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Middletown Teachers Agree to Return to Work ["I never want to see another bologna sandwich"]
The New York Times ^ | December 7, 2001 | THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Posted on 12/07/2001 12:47:27 PM PST by Silly

[Note from Silly: I am placing this in the CRIME/CORRUPTION: News and discussion of crime, corruption government abuse, power grabs, and scandal for a reason.]

FREEHOLD, N.J. (AP) -- Nearly 230 teachers were freed from jail Friday after they and their colleagues agreed to end a bitter, nine-day strike. It was the nation's biggest mass jailing of striking teachers in 23 years.

The Middletown Township teachers decided to return to class next week while the dispute between the union and the Board of Education is submitted to mediation.

Teachers were freed from the Monmouth County Jail and taken by bus to a courthouse parking lot, where they were met by cheering family, friends and colleagues bearing flowers and balloons.

``I never want to see another bologna sandwich,'' high school mathematics teacher Ann Campbell said.

Teachers in the well-to-do community walked out Nov. 29 over health benefits but were hit with a back-to-work order issued by Judge Clarkson S. Fisher Jr.

When they defied the order, he began sending them to jail Monday to try to end the strike. He and two other judges went down the list of names alphabetically, starting with the As and Bs and getting into the Rs.

Many of the teachers made impassioned speeches about their love of the job and their willingness to suffer the consequences of their defiance. Many were excused from the jail terms because of hardship or family reasons.

As of Friday, about one-quarter of the 1,000-member staff was behind bars. The teachers were given one-week sentences and told they could get out earlier if they agreed to return to their classrooms. Seven relented before Friday.

At least three teachers announced their retirements or resignations rather than face jail time.

The National Education Association said it was the biggest mass jailing of striking teachers since 1978, when 265 were locked up for 18 days in Bridgeport, Conn.

The teachers, who make an average of $56,000 annually, are fighting a move to increase their health care premiums by up to $600 per person, per year. Currently, they pay $250. The district has 10,500 students.

Michelle Armistead was among the first teachers jailed on Monday. She said she is looking forward to getting back to her classroom after four days of cleaning lunch trays at the jail.

``I can't wait,'' she said. ``I miss my kids.''


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To: Silly
high school mathematics teacher Ann Campbell said.

New math problem this semester:

A high school teacher can eat (x/24)*(1+y/50) slices of bologna in a given period of time, where x=hours and y=body weight.

If a teacher weighing 150 pounds were in jail for 3 days, and was supplied with 6 slices of bologna per day, how much bologna would she eat? (you may use your graphing calculator for this question)

21 posted on 12/07/2001 2:03:34 PM PST by testforecho
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To: Lockbox
Sorry, but $56,000 a year, even with no benefits, is much more than the average individual makes in a year. Why should teachers be paid more than the average? If they can get it, well good for them, but there is no fundamental reason why they should by right make more than the average person
22 posted on 12/07/2001 2:08:41 PM PST by Diddle E. Squat
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To: testforecho
Answer: they'd still eat far less bologna than their union spews.
23 posted on 12/07/2001 2:09:40 PM PST by Diddle E. Squat
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To: Lockbox
Now let’s talk time on the clock. My wife leaves for work @ 7 am, comes home @ 5 pm. We live 15 –20 minutes from work, so commute time is not the issue. She plans and grades tests after dinner and on the weekends. These hours are normal for most teachers. When you look at the normal working hours per year in America, that total is 2080 hours. I guarantee you that my wife works those hours, but in the ten months.

I agree. My wife leaves at 6:50 am. Arrives at work five minutes later. Doesn't get home till 6 pm. Her workday in the classroom is 11 hours minus ten minutes for a quick lunch at her desk. At night she grades papers for two or three hours. When my son played soccer she would go to games and grade papers on the sidelines. When we go to a performance at school, she grades papers till they turn the lights out. The way I see it she works about 14 months a year, not the ten official ones.

24 posted on 12/07/2001 2:09:56 PM PST by DentsRun
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To: Lockbox
Well said. There are many hard working, dedicated professionals in a very frustrating system.
25 posted on 12/07/2001 2:13:32 PM PST by petbop
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To: Lockbox
I don't know what bubble you think you're bursting, but no bubble of mine. A lot of people get deductions taken out of their paychecks for health care, even if you don't. When you calculate health care as part of total compensation -- its market value, mind you, not the "price" we pay as a deduction -- it looks like those teachers are getting a square deal.

Most Americans work without a contract. Teachers who don't have a contract need to get over it.

With time off for summer vacations, the amount of hours your wife works evens out. (Yeah, I know, she spends every waking moment of her summers working on her teaching.)

After spending a few solid years working at building their curriculum -- if, indeed it is a solid, timeless, well thought out curriculum -- most teachers do not need to reinvent that curriculum year after year, and therefore can cut down immensely on their workload. By focusing on teaching and not busy work, and by creating study guides and other materials efficiently, they can teach their students more, spend less time working outside the classroom, and get better results from students. Most teachers, however saintly we wish to regard them, "end up" in their professions -- by choice. Most universities' education departments are filled with people who can't make up their mind what they want to do or can't or won't handle the demands of other professions.

Stop puffing up the profession. Teachers have to teach kids. This is a job a lot of people can learn to do. It is not rocket science -- look how many parents homeschool their kids. We pay for teaching based on the market -- how much we value it and how much or little providers are willing to accept for it. Let's leave it to the intelligent market.

If your wife is a good teacher, God bless her. If she's looking to make her fortune or distinguish herself, she will be disappointed.

26 posted on 12/07/2001 2:14:45 PM PST by Silly
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To: Silly
Exactly! Maybe teachers could make more money if the unions stopped giving so much of their hard earned money to Democrats. Perhaps, if the teachers stood up & agreed to a results based pay scale.....we would have much better teachers. Teachers that get the best results should get paid the most. Of course, the only way that will happen is if the schools are privatized.
27 posted on 12/07/2001 2:45:03 PM PST by Feiny
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To: Diddle E. Squat
I think that most of you should get your head out of your ass regarding teacher's salaries and working hours.... First of all teachers are not part of your "average" working class. Many of the have master's degrees and are constantly taking updated classes during their "3months" off. They have the responsibility of education your children so that they can venture into the business world and obtain "above average" positions and income. I think it is an insult for people to stand on the side and criticize the teaching profession because they stood up for a principle that they believed in. We should all have that courage and determination. The teaching profession is one of the lower paying professions. Perhaps that is why many who would excel in this area turn their endeavors elswhere. I guess its okey to pay certain individuals millions of dollars a year although they would not qualify academically to work in a car wash. Thats entertainment though.....
28 posted on 12/07/2001 2:56:48 PM PST by CARSNTRUCKS
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To: Silly; All
If you tigers think it is such a cush job, why not do it yourselves? Even at what you think are grossly inflated salaries, there are teacher shortages in every state in the union. Openings are available hotshots! Kids are getting so screwed up so bad that they can't find qualified people willing to put up with them at any available price.

As far as the free market goes, it is only a factor on the macroscale, not the micro. What I mean to say is that while teaching as a whole competes with other professions (and is losing out to those professions at an unsustainable rate from sea to shining sea) individual teachers are not in the 'free market'. It is a socialist style economy, with the best teacher your kid ever had making not one cent more than the worst

I am also not very comfortable with the idea of judges putting people in jail for refusing to work when they DO NOT HAVE A CONTRACT. Have you guys thought about that.

What a tyrant! The founding fathers would have had a serious problem with his excellency the slave master. C'mon, Freepers, where are your ideals for FREEEEEDOOMMMM!

29 posted on 12/07/2001 3:01:35 PM PST by Ahban
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To: Ahban
If you tigers think it is such a cush job, why not do it yourselves? Even at what you think are grossly inflated salaries

I never said it was a cush job, or that their salaries are grossly inflated -- just fair.

I don't dig ditches or shovel manure because I would be miserable doing the job. But just because a job is thankless, doesn't make the job more valuable.

Individual teachers ARE in the free market -- they can sell their services to any school district, public or private, in any state in the country.

30 posted on 12/07/2001 3:06:09 PM PST by Silly
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To: AirAlan
Alan, I respect teachers as much as anybody else, but my BS detector is on full alert. I don't know what subject she teaches, but are you telling me that she is in the classroom teaching 11 hours per day?

I've got two kids in school now (middle and high school). I know there are conference times, and other activities, and innumerable meetings that waste everybody's time. Her life would be better if these bureaucrats would take time management classes so that she could grade her papers before she goes home.

She could change her career and become a CPA. Then you wouldn't have to worry about seeing her until 9-10 PM 3-4 months out of the year! Then there's that little issue about licensing. To maintain my license in Texas runs at least $1,000 per year, when you add in fees, dues, continuing education, and oh yeah, something called PEER REVIEW (which we know teachers don't have to worry about).

That's the choice I made, and I can live with it. At least I don't have to put up with 65-70 hour weeks anymore, now that I work mostly for myself. The vibes I get from many teachers is that they can't live with their choices any longer, but they are unable or unwilling to make a change.

As I thank those who served in the military for their contributions, I tip my hat to all those dedicated teachers as well.

31 posted on 12/07/2001 3:06:19 PM PST by Night Hides Not
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To: testforecho
If x=hours, since there are 24 hours in a day we could write 24/24=1; and 1+150/50(3)=4 and she will be able to eat 4 slices (1*4=4); if she must sleep 8 hours, we then write 16/24=(2/3), so, at 2/3(4) she only gets 2+2/3 slices; if she were not a teacher with unimpugnable character, she would simply eat all 6 slices and go on vacation; are you sure you have structured your equation correctly?
32 posted on 12/07/2001 3:27:19 PM PST by Old Professer
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To: Silly; mountaineer
I just moved from there and it's very expensive to live there. However! They have no right to strike in the middle of a school year. This is nothing more than extortion. That's why they chose to strike during the school year to hold the kids and the community hostage. Shame on them. They should have left them in jail. I guess the judge got their attention, HA! HA!
33 posted on 12/07/2001 3:30:17 PM PST by Teacup
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To: Lockbox
If your wife doesn't like her compensation package, she is always free to find other employment elsewhere.

What she does not have the right to do is extort additional money from taxpayers.

Any public employee who strikes should be immediately terminated from their position.

L

34 posted on 12/07/2001 3:31:55 PM PST by Lurker
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To: Lockbox
This is more like it (my comments in italics)

Hate to burst the bubble, but my wife has been a teacher for 30 years in Texas.(low cost of living) She just started earning $50K,(for not a full years work) after 30 years of service.(whose fault is this?) When she started teaching, the paid was about $7K.(1971 dollars) My son, 20 years old, started his first real job last year at $21K, full benefits, stock options, etc.(2000 dollars) I hope in 30 years he makes more then $50K.(probably 500k, which will be worth what 7k was in 1971)

She pays for her health insurance.(everybody pays for their health insurance except people in prison) How many employees of private companies pay their health insurance? (all of them) I do not at my company,(yes, you do) and neither does my son.(yes, he does)

Also the story has been that the teachers have not had a contract since this summer.(what's a contract? Just about everyone else is an "at will" employee) What is wrong with the administration? (the problem is that there is an administration) They cannot complete a new contract in a timely manner?(why should they? are they gonna get fired?) How many of you would go to work tomorrow without knowing what you would be paid, what benefits you would have and who is going to pay for these benefits. (all of these these things are changable without notice for the vast majority of us. I guess we're all idiots..and I guess you've never heard of "commissioned sales") Would you accept your management saying “Trust us”?(If I don;t, then I might as well quit) It is not unreasonable to expect workers not to work without an agreement.(the agreement is I agree to work here, and you pay me what I'm worth. If you don't, I'll leave. If you can't pay me...then the employer will have a bunch of great employees leaving. )

Now no one has talked about the expenses teachers incur supporting their job.(so? Tax deduction..if you can't, thank the government) My wife pays for many supplies and other teaching items out of her paycheck.(we all pay for our supplies by going out to the backyard and shaking the money tree a little bit) I know of no private employee that expects their employees to supply items such as office supplies so that they can complete their job.(I guess you know a lot of Burger King workers)

Let’s talk work time, 9 months, no. My wife works from early Aug. till middle of June.(most of us idiots have to work all of June, July, and August. Some of us might get a 2 week vacation that might be used during these months) Yes she gets one week at Thanksgiving,(I got two days this year) X-Mas (I'm taking one of my two full weeks then) and Spring (is that the one between winter and fall?). She has no paid vacation.(then it's not a vacation. It's an unpaid leave of abscense.) After 30 years of service, I know many private employees who qualify for 8 - 10 weeks paid vacation time.(Yep. the free market works great) Therefore they also are only working 9 - 10 months.(the vast majority of those types work during their vacations. those that don't are in unions)

Now let’s talk time on the clock. My wife leaves for work @ 7 am, comes home @ 5 pm. We live 15 –20 minutes from work, so commute time is not the issue. She plans and grades tests after dinner and on the weekends. These hours are normal for most teachers. When you look at the normal working hours per year in America, that total is 2080 hours. I guarantee you that my wife works those hours, but in the ten months.( any professional works many more hours than this at much harder jobs. they actually have to produce to keep their jobs. there's no monopoly to protect them. correcting papers is not stressful)

Lastly let’s talk about break and lunchtime.(what's that?). She may get a short 10-minute break in the morning. Many days she gets no break.(oh...my...God!) Only in the last few years did my wife receive a duty free lunch of 30 minutes.(keep pluggin' away, and some day you'll grab the brass ring) How many would work and eat lunch at the same time for the last 25 years of your career?(if I even eat lunch, I'm usually working..although sometimes I'm freeping) Now I know many small business owners do, because I did it when I owned a small business. There were days my wife would come home and would not stop to ever say "Hello", because she did not have a bathroom break all day. And forget calling her at work, no phone calls.(now THAT's legitimate...it's impossible to get a teacher on the phone during the workday. sounds like my idea of heaven on some days...)

Please compare this with most workers day, an 8 hour day, 1 hour duty free lunch, two 15 minute breaks, and lots of personal phone calls.(union workers and entry level office personnel)

Freepers most teachers earn their money the old fashion way, they work hard for it! (teachers do earn their money; if they want to earn what they're truly worth, the education must be privatized)

Are there problems with the school system, yes, are teachers the main cause of the problems, no. (I agree, teachers are acting in their own self-interest, like they should)Teachers are only a cog in the system, there are many other areas to examine first.(problem is that there is a "system", not a free market) If anyone is interested I will be glad to discuss the GM workers in Calif that were blamed for building bad cars, and how Toyota used the same workers to build GM's highest rated auto.(yes, bad mangement and union pressures. the free market fixed that)

I'm sure you and your wife are great people, and I'm not trying to ridicule either of you. I empathize with her, because clearly she deserves more than what she is earning. But things can be tough all over, and the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Just a little perspective; there is no gun to your wife's head, and the reason her working conditions are sub-par is because the government has a monopoly one of our most important industries, education.

Thanks for contributing!

35 posted on 12/07/2001 3:40:26 PM PST by motzman
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To: Diddle E. Squat
If they can get it, well good for them,

Even if they can get it by blackmailing the taxpayers? I don't think so.

36 posted on 12/07/2001 3:44:06 PM PST by jackbill
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To: Lurker
Exactamundo, Lurker! I always thought that Reagan's firing of PATCO strikers sent the right message, and set the tone for his administration.

That's the great thing about this country: FREEDOM!!!

Yeah, it can get damn tough out there, and it can be scary. I know, I've been laid off and fired more than once. I haven't worked under a 'contract' since I got out of the Army 15+ years ago. And I know the relationship that I've got with my biggest client (70% of revenues) could end tomorrow. But that insecurity keeps me in the hunt, and keeps me from getting too self-satisfied, because I've got that big mortgage, and college bills coming up, etc.

The thing is I love what I'm doing, even if I'm not getting wealthy - who can get wealthy with SE tax to deal with? Sheesh, I can't remember the last time I took more than a week off (maybe ten years ago).

I don't care what profession you're in. If you don't like it, find something else. Life is too short to be miserable in your career.

37 posted on 12/07/2001 3:48:09 PM PST by Night Hides Not
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To: Silly
They're not clymers. With an inflation rate of 3.2% last year and projected as high as 4% for this year, they were being asked to take a pay cut. After subtracting the increased medical costs, they'd be getting only a 3% raise.

Would you agree to a pay cut this year? Or would you fight it?

I'd fight it. Notice it says affluent New Jersey neighborhood. I've been there. $56,000 a year is not extragant with the cost of living in that area. A 1200 sq foot house in that area costs about 200 grand....insane but true.

38 posted on 12/07/2001 3:53:51 PM PST by xzins
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To: xzins
"...they were being asked to take a pay cut. After subtracting the increased medical costs, they'd be getting only a 3% raise."

Take another look at your quote and tell me you don't think like a liberal.

39 posted on 12/07/2001 3:58:21 PM PST by Silly
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To: Silly
who make an average of $56,000 annually

WHAT??? AN AVERAGE??? There are Ph.D.s teaching in college (not that I know any) who don't make that much!!!

40 posted on 12/07/2001 4:02:19 PM PST by AmishDude
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