[wbill]

My state had much the same problem, teachers complaining about lousy pay. So, I did some research.

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.

[AppyPappy]

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.

[Osage Orange]

Good post....

Pretty much my thoughts......

[PapaBear3625]

Wisconsin's Act 10 law in 2011 gutted public employee unions by prohibiting automatic deductions of union dues from employee paychecks. The other states need to do likewise.

The Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC), the state’s largest teachers union, has seen its membership rolls plummet. WEAC boasted approximately 100,000 members before Act 10. In 2016, the union counted 36,000 members, as reported by the MacIver Institute.

Once teacher's union membership falls to 1/3, a strike becomes just an easily-bearable mass resignation to the school district.

[Magnum44]

Your post is spot on. I'd like to add, some jobs are appropriate for careers and bringing in an income sufficient to support a family. Other jobs are, by their nature, starting points for young people learning responsibilities and the ways of the world (think burger flippers and waitress, or sales clerks). These jobs will not and should not be used to support a family on, and no one in these jobs should expect their employer to "salary up" just because they feel like they deserve it.

Teaching jobs fall in the middle, traditionally the kind of job a young housewife or mother did to supplement the family income, do something positive for society (certainly gain self worth at the same time), and allow the flexibility to take absences for raising their own kids, handling the kids during summer vacations, etc. Teaching, like too many other things, has become about career pay, living wage, benefits, etc.

[SVTCobra03]

Most companies will pay for your MBA. Mine did.

[packrat35]

Well, I am one to continue to paint out they only work 3/4 a year for their salary. They are free to work the other 3 months in another job like the rest of us to add to their salary.

Also, like you said, the salary is public knowledge, so they should know what it pays. If they don’t like it, move into another field not subsidized by taxpayers!