroom by noon today should be fired.
That’s how Reagan would do it.
That’s how Tump would do it.
Let’s see if the Oklahoma governor has the same backbone.
OK has been a Right To Work state since 2001. Fire them or at least thin the herd!
Come on, Oklahoma!
Teachers get a pension. 30 years will get you half your salary for life. So if you retire in 30 years at 55, you get ~$30k a year until you die.
“We’re walking because our students deserve more”
Said with a straight face no doubt.
Pretty much my thoughts......
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