Good point, but Unions dont allow pay-for-performance and firing incompetent teachers that are tenured.

FIRE THEM. Irresponsible fools. They don't give a crap about the kids. It's all about them and their union bosses. The well is dry.

Pullmyfinger13, Mr.Christy in NJ clarifies this better. Most teachers I know do really care about children. It is the union bosses that are the problem. Teachers are really powerless to step out of the union or go to work against the decree.

Teachers in Chicago are not underpaid. They make an average of 70,000 a year. Nearly twice the total household income of the average working family. They also work less then 9 months out of the year. Overpaid daycare...

Chicago teachers are NOT "underpaid". And their pensions and healthcare benefits for life are killing taxpayers. They need to start paying for their OWN retirement, they need to pay a lot MORE for their own healthcare and NO MORE RETIREMENT HEALTHCARE COVERAGE.

They should fire all these fools and hire people who really want to teach.

Public employee's throwing "kids" under the bus.......

Kid's get trapped in gang's, teacher's get trapped in union's. Leave a gang you could get killed, leave the union you will be unemployed. This is Chicago's chance to bust the union, improve the quality of the schools and help reduce the budget deficit. This is an opportunity, if only the "Chicago politic's" can see past the union busting.

ula - Chicago has some of the most under-performing schools in the country with some of the highest paod teachers - I'd say the taxpayers aren't getting anything close to to their money's worth. They need to fire every single one of them.

Good old unions. With so many people without a job, I'm sure they can find some teachers more than happy to take those jobs.

Fire them ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

My wife is a behavioral disorder high school teacher in chicago...translation: 1/2 are actual disability kids and other half are from dysfunctional homes. Basically my wife deals with kids who are not disaplined and run over their parents doing drugs. She works hard, disciplining other peoples kids, somewhere teaches them, gets attacked by same parents... and gets paid for it.

My Opinion: The teachers with tenure, education, experience are paid well and fairly in Chicago. The teachers out of college are not

I understand that teachers need to be paid more, but striking during a school year is unconscionable. Unions need to be stripped of much of their power and teachers need to be treated as the rest of us. If you do well at your job, you get more money, if you do poorly – you lose your job.

An Obama democrat trying to bust up a union and one Obama is in favor of. Maybe Rahm sees how great it is working in Wisconsin and elsewhere and wants to save his city fom bankruptcy. And I don't see President Obama out there with his walking shoes as he once said he would. How ironicit is one of Obama's closest advisors doing this to the union.

Shame on them all!! And they call themselves teachers!!! My heart goes out to all of the parents who are stuck with no alternative, who MUST go to work everyday knowing their kids are either home alone, or at the very least, are sitting in a substitute situation, rather then getting the education that every child in America is entitled to.

The signs say 'On strike for better schools'.

But the news articles state.."At issue are teacher pay and school reforms, including tougher teacher evaluations"

Its all about $$$$..not the students.

"Salary figures provided by the Chicago Public Schools show teachers here have the highest average salary of any city in the nation."

Teachers in New York City earn an average of $73,751. That would be less than the average $76,000 average salary for Chicago teachers cited by CPS, but more than the $71,000 average cited by the union. Depending on which is accurate, Chicago would either be first or second in the nation in average teacher salary. However, Los Angeles teachers make $67,600. The number drops to about $54,000 in Dallas, and just over $52,000 in Miami.

Man, what did these same parents do during the summer when their kids had no school?

The reality is, we have been living far beyond our means for decades in the US, and it's time to start cutting back. News sites often like to make it look like only Republicans want to reduce costs, but the reality is, politicians from both parties are starting to make these kinds of decisions.

With my background and education I should be able to qualify for a teaching position. If they are making $70K/yr for nine months of marginal performance send me an application. When that pay is annualized it comes out to about $93K/yr. Time for the unions to be busted.

Actually, save the postage on the job app. While it may be more than enough to live on financially, it is not nearly enough to attract me to live in that dump of a city.

Jayfos

J Hicks: Its the unions, not the teachers. Many of the teachers are fine with current pay uderstanding economy. If anything, parents should have the right to charge the union for day care every day their kid is home.

If that's the case, why did they vote to authorize the strike?

Chicago teachers are the highest paid in the nation, or the second-highest if you take union figures, yet they have one of the poorest-performing school systems.

While I can understand wanting to reduce class size, more pay is out of the question.

Ron: Its the first time in 25 years so they thought about their reasons. What they are also not telling is they are increasing the day by one more hour per day. It must be enough for them to strike....even though I dont agree.

My point, its the unions who push for the most and hope something comes out in their favor. What I find hilarious is how liberals complain about fat cat cash from corporations when Unions are the same animal

chicago gets 70,00 texas gets 48,000. but the school system is taxing the poor peoples property so high they are losing their homes. they need a more fair tax law that everyone will have to pay not just the property owners. like a one penny school tax everyone would have to pay.some teachers do care about the students but most teachers just want the money it pays.unions were once good but no more they want more money to be paid than the companies can afford so they just go overseas.so now if the teachers want to work for what the school system can afford to pay fine. if not go home and the school system will hire someone who wants to work for what school system can afford to pay. have a nice day.

Maybe it's time for we the taxpayers to form a union. Public officials don't care enough since it's not their money anyway. Time to go toe to toe with the union thugs until jutice prevails.

Yes, roll back pay, roll back benefits, I'm sure highly qualified, dedicated individuals are just salivating at the chance to jump into the profession. Why, no one expects to be paid very highly, we ALL understand how little money communities have available for basics. We should cut pay for firefighters, policemen, water, sewer, garbage collection, engineering, construction, inspection...how about we cut pay and benefits for elected officials too? I'm sure there are millions of people who would gladly take on the business of running the country for no pay at all! Why, they should be HONORED that they were elected to office. Who needs more than that as inspiration to serve?

Fair pay for a decent job, that should be our mantra. The problem is, we spend a lot of time examining other people's wages and benefits and comparing what they earn to how much we make. There is no one on earth who undertakes such an endeavor who won't find someone they consider over paid for what they do. That these issues become the subject of public debate provides no real solution but it does give frustrated minds a chance to vent.

Unless you've held a public sector job, I'd suggest you reserve judgement on those that have. As a retired public employee, I spent my life serving my community. I was fairly compensated for what I did but still heard the continuous and most of the time unjust commentary about the "lazy civil servant". Did I have lazy co-workers? A very few. Were they ignored by management? NEVER! Did they utilize the union to hang on to their positions? Sometimes, but as with anyone who is unwilling to perform the job they were hired to do, most of the time the lazy ones were eventually shown the door or became so ostracized by their co-workers that they ended up looking for work elsewhere. Did some hang on for their entire career and make everyone's life miserable? Absolutely! I hate/hated that as much as any anti-union zealot alive. I do, however, take a great deal of satisfaction in the fact that the "lazy" one's were a tiny fraction of the people I worked with. It is unfair to characterize entire groups for actions of a fraction.

Unions could do themselves a favor and work to eliminate the lazy workers from their ranks. The thuggery, the blind support for "members" undermines all the good they do. Instead of outlawing unions, unions should undergo reform to allow them the freedom to join managers who are addressing laziness or incompetence. Unfortunately, unions are REQUIRED by law to represent every member in good faith and can be sued for doing otherwise. Change the law, change the way unions are required to operate and there is a chance unions could find redemption as organizations that work on behalf of their members but whose members understand will join with management when evidence of laziness or incompetence is irrefutable.

Unions began as a way for workers in mining to address horrific working conditions. Conditions that cost many miners their lives for the sake of a pay check. As the descendant of people who worked in mines and as a retired public employee who started out as a union member and ended as a non-union manager, I support the many wonderful benefits we all enjoy because unions were formed.

I don't support strikes that are very clearly politically motivated. This strike is a black eye for the Democrats at a key point in the election cycle and it's timing can only be deliberate. It will be effective in driving the wedge of opposing views into an ever more deeply divided nation. It will cost the Democrats votes, it likely will bring a confrontation or at least commentary that will harm Obama's re-election bid.

ron the rich are not going to cut back they will only cut back on the poor working people so they cannot put food on the table.

Fire them all & get rid of the Union. Union are not what they once were they don't care about the

workers, all they want are the due's. The Unions are killing this country they are so out dated with

their thinking. Teachers only work half a year, Kids only go to school 180 days per year and the

teacher's gives them 1-2 hours of homework a night! Now thats time I have to help them with the

homework, I'm not a teacher and they don't like the kids learning math the way we learn it!

So stop the homework and teach them in school !!!!!!!! Do your F**king job that's what your paid

for.

Perhaps the Chicago teachers haven't heard, there is a shortage of jobs for recent college graduates!. Fire them all. Fill as many openings as possible with young fresh faced college grads. Then let the fired teachers reapply for whatever jobs remain at entry level salaries. Don't let a good crisis go to waste Chicago! This is a great opportunity to clean house. Get rid of the complacent losers and start fresh with non-union contracts.

Ron-1861300The reality is, we have been living far beyond our means for decades in the US, and it's time to start cutting back.

While I absolutely agree that we need to square up financially - I do not agree that education is where the cuts need to be. Honestly - do you want kids to be worse off educationally than they are now? Having 40 kids in the classroom with buildings falling down around them will not yield positive results.

Chicago school teachers average $76000 per year. Many make over $100000. They were offered a 16% pay raise over 4 years. I don't know any body guaranteed a 4% per year raise.

They are not striking against some big evil corporation. They are striking against their neighbors children. Working and middle class families send their children to Chicago Public Schools. They already pay astounding property taxes for the "privilege" of living in Chicago and Cook county and supporting armies of patronage and union workers. 50% of African American students in Chicago public schools don't graduate. Students in fall football or other athletic programs cannot practice and cannot play. Some students are trying to get an athletic scholarship to afford college.

Greedy teachers unions are putting themselves ahead of Chicago Children.

All public service worker unions should be outlawed.

poor man in texas they pay for 12 months out of the year even though the kids only go to school for 9 months. how you like them apples?

The teachers need more $$ for ammo and bullet proof vests. Those are some tough students in Chicago don't ya know.

duqu we could have much better. vote for romney. we can pick up cans for a living while american jobs go overseas to india and china. take mama to medicine man their is no medical care (voucher didn't cover it). you cant get on welfare cause their isn't any. you cant go to college your not the 1% wealthy.there'll be no armed forces to protect america(mormon's dont believe in fighting for this country) they will sit on their fat religious A##$es while somone else dies for their freedoms. have a nice day.

FDR was right. Collective bargaining for public employees is illogical and dangerous. Illinois, like California is beyond redemption...the governments there routinely cave in despite the exorbitant salaries and even more obscene benefits they already have. And now 16% more isn't enough?!?! It's the predictable outcome when union reps sit down across the "bargaining" table from the people they helped elect.

Students

404,151 (2011-2012)

Teachers
21,320

Student-teacher ratio

20.0 to 1 (elementary schools;

24.6 to 1 (high schools;

I can't see where its 40 students per class average for one teacher in Chicago public school system.

Well it goes to show you how little the unions care about the kid, and they wonder why they are on the decline, and with them saying in the public eye that they care about the kids and behind the scenes splitting up the teachers union dues amongst them selves is despicable. I wish I made what they are making, that is twice than what I make..

Funny thing while Emanuel was pitching for Obama at the DNC, kinds of makes you wonder what he really cares about, any kind of good mayor would be helping out, and he wonders why his town is a war zone..

Folks, Sighber is feeding you a bunch of BS. I'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume he is simply out of touch with reality and blinded by self interest rather than a flat out liar. Let me tell you how it really is.

I would like to think that I earned the compensation (and retirement) that I received for the 80% of my career spent as a pedant and bureaucrat on the public payroll. But that sentiment is inherently both anecdotal and biased.

What I can say with certainty is that I sit here now greatly advantaged over MOST of my peers who avoided public employment and stayed with the private sector. I say "most" because, eschewing the comfort and safety I enjoy (but also escaping the ceiling that confined me), a few of them caught a wave and hit it big. But they are the exceptions to the rule.

More importantly, I encountered a great many others in the public service who could never have made it and survived at the level they did in the private sector with the capabilities and, possibly more importantly, the work habits and commitment to the job that they displayed. The key here is that, in public sector
endeavors, there is no self-interested person "minding the store", no ownership expecting and demanding that ownership characteristics and concerns be shared.

I paint with a broad brush here necessarily because occasionally there would be an individual with the self-interest of getting ahead by doing a good job. But the direct personal financial interest was lacking even there such that the tradeoff was "do a good job and I will not inventory the office supplies or question your usage of sick leave."

Folks, it is that missing element of ownership that makes even a well run bureaucracy inferior in accountability and performance to a like and similar private sector activity. That's the way it is and I'm not
going to sugar coat it. Of course, you'll have to pry a refund of my generous pension from my cold dead fingers...

Underpaid? Average teacher salary in Chicago without benifits is $76,000 per year.

Since when is 76K a year underpaid.

This is pure greed. The Obama way. Public Unions are BS.

I say with all the teachers around the country that have been laid off. Fire everyone who strikes and hire a new teachers. Cancel summer breaks to make up the time.

Ahhhh Unions as if destroying American industry wasn't enough, now they are trying to destroy education.

Actually, Romney wants to increase teacher pay to attract better people to the profession. He also wants to weed out those that aren't performing of which in Chicago are many.

I lived in Chicago. Homeowners are taxed to death and getting little for their money. That is why Cook/Crook county is declining with more moving out to Lake county where the schools are better. Not good, but better.

The issue is that Rahm, much like Republicans, wants to control salaries and benefits and wants to deal with the teachers that aren't performing. However, I would argue that a big problem across the US is the many layers of administration in our public school systems. Basically school systems have created empires by hiring more and more administrative help and not in fact putting money into the classrooms.

Chicago went to school fewer hours than any other public school district. So to meet that deficit that meant the teachers will need to work more hours. The teacher's bulked at that idea and so from what I have read will use other teachers that got laid off to fill in those extra hours per week.

Obama chose Arnie Duncan to revamp our educational system. I haven't heard a word about any reform which is badly needed. We won't hear it because the teacher's union is fully supported by Obama that give in to their every whim. So don't expect public education to improve.

BTW, 7,000 kids daily drop out of school across our nation. The minority drop-out in Chicago is around 50 percent.

American is in steep decline. Our priorities are wrong. Groups get untouched based on voting.

Rahm is right about one thing. Eventually property taxes will be so high that people will no longer buy homes, and will not be able to see either. I got out. I could see my tax dollars were being wasted and my property taxes were soaring.

It's time for tough negotiations. If parents don't like it that their child's teacher is out on strike for whatever they consider to be prudent then they should move to another school or hell, out of Chicago! Just because you disagree with the teachers union point of view doesn't mean that unions should be busted and an employees right to collective bargaining should be outlawed. Stop crying, put on your big boy pants, roll up your sleeves, dig in and negotiate.

This will not get solved until after the election the Dems want the teachers' union motivated to give gobs of $ to their campaigns as well as be motivated voters.

This articles fails to tell you that the Chicago teachers are the highest paid in all of the US. Thats right the highest paid.

This article fails to tell you that the Chicago teachers have the richest retirement package in all of the US.

This article fails to tell you that 77% of the entire Chicago School District's budget goes to retired teachers with only 23% of the budget left to pay for the education of the current students. The question is ....

Who is stealing the money needed to educate our kids ? By the way Chicago Schools are 3rd worst in the Nation ...

hey everone

you think this is the only school district in this once great nation muffed up ???

not only is yours but check out ours

google

El Paso ISD

your jaws will drop at the ammount of corruption and the way it is being handled...

we are talking not only flat out corruption but cival rights violations as well...

while in the mean time they just pat each other on the back, job well done and take a pay check and build there pensions....

nothing to do today, check out the nations school districts nation wide...

I triple dawg dare ya...

then see what your gonna say...

ula_ashore

Politics aside, remember, these are your kids and their future. You get what you pay for.

I think a comparison of how teacher salaries have risen in the last 40 years, compared to how the U.S. ranks in children's education over the same time period, will disprove that notion. In the meantime, partisans on both sides of the issue should keep an eye on Douglas County, Colorado. The teacher's union contract just expired, and may not be renewed.

This just gives MORE kids to go around shooting people.

Who says that teachers are underpaid? Teachers (and other government workers) are about the only group in the nation who have gotten consistent raises in pay the last 10 years. The average 40-45 year old teacher in a public school today with 15-20 years experience and a Masters (which the school paid for) makes about $70,000 to $100,000 (or more) a year plus benefits including a MASSIVE pension. They work 8 months out of the year, plus get off every holiday -- a pretty good gig without too much stress if you ask me. Sure, it can sometimes be a tough job dealing with kids, and some teachers are WONDERFUL... but most are rather mediocre. I hate to break it to many, but the typical person who went into teachers was NOT the top of their class or the smartest people at their state university, or even when they were high school students. The average teacher was a B student with the urge to control others and/or coach a sport. Most graduate college with higher GPAs than in high school because their "education" programs are so simple and filled with basically remedial classes (such as "Physics for teachers" or "State history for teachers" that in reality most 8th graders would likely do just as well in these programs. Most teachers also have a VERY hard time having a conversation with a parent or even most adults -- one only needs to attend parent-teacher nights for 10-15 years to know this!

It would have been useful if the writer of this article provided some details as to what these teachers are getting and what they are actually striking for.

Chicago teachers strike, walk out on 400,000 students

I wonder if anyone will notice?

YOU DON'T WALK OUT ON THE CHILDREN LIKE THAT!

FIRE THEM. ALL OF THEM!

There are plenty of teachers graduating from college that need the jobs and would probably do better than that school systems pitiful teachers.

Oh, where to begin. The teachers should be getting hazardous duty pay. Their 'students' are often the ones out there increasing the murder rates in Chicago. Many have little or no parental supervision or care, their 'parents' rely on the school to be those kid's parents. Throwing more money, ever more money at something while never addressing the core issues seems to be the democrat's answer to all ills.

Now Rahm is getting a taste of what it is like to attempt to live within a budget, something alien to a liberal mind. The teacher's unions are a joke, they are there for themselves rather than the kids and the teachers. Facts are that our public 'education' has degenerated into housing little gangsters for eight hours a day, look at the increased police presence necessary to curb the 'students' out unsupervised in Chicago. Those students who actually WANT to learn are penalized by the system.

If you have children, send them to private or charter schools (something the Teacher's Unions are heartily against) they may actually get an education. The public schools? Well, they might just get hooked on dope or shot.

Where are all the dumbasses that are supportive of Public Employee formed Labor Unions, where's the Fat Fiesty Redhead idiot and all the other inbred diehard Obama supporters that chant for 4 more years of what we just went through.

Want a recap of what you got for voting like a racist (instead of like an American)..... well look no further, because here it is,

1.) Still No Jobs (It's worse)

2.) GITMO still there (thank God)

3.) 18 Extravagant Luxury Vacations, while a nation suffers.

4.) $4.00/gal gasoline

5.) 97 Rounds of Golf

6.) Billions spent on "Labor Unions" and Bankrupt "Green Jobs" (or was that Corp. Cronyism)

7.) Afganistan Troop Increased & Still There (Exactly opposite of what was promised)

8.) Racial Tensions at an all time high.

9.) Unemployment Rate Higher

10.) Proposed tax increases on even the poorest of the poor (10% existing, 15% proposed, but still not passed).

11.) A Debt Ceiling that was blown in less than 2 years (Enter Nov. 2010 historic elections, Yea!!!). Yea, lets spend our way into prosperity, that makes perfect sense doesn't it.

12.) $16,000,000,000,000 more in National Debt with absolutely nothing to show for it, except for the remnants of Golden Parachutes used for both Union Big-Wigs and Wall Streets fattest Fat-Cats, and 99%'er's thinking it was Conservatives that love'em (thank you Lame Stream Media).

13.) An Appology World Tour.

14.) An American President (or so you say, but I still think Kenyan... lets see those sealed school records Barry) who refuses to wear an American Flag pin, Salute our Flag, and has purposefully removed all evidence of the American Colors during speeches that address the Nation. (If you support this or claim to understand this type of behavior, don't call yourself a patriot, because you're not, it is what makes this country great that allowed this assclown to be elected President).

15.) A Healthcare System (2700 pages worth) that was Voted For (but not read) and Controlled By Government Bureaucrats who also elected not to participate in for both themselves and their families.

16.) An appointed Supreme Court Justice (with zero real-world experience) who refused to abstain from voting on the constitutionality of legislation she co-authored (that's Justice Kegan for you ignorant people). Obama said it's not a TAX, all the justices say "It Is a tax!".

17.) A presidential re-election campaign that can't possibly be conducted based on accomplishments, and can only resort to the good-ole-boy tactic's of Lies, Smear and Fear..... with help from the Lame Stream Media of course.

It's obvious that liberals and inbred democrats will continue to blame someone else for Obama & Co's broken intangible promises of HOPE & CHANGE and that YES WE CAN B.S., they only know how to bleam someone else for the problems they create and/or cause. Blame Conservatives, blame Wall Street, blame Europe, blame Bush, blame GOP Senators and Congressmen, etc. etc. etc.... same ole, same ole. No Change there, and certainly no HOPE either.

But in a nutshell, if you think Unionization of Public Servants is the way to go.... look no further than Greece for your perfect example of what to expect from that philosophy of failure.

Hmmmmmm,

In Chicago, longer school day for students, but not for teachers

By John Martin, CNN July 27th, 2012

(CNN) – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing for a longer school day. The city’s teachers are insisting that their work days not be extended.

The agreement reached this week is something you might not see every day: both sides in the dispute are getting what they want.

Under the new proposal, elementary school children will have a 7-hour day this upcoming school year, while high school students will see their day increase to 7 ½ hours. Those figures represent a 20% increase in the school day for students.

But there will be little to no impact on the amount of time teachers spend in the classroom each school day. Instead, Chicago Public Schools will hire additional teachers to fill in the gaps.

With those hires, elementary school teachers will maintain a maximum of 296 minutes of instructional time per day. High school teachers will work about 15 minutes longer per school day than they did last year.

The school board president says the increased hiring could cost the district between $40 and $50 million per year, but neither the board nor the mayor’s office has yet to determine where the additional funds will come from. All of this is part of ongoing negotiations between city leaders and teachers unions to avoid a teachers strike. (EMPHASIS MINE)

And then this.

Chicago Public Schools (CTU teachers represent faculty here)

• District Enrollment: 403,770
• 44% Hispanic, 43% Black, 9% White, 3% Asian
• Number of Schools in District: 617
• All Subjects Meets and Exceeds: 66.30%
• Avg. Teacher Salary: $71,236
• Avg. Teacher Experience: 13.7 Years
• Instructional Expenditure Per Pupil: $7,946
• Operational Expenditure Per Pupil: $13,078
• Low Income: 86%
• Average classroom size: 26.5 for 8th grade; 20 for high school
• 11th Graders Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks: 21% in Reading, 19% in Math, 11% in Science, 38% in English

So, you get paid over $71,000, you work 296 minutes (4 hours and 56 minutes a day) and the city had to hire more teachers to fill the gaps at a cost between $40 and $50 million a year.

Sorry, my heart just CAN’T bleed for you.

The only ones making out on this are the unions by tapping into the $40 to $50 million windfall for increased dues.

And those are the 11^th Graders Meeting College Readiness Benchmarks?

SHAME ON YOU!

Nice scam!

ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans

Cincinnati Rick,

BS? Your opinion, your experience may have been different, or your view of your experience may have been different. I spent 30 years as a public servant. 5 as a field worker, 18, at the level of foreperson, and my final years as a non-union manager of public servants. I saw public service sector work from every angle and my opinion is well informed. Like it or not I DON'T CARE but insult my honesty, denigrate the validity of my post and you DO earn my attention

The nature of your post suggests you were likely one of the lazy, self important, entitled people who give public sector employees a bad name. Your characterization of yourself as a "bureaucrat" and a "pedant" speaks volumes! You disrespected the job you held and the community you served. Had you the misfortune to have to answer to someone who cared, like most of my co-workers, your public service career would likely have been much shorter. It is unfortunate that people like yourself enter public service. Your attitude suggests the only person you ever sought to serve was YOUR SELFISH SELF! Enjoy your pension check, I hope you choke on it!

my girl...you speak truth, as usual!!

This is a CRISES started in Chicago right before an ELECTION.....I wonder how that could be???!!

Is not obama and rahm and daly from the Chicago MOB??!!!...Naa, no connection...it is NOT staged so BozoHussan can step in and solve it...NAA??!!..what is sad is that so many of the KOOLaid drinkers will swallow it hook-line& sTINKER!!!

it is SOOOO sad that clinton's talk was not as SHORT and to the point as EASTWOOD's....
WE hired you to do a job, you failed, now it is time to replace you!!!
blame stupid Bush.. Clinton supported the 1999 repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act, a law dating back to the Great Depression that separated banking from high-risk financial speculation. Robert Rubin, who had been Clinton's first treasury secretary, helped broker the final deal on Capitol Hill that enabled the repeal legislation to pass. Some financial historians say the repeal of the law paved the way for banks to invest in risky investments like mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations that played a role in the 2008 financial meltdown.

I say give them more money but its based on performance not on the number of years you were on the job. I would not give out anymore health care or retirement perks they have to make due with what they have. But its Chicago and they are over taxed as it is but what does the mayor care he's in the group that thinks tax the rich is the way out of any problem. My question is after you taxed the rich to hell and they leave the city or state who do you tax then, because all you'll have left are the tax takers you know they're not going to pay taxes.

Chicago teachers make an average of $76,000, before benefits, with four months vacation.

FIRE THEM ALL.

Be a leader, Rahm.

And after a violent Chicago summer, police Supt. Garry McCarthy said he's "emptying our offices" to patrol the thousands of unsupervised kids on the streets.

A murder rate higher than Kabul, Afghanistan wasn't enough to get them out there?

Really?

Oh no! The kids are out and will tear down the city, better call the National Guard.

Nice priorities there.

So they turn down a 16% raise because it just isn't good enough? They balk on being held accountable for their actions? Why am I not surprised?

Mike-416

Ron-1861300The reality is, we have been living far beyond our means for decades...

While I absolutely agree that we need to square up financially - I do not agree that education is where the cuts need to be. Honestly - do you want kids to be worse off educationally than they are now? Having 40 kids in the classroom with buildings falling down around them will not yield positive results.

The US already spends far more per student than anyone else in the world. Money isn't the problem - the problem is how the money is used. (in fact, I'll argue excess money may be part of the problem because it tends to create a wasteful atmosphere)

More great news from the WindyCity that Barrack Hussein built!

Debt balloons for Chicago-area pension plans

Funds accrue $27.4 billion shortfall between 2001 and 2010

Excerpts:

The debt from 10 Chicago-area pension plans swelled more than 600 percent to $27.4 billion between 2001 and 2010, according to a study released Monday by the nonpartisan Civic Federation. That's $8,993 for each man, woman and child in Chicago, according to the report.

The shortfall comes on top of more than $83 billion in unfunded pension liabilities at the state level, driving the cost up to nearly $15,000 per Chicagoan, the report shows.

Just more evidence of the corruption of the public sector unions goonions on the taxpayer. Unions don’t give a f**k about the unintended consequences of their “collective bargaining” rights. All they care about is siphoning their dues off to politically corrupt more and more cities.

It’s a shame the teachers just submit and pander to this extortion and then have the balls to tell us they work too hard, get paid too little and are worried about the “children”.

BULLS**T!!!!!

If the teachers are too stupid to realize all these benefits, perks and legacy costs are unsustainable and still allow it, they are just as guilty as the goonions. We know they’re not that stupid so they deserve no sympathy either.

The main driver of the increase in pension debt continued to be a severe lack of contributions. The nearly $1 billion local governments put into the pension funds in 2010 was less than half of what was required to cover benefits promised to workers, the report found.

Hmmmmm, kinda brings that old saying back to mind doesn’t it?

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money. ”
― Margaret Thatcher

This is just at the state levels. Our own Federal government has accumulated over $122 TRILLION in Unfunded Liabilities! Estimates put the cumulative cost of all city public pension liabilities in America at over $4 TRILLION. Bankruptcies will continue as in San Bernardino, Stockton and Mammoth Lakes in California, Harrisburg PA and Jefferson County AL.

For all you Liberals this should smack of your “inequality” meme. You’re paying exorbitant amounts for the people who are supposed to be working for you.

Good luck.

Here’s the link to the article:

http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012-06-25/news/ct-met-pension-civic-fed-20120625_1_pension-funds-pension-debt-house-pension-panel

ROMNEY/RYAN 2012 for real Americans

Just to be clear. Teacher's unions don't care a whit about the children, teachers or about education in general. They are there for one reason - more power for themselves. Anyone bother to find out how much the head of the teacher's union and top lieutenants make?

As long as sports players and tv people get millions, I support any strike public servants may want to engage in. This has been a long time coming. These people have our children most of the day, babysitters, and caregivers along with teachers are raising our children and we want to throw pennies at them...as far as I am concerned this country will always be second rate as long as we don't give a crap about the persons handling our children. If we paid these people top notch this country would be so much more amazing and wonderful! But no, we just want to flip on a tv and watch some person run back and forth and spend billions and trillions on them...we deserve what we get.

Ron, the reason the teacher's voted for the strike vote is that is because that is what all unions do.

When the negotiations start, the leadership goes to the memberhsip even before that first contract offer is given to ask for strike authorization.

That way the negotiators can call a strike without going back to the membership. They don't even have to bring the contract back for a vote if they don't want to do so in many unions.

After seeing a couple unions preside over a plant's demise by getting locked out and closed by the management without a contract vote, I have to wonder if some unions don't enjoy twisting both the arm of the employer as well as its members.

kinda sounds like most of the posters are mad their babysitter is feed up. whaaaa go back to work you babysitter, sit there and let me to my own life while you raise my kid. (slap) bad babysitter

Wow, I'm so happy to see that it's all about the kids!!!!!! After getting 12% for 3 years and breaking the district budget, they can't get along without another 4%? I wish I had received 4% per year the last 4 years I worked; I was in a job where we all (and I mean 35,000 of us) got the same raise company-wide every years regardless of performance. We ran between 0.5% and 1.5% those 4 years. I maxed out my job performance reviews every year!

Come on, Rahm, grow a pair and deal with your city's problems! You wanted the job; now man-up and do it! Maybe you could blame this on Bush like your former boss, Oblameo, does everything that he doesn't deal with.

I see garbage like this and fully understand why my dad was a rabid anti-unionist. Fortunately, I grew up in a right-to-work state where I didn't have to deal with corrupt union bosses and the slug-like members that they bait with promises of more money every 3 or 4 years. Even the Teamsters couldn't get much of a foothold with our employees.

When the cupboard is bare, we all starve together. Look at Chicago's population statistic quoted above. Why do you think the district is in so much trouble? And don't start whining about underpaid teachers; my wife was a teacher for over 40 years and loved it. Our daughter is in her 14th year and has consistently been rated teacher-of-the-year by her colleagues in her building; her students consistently perform highest in grade level on state assessments and the teachers in the next grade up almost fight to be assigned her students the next year because they know those students can perform.

Everyone needs to see the movie "THE CARTEL". It's about New Jersey but we all know that unions have a tight grip on each and every state. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the movie. I suggest every parent, every tax payer, every student see this movie.

"The Cartel is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest level of per-student education spending in the U.S.[1] According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film asks: "How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider 'basic'?"[2] The film regards teachers' unions as the cause of the problems (they are "the cartel" of the title), due to, among other things, the obstacles they put in place to firing bad teachers, through tenure. It also makes the case for school vouchers and charter schools,[3] suggesting that the increased competition will revitalize the school system, leading to improved efficiency and performance in all schools, both district and charter."

When we address the problem, we have an opportunity to solve it. For the past 40 years, we have never really addressed the actual problem, UNIONS. Remove the public unions and treat teachers like every other professional by holding them accountable and rewarding success. Here in Wisconsin, we had a bloody battle and the tax payers decided that it's time to change the way things are run. We had protests, violence and corruption. In the end, the tax payers and parents prevailed and Scott Walker won't more votes than he did before his recall. Now, we have a budget that is in the black, schools are better off financially and eventually kids are going to get a better education. Just south of here, in Illinois, you see the difference. We decided that fiscal responsibility and less union control were more important for our childrens education. These large cities who are being forced to pay large sums of money towards public union workers pensions will soon find themselves bankrupt and WE THE PEOPLE will not allow our hard earned tax dollars to go toward a "bailout" when responsible states and counties made the hard decisions and did it right. Failure will no longer be rewarded and Success shall not be punished. America is ready for leadership, it's time we let the right people do what they do best. It's also time we let the dead weight drop. If you don't know what I mean, you are not paying attention.

Hi Ron,

I can't agree MORE. I think education should be cut, and cut deeply, and the reason is very simple. Chicago, as the subject of this article, is not atypical, and its history is one of extraordinarily poor performance (students at or above grade level in various subjects) at extremely high cost (over $13,000 spent per student/year). All we have to do is the math.

Even if the average class size is just 20 the total cost of educating these kids, per year, is $260,000 per classroom. If the kids graduate the cost of a K-12 education--not accounting for the time value of money--is about $170,000 per student. This is wildly low-balled, but even at this fantastically understated level it is an amount, given the abject incompetence of so many of the kids getting their diploma, that we can never recover in taxes paid by them due to the increase in GDP their economic participation generates. In other words, we are losing money on the deal.

We CAN do better for less. The idea that the vast majority of the Chicago public school students are not proficient at math or reading, let alone any other subject, is something we should accept is despicable in light of the claims made by everyone that kids "are entitled to an education they deserve". Well, if this is what they deserve--a deep and wide ignorance after 13 years of public education--then I say STRIKE ON. These kids may be getting the best education possible since their teachers are on strike.

These teachers chose the wrong time to pick this fight. They're not going to get a whole lot of sympathy from anybody here. Conservatives don't believe in unions, and Liberals don't want to get branded as choosing well paid unions over education. The rest of us in the middle understand that nowhere in our country right now is it okay to bully the taxpayers into paying more money for the same services.

Perfect opportunity to clean up a messy problem, first you have a judge order them back to work, if they don't show you fire the lot of them, black ball the all of them and hire all new, so what if its a inconvenience it solves a problem, remember Pemco those union bosses are mostly thieving lawyers looking to line their pockets with tax payer money, tax payers don't have any money left to give, most people have less now then they did 3 years ago and prices of essentials have doubled, if the teachers are making 60 to 70,000 plus a year for 9 months work they can hold on, the rest of the nation is making half that, and the benefits are not there, how can you ask someone that makes $5 to pay $10. either force them back to work or fire them, Popular or not its a must do situation, that is what being Mayor is about. its about making hard decisions that work. looking at Chicago I doubt half those teachers are doing their jobs anyways. politicians have to stop buying there way out and start working within their budgets, you have $2 to spend then spend $1.5 it would also be a good gesture if the Mayor would cut his salary in a show of good faith and sympathy for the teachers. that would show he is seriousabout the economy and the tax rates. what do multi millionaires need with over inflated six digit pay checks for anyways they already have all the inside info for investing.

Union greed is on display ... screw the kids. WE WANT MORE ! A 16% pay increase ? WE WANT MORE ! WE WANT MORE BENNIES !! WE WANT SECURITY FOR INCOMPETENT TEACHERS !!!

Now you know why Chris Christie and Scott Walker made the tough but CORRECT decisions. Rahm is a weak Democrat and he'll probably cave.

F— ck the kids ... we want more ! Now you know why union demands have driven manufacturing jobs overseas.

Unions have become greedy and corrupt. I worked for a union for 15 years and they did nothing but take dues. Every three years our contract came up and the union encouraged us to strike. We would strike for a week or two (unpaid vacation), and then when people started running out of money, we would take whatever the company offered to get back to a pay check.

There are good teachers, but I know several that got into it because they got the summer off and didn't have to study much- BA degrees are a dime a dozen.

Well, thats just a great lesson they are teaching the students...if things dont go your way...walk out! No wonder our future is going down the toilet!

@roadlesstraveled

As long as sports players and tv people get millions, I support any strike public servants may want to engage in. This has been a long time coming. These people have our children most of the day, babysitters, and caregivers along with teachers are raising our children and we want to throw pennies at them...as far as I am concerned this country will always be second rate as long as we don't give a crap about the persons handling our children.

Teachers in Chicago already get more money than most teachers for fewer hours worked and the product they turn out is @!$%#. Some people just need to pull their heads out of their asses and realize that throwing more and more money at something is rarely a solution. In fact, more often than not, it just complicates the situation further as we see here.

Obscene - replace 'em all!

With whom? I expect crime to skyrocket. With kids at home with nothing to do, and bad parents are work/not looking after them, all they are going to do is cause trouble. Once they go to jail, they'll learn how to be real criminals and never go back to school.

Good parents tell their kids to study and go to school and to work hard and get good grades, but what are those good parents going to do now? They can't afford to homeschool their kids, if they could they wouldn't be in public school!

The Chicago Teacher's Union has annual revenues in excess of 32 million dollars. They are striking against the wrong group.

With whom you ask journal? I'd say that is partly a decision of Rahm's.....I think he is a bigger bully than to let the union grab him by the balls.

With whom you ask journal? I'd say that is partly a decision, if not totally, of Rahm's....it is hard to believe that Rahm is not a big enough bully than to let the union grab him by the b#^&s.

Sorry for the repost. Moderators were a little slow on the first post!!!

Why?,

You failed to included unfunded benefits plans for these sweet and honorable teachers. You should provide the whole truth.

Why?-3122622,

Your numbers for the CPS (Chicago Public Schools) don't seem to add up. The average starting salary for the CPS in 2011 for a BS degreed 1st year teacher was $51,000/year.

Armurray,

why dont you post the link to the page in CPS, where you say you got your info because I can not find it anywhere.

This is what we get when we have govenment union's, they all need to go along with the idiots who called themselves teachers in Chicago.

@ Why?-3122622

Not sure where you're looking, but on that CBsalary web site it states for Chicago Ill. the average teachers salary is $71,192 ...not...$53,713.

Here's the link for that site: http://www.cbsalary.com/salary-calculator/chart/Teacher/IL/Chicago?tid=107326&jn=JN031&kw=Teacher

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) web site:http://www.cps.edu/about_cps/at-a-glance/pages/stats_and_facts.aspx

Scroll down half page..see the average teachers salary... $74,839

I'm sure 'CPS' would know more about their teachers salary then CBsalary.com.

When asked for facts they either try and deflect, insult or they run.

Why?, he didn't "deflect and run", he posted the links you were too stupid to find yourself.

As long as sports players and tv people get millions, I support any strike public servants may want to engage in. This has been a long time coming. These people have our children most of the day, babysitters, and caregivers along with teachers are raising our children and we want to throw pennies at them...as far as I am concerned this country will always be second rate as long as we don't give a crap about the persons handling our children. If we paid these people top notch this country would be so much more amazing and wonderful! But no, we just want to flip on a tv and watch some person run back and forth and spend billions and trillions on them...we deserve what we get.

Maybe the city's leaders don't wish to end up filing for bankruptcy protection like some California cities have done in the past year.

Everyone needs to see the movie "THE CARTEL". It's about New Jersey but we all know that unions have a tight grip on each and every state. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the movie. I suggest every parent, every tax payer, every student see this movie.

"The Cartel is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest level of per-student education spending in the U.S.[1] According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film asks: "How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider 'basic'?"[2] The film regards teachers' unions as the cause of the problems (they are "the cartel" of the title), due to, among other things, the obstacles they put in place to firing bad teachers, through tenure. It also makes the case for school vouchers and charter schools,[3] suggesting that the increased competition will revitalize the school system, leading to improved efficiency and performance in all schools, both district and charter."

When we address the problem, we have an opportunity to solve it. For the past 40 years, we have never really addressed the actual problem, UNIONS. Remove the public unions and treat teachers like every other professional by holding them accountable and rewarding success. Here in Wisconsin, we had a bloody battle and the tax payers decided that it's time to change the way things are run. We had protests, violence and corruption. In the end, the tax payers and parents prevailed and Scott Walker won't more votes than he did before his recall. Now, we have a budget that is in the black, schools are better off financially and eventually kids are going to get a better education. Just south of here, in Illinois, you see the difference. We decided that fiscal responsibility and less union control were more important for our childrens education. These large cities who are being forced to pay large sums of money towards public union workers pensions will soon find themselves bankrupt and WE THE PEOPLE will not allow our hard earned tax dollars to go toward a "bailout" when responsible states and counties made the hard decisions and did it right. Failure will no longer be rewarded and Success shall not be punished. America is ready for leadership, it's time we let the right people do what they do best. It's also time we let the dead weight drop. If you don't know what I mean, you are not paying attention.

Wow, I'm so happy to see that it's all about the kids!!!!!! After getting 12% for 3 years and breaking the district budget, they can't get along without another 4%? I wish I had received 4% per year the last 4 years I worked; I was in a job where we all (and I mean 35,000 of us) got the same raise company-wide every years regardless of performance. We ran between 0.5% and 1.5% those 4 years. I maxed out my job performance reviews every year!

Come on, Rahm, grow a pair and deal with your city's problems! You wanted the job; now man-up and do it! Maybe you could blame this on Bush like your former boss, Oblameo, does everything that he doesn't deal with.

I see garbage like this and fully understand why my dad was a rabid anti-unionist. Fortunately, I grew up in a right-to-work state where I didn't have to deal with corrupt union bosses and the slug-like members that they bait with promises of more money every 3 or 4 years. Even the Teamsters couldn't get much of a foothold with our employees.

When the cupboard is bare, we all starve together. Look at Chicago's population statistic quoted above. Why do you think the district is in so much trouble? And don't start whining about underpaid teachers; my wife was a teacher for over 40 years and loved it. Our daughter is in her 14th year and has consistently been rated teacher-of-the-year by her colleagues in her building; her students consistently perform highest in grade level on state assessments and the teachers in the next grade up almost fight to be assigned her students the next year because they know those students can perform.

Typical Union...I say fire them all and hire non-union teachers. Give them all a taste of what it means to find work. Fair pay and fair benefits for a low rigor job.

It makes me so mad that these posters care only that they lost their cheap ass babysitter. If you had to pay for private schools, you all would be singing a different tune..

These are your kids, they deserve twice 70k...and yes, we should pay for their health care...we expose them to our nasty dirty kids...snot noses, pee pants, cough, colds, flu, MERSA, etc. ect.....hell yes we should pay for their care!! Not for the rest of their lives...i don't believe in pensions...thats BS teet sucking...stop pensions and let people get paid the difference so they can manage their own lives....there is no reason for Unions to fight for your job...enough is enough we need to ban all unions. Let these teachers be responsible for their own work....not hid behind some big head honcho born to bully. But still...teachers across this country deserve next to doctors salary. Sports players, tv, movies, politicians and wall street want to walk on clouds spouting about their millions...what they expect that people (groups) wont want that...this is what our country gets for flashing their millions and paying people skeletal salaries. We can expect more of this from other professions...a revolt is bound to happen after someone who picks up you family from a car accident gets paid less than someone serving you a beer.

It's really simple, give students and parents a choice. Impliment a voucher program and let those tax dollars go to the schools that parents decide are the good ones. If a school is not doing a good job, nobody will go there and they will not get the funding. Next, end all public unions, period. They have grown into a giant political machine and people have finally realized that they are the problem, not the teachers. When a school gets $17,000/student and only 15% of that money goes toward education, there's your problem. The rest is going to adminstration, union political kickbacks, unnecessary buildings and property, secretaries for a secretary and the worst waste of money of all, UNION LEADERS. If we can focus on education instead of politicans who want to keep their jobs, we will all be better off

I look at it this way. Our children and future children should get the best education possible. But can we afford it if its the public school system ( not private)..of course we can't. We all know the public schools are paid mostly from our RE taxes, right now 68% of my RE taxes goes to the schools in my town alone ( plus other towns that I have to pay for also called ABBOTT districts-poorer towns) and we have the highest RE taxes in the nation as of now..can I afford to pay more taxes..NO..do I want better education for the children..YES..but it will have to be what we all can afford and at these times its not much more!

Some people still can't get a job..these teachers in Chicago with the highest average salaries in the nation should just tighten up their belts and be happy they have a job! Stop the GREED!

This will turn into a union vs. union fight. The money for the teachers will come out of garbage collection, the money for garbage collection will come out of police and fire protection, police and fire protection will come out of tax increases on the laborers, and the laborers won't get any work because there is no money for a public works project to justify a job for them. The city will decay (further) so fewer visitors will come to Chicago, meaning less work for the unions which depend upon the tourism industry, and etc., etc., etc.

What the teacher's union is hoping for is a federal bailout, or translated means, every taxpayer in the country is supposed to contribute to their personal failed policies.

These teachers chose the wrong time to pick this fight. They're not going to get a whole lot of sympathy from anybody here. Conservatives don't believe in unions, and Liberals don't want to get branded as choosing well paid unions over education. The rest of us in the middle understand that nowhere in our country right now is it okay to bully the taxpayers into paying more money for the same services. The thing is, we're broke right now.

The strike sets up a historic confrontation between Mayor Rahm Emanuel, President Barack Obama's former top White House aide, and organized labor in the president's home city.

Unions are biting the hands that feed them...there is none more liberal and a union lover like Emanuel!

During the DNC Convention, do you remember the moving speech about the teachers (some working without pay) which came together with parents and government to turn around the worst performing school while turning it into a model....I guess these guys weren't tuned it that night...whoever saw that speech and remembers the details please contact Rahm Emmanuel...poor Rahm....kinda looks like a deer caught in the headlights!

Emanuel: "The strike is a "Strike of Choice"".

Duuuuuh, reverberating the same theme as the Presidential election: "It is a CHOICE" and should not be based upon PERFORMANCE. Yep, those Progressives really like Mr. Obama's failed policies.

Wow, this guy is a "Windy City Jewel" to Chicagoans.

"The Man on Five" is about to be thrown to street level.

Guess who is going to PAY for Mr. Emanuel's agreement with the teachers ? Meanwhile, check Chicago's debt.

• The Chicago teachers make an average of between $69,470 and $76,000 and were offered a 16% salary increase. Seriously?
• The median income in the United States is about $51,000.
• The article says that other issues include, but are not limited to, the teacher evaluation system and job security - that equates to job security for poor-performing teachers. The kids suffer.
• The Teachers Union is OUT OF CONTROL.
• There are high-performing schools in America. You could have that too. Check out KIPP schools for an example of what could be. School should be about the kids.

A top mayoral aide on Wednesday offered a compelling reason why five financing giants are being asked to put up $1.7 billion to rebuild Chicago’s crumbling infrastructure: The city is drowning in debt.

In the ten years ending in 2010, the city’s direct debt rose by a staggering 96.9 percent — to $7.3 billion. That’s $2,719 for every person living in Chicago. The mountain of debt rises to $13.5 billion when pension and lease obligations, claims and judgments and pollution remediation are factored in.

Debt service appropriations account for 22.9 percent of the city’s $6.3 billion 2012 budget. Wall Street rating agencies consider a debt burden high if it falls within the 15 percent to 20 percent range, according to the Civic Federation.

http://www.suntimes.com/news/cityhall/11718698-418/city-budget-chief-chicagos-debt-led-to-creation-of-infrastructure-trust-fund.html

Wow, Chicago stimulus for INFRASTRUCTURE while the city is mired in debt.

Sounds like Mr. Obama's "re-elect me to finish my promises" and to "have another shovel ready Stimulus package and hire new teachers" campaign speech.

Where is Mr. Emanuel going to get the money for the teachers ? Yep, standby Chicago homeowners for another property tax increase.

The Unions, which I used to believe in, have quickly become, isolated, ineffective and a detriment to the health of the overall economy. So these lovers of children and teaching love only extends as far as the money they can ring from a bankrupt economy? What a surprise. They have averaged 10+ percent raises a year when the average worker is lucky to get 3%. Greedy much? But the left, sings the Unions praises while they will become the cause of yet another property ta increase in a time when most can least afford it. This is helping the middle class how exactly?

Remember your Union parasites the next time you lefties want to talk about greed.

Wow, I'm so happy to see that it's all about the kids!!!!!! After getting 12% for 3 years and breaking the district budget, they can't get along without another 4%?

The price of a commodity is what the market will bear. If you don't want to pay the asking price, don't buy. This is the underlying principle of the free market.

The teachers are exercising their right to not sell at the price being offered. If you believe in the free market, what's wrong with that?

It's going to be interesting to see all the supporters of free markets suddenly espousing Communist principles - i.e. that a certain group of people (the teachers) must sell their services at a price determined by the government. This is Communism, plain and simple.

It's even more interesting that corporations and Wall Street folks are not greedy for making billions, but a teacher is greedy for asking for a 4% raise at $70,000 / year.

After all what do teachers provide, huh? It's not like taking care of the future of America, our children, is nearly as important as being the middle man in huge transactions on Wall Street.

These teachers oversee education with only a 50% graduation rate. Actually the average teacher salary is 76,000.00, and they are among if not the highest paid in the country. This whole situation appears staged. With this being the home of our current president and the mayor being his former adviser which publicly stated to never let a good crisis go to waste, this looks manufactured to me.

Have the press run with it for a couple days, and then have Obama sweep in to the rescue. Rahm Emanuel will play the part of the wits end mayor trying to save tax dollars and thankful for the help that only Obama can give. In the end the press with swoon over Obama's efforts, and Emanuel will give the union everything they wanted, or the poor children will never have gotten back to school. I don't know how striking teachers could possibly make the 50% graduation rate any worse.

The rest of us in the middle understand that nowhere in our country right now is it okay to bully the taxpayers into paying more money for the same services. The thing is, we're broke right now.

America is not broke. We have a money problem because the middle class has been eroded. Mostly, it has been eroded because unions have been consistently dismantled, making it impossible for the American worker to ask for raises. As a consequence, middle class income has been declining while the rich have been getting richer.

That is, by and large, the reason why America is declining. America's economic strength comes from the American consumer. The consumer's strength comes from the economic strength of the middle class, which has, by and large, been strong because unions had managed to insist on a middle class wage for a 40-hour work week.

It's rather interesting hearing about "these greedy unions" by people on this board. I'll bet dollars to donuts that these "greedy union members" buy stuff or services that in some manner or the other, is connected to the output of the complainers. Keep it up, and you won't have anyone to sell your goods or services to - except the rich. And the problem with that idea is that there's not enough rich out there to support the US economy.

They have averaged 10+ percent raises a year when the average worker is lucky to get 3%. Greedy much?

If they were making 10+% raises and are making $70,000/yr today, then you are telling us that they made less than $51,000/yr in 2009 and $35,000/yr in 2005. You need to check your math.

With all the unemployed teachers there are in this country I say they should just fire all the striking teachers and replace them. These teachers do not care about the students, all they care about is how much money they can squeeze out of the taxpayers and protecting the incompetent among them from losing their jobs. Tenure for teachers should be banned. There should never be a system that allows incompetents to keep their jobs just because they have been around a while. These teachers get their tenure and then they start phoning it in, not doing their jobs or giving a crap about anything but how much bigger they can make their paycheck and how they can find a way to inflate their pension to ridiculous levels. The city needs to just pull a Reagan and fire them all and replace them with the unemployed teachers out there who would be willing to take the jobs for 25% less pay in a heartbeat.

Chicago schools average a 50% graduation rate. Teachers spend only 180 days per year with students. They make on average 76,000.00 excluding benefits for failing half the students. This is a great example of how unions care only for their members pocketbook, and not the performance of their work. But this is a Rahm Emanuel manufactured crisis which is designed to make Obama look good, and to ensure the unions demands are met. After all we can't have those poor children kept from the education teachers in Chicago have been failing to provide. But then again failure is well rewarded in Washington, why should Chicago be any different?

Lol @ banning unions.... like in China?... for people that scream socialist all the time sure want to emulate it all the time.

Maybe now all these parents don't have anywhere to throw their kids for 8 hours a day they will realize how valuable teachers really are. When these teachers are teaching classrooms 20-30% larger than classrooms around the nation, some of the largest classrooms in the nation, you bet your ass they deserve higher than national average in pay. More pay for More work, but people don't think about how much more students these teachers have to educate... they rather display there ignorance by suggesting these teacher are greedy for asking for more money to put up with your kids and actually try to educate them for 8+ hours a day, and deserve to get paid crap pay like teachers in other states.

and LOL @ replacing them with non-union teachers. If there were even that many to hire, do you really think hiring less qualified people is going to make things better for the children? Its not like this is a factory line job where you can just replace someone. These people have to be trained, have a degree, have good back grounds, and actually like their job to be effective at it.

These teachers are doing exactly what capitalists corporations do... take advantage of there economic position and influence for better profit.... why is it just capitalism as usually when business use a situation to exploit more profit, but when workers and worker unions try to do it... its blasphemy?

How many of us are willing to do what they do every day for as much pay as they get? if your not willing to do that job for that much money in that city... you have no business calling these people greedy. If its okay for CEOs of companies like bain capital to ignore the human cost, why not these people as well?

"Chicago teachers make an average of between $69,470 and $76,000 per year, second-highest to New York City. The deal Chicago Public Schools put on the table includes a 16 percent average salary increase, said school board president David Vitale." I would say that most likely many of the parents of the students do not make what those teachers make...and a 19% wage increase in an economy that they all know is in the dumps. Hate to hurt any teachers feelings , but...I know of no company that has ever handed out that kind of a raise even to union members in manufacturing..which work much harder than any teacher I have ever seen. And in this case...these teachers want the tax payers to foot the bill when they are having a much harder time than any teacher there. I for one would fire them all...common sense should prevail..not greed like there is on wall street.

Actually Dyer, I think it's a perfect time for something like this to happen. Let the people see what is more important to Obama. Our children or the unions that support him.

Personally I would like to see him pull a Reagan and fire the lot of them and hire new teachers to replace them. He wouldn't have the balls to do it of course, as the unions all over the country would turn their backs on him. But it would be the RIGHT thing to do.

For those who are saying the teachers have a right to ask for this raise, because private citizens can do it etc, I'd have to respond....when I ask my boss for a raise especially one of this size, I have to show what I've done to deserve it.

So, for the teacher supporters, how are the kids in Chicago doing? Do the teachers DESERVE this raise based on their performance or just because your kids have a place to go for 6 hours a day? As for the real sticking points, they're not even money, it's all about being evaluated on their performance rather than moving up the ladder on seniority.

Why are they so afraid of being judged on being a teacher? Isn't that what they are? Are you afraid of being judged on your job performance where you work?

Jason, why did you leave out the 25% increase in the workday demanded by the school board. If I was a Chicago teacher I would say f u, take care of your own damn kids. Not one of you would work more hours for free, why should they!

The Chicago Teacher's Union knows that they will have to break us in this Island or lose the war. If we can stand up to them, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit
uplands. But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.

Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the American taxpayers of Chicago last for a thousand years, men will still say, 'This was their finest hour.'

Menoseeno,

are you sure you don't want the article on marijuana and testicular cancer? Your not making much sense over here!

I think I'm on safe ground when I say " NO TEACHER IS WORTH $76,000.00 AND WORKS ONLY 9 MONTHS A YEAR " and with a 80% PENSION of their best 3 yrs. to boot !!!!!! Stand up to these bullies pretending to have our children's interests at heart !!!! FIRE AND REHIRE !!!!!!!!!America is behind us on this one, so get rid of these UNION HACKS !!!

Does anyone realize that the GOP has passed a bill in the House of Representatives to eliminate the caps on skilled foreign workers coming into this country?

It is now in the Senate. We need to speak up NOW and put a stop to this garbage! These are American jobs!

The United States House of Representatives passed this week a bill — House Resolution 3012 — which favors highly skilled workers by removing country-specific caps on immigrant engineers, computer scientists and other professionals.

House representatives voted 389 to 15 in favor of HR 3012 or the "Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act." The bill is also expected to pass in the Senate.

By eliminating the cap from each country on high-skilled working visa, talented immigrants from India, Philippines, China and other emerging economies can work in the US, the report said.

So much for the GOP's blathering about "illegals" taking American jobs. They just want to make them "legals" when it's cheaper for their corporate masters!

The Senate bill is S. 1983:

Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2011 - Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to: (1) eliminate the per country numerical limitation for employment-based immigrants, and (2) increase the per country numerical limitation for family based immigrants from 7% to 15% of the total number of family-sponsored visas.

Amends the Chinese Student Protection Act of 1992 to eliminate the provision requiring the reduction of annual Chinese (PRC) immigrant visas to offset status adjustments under such Act.

So more foreign workers to take American jobs. And many more Chinese by eliminating the offset reduction for foreign worker visas.

Does anyone here not see that this is just a ploy by American corporations to avoid raising wages for American workers? Companies can get these foreign workers at 1/3rd to 2/3rds the rate of qualified Americans.

STOP the GOP from offshoring our jobs here at home!

And this has what to do with the teachers strike?

Because instead of raising American workers' wages to match the cost of inflation, the GOP is instead supporting importing cheap foreign labor.

Duh.

$74,000 may seem a lot for a teacher.

Until you remember that Mitt Romney got $21.6 MILLION last year for doing NOTHING.

If the teachers are so concerned about the students and education, they need to get back into the classrooms and TEACH!! Striking teachers during the school year is the most irresponsible thing they could do, and doesn't help their cause. Most people will see it as abandonment of the kids they claim to care about!!

In case any reasonable people are paying attention. Chicago teachers pay is around $76K per year (highest of any major city in the USA), the average annual income in metro Chicago is around $46K. Teachers only work a fraction of the year as opposed to those making the $46K. Chicago schools only have around a 50% graduation rate. The main objection of the teachers beside money is they don't want any accountability for student perfromance to be associated with their performance evaluations. OK, unless you are from some other planet, this is riduculous and another example of the abuses that stem from public employees unionizing. The losers are the children and the taxpayers but unions don't really care about either, just self perpetuation.

@RealAmericansFirst

$74,000 may seem a lot for a teacher.

No, it doesn't "seem" like a lot it IS a lot. Highest average teacher salary of any major city in the US and 50% higher then the average taxpayer in Chicago makes. And they have the audacity to go on strike and pretend they're doing it for the children? Give me a break.

Until you remember that Mitt Romney got $21.6 MILLION last year for doing NOTHING.

Until you realize that you're clueless. Mitt Romney has a lot of money, we all got that by now. He could stick it away under his mattress but instead he risks it in the stock market. Companies use that money to expand which creates jobs all down the line. Whether it makes you jealous or not, having rich people in our society benefits us all. No one has ever gotten a job from a poor person.

Yeah! Support the unions!

He could stick it away under his mattress but instead he risks it in the stock market.

Uh, no. He got that from "deferred compensation" by cashing in Bain shares.

Try again.

RealAmericansFirst...Whining about Romney's money...Jealous much? Why not talk about John Kerry trying to avoid paying taxes or Charlie Rangle trying to avoid paying taxes? They should have been arrested for tax evasion, but they were protected by Pelosi. Ever notice that the liberals keep getting caught cheating on their taxes while telling us how they need to raise ours? Republicans avoid taxes legally and libs whine about it like a little baby.

You don't want him Pres because he used legal loopholes. When the liberals had a super-majority, why didn't they close them? Oh yeah, they use them too. Ever wonder how Reid got rich? It's called corruption.

Real American,

The bill you cited was actually sponsered by a democrat and is still at the committee level it hasn't been passed. Get your facts straight!

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/s1983

Real American,

The HR 3012 was passed in the house 389-15 so what does that tell you? Obviously the Republicans aren't the only ones to blame for that if it is bad. Also that was passed in the house almost a year ago, Nov 2011. Also more Republicans voted against it than did Democrats, 15 and 2 respectively.

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/112-2011/h860

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/112/hr3012

Sorry it passed with the votes against being 13 and 2 not 15 and 2

So, how do you think the schools in Chicago look? I am sure that they are very pretty, well maintained structures, that never have graffiti painted anywhere. They also probably don't have bars on all windows, nor do they have metal detectors on all of the doors manned by armed security/police officers. It is a very difficult place to teach at, and as such it needs to have above average incentives to attract teachers.

Being a teacher, I applaud anyone who is willing to teach at one of these schools. It can't be easy living in fear that if you upset the wrong student that they will either find you as you go to your car, or follow you home and educate you there.

By all means, let the principals have the power to fire someone who isn't a good teacher. I am just going to guess that this method will result in a high number of "worthless, entitled" teachers being fired. And then good luck finding replacements for them. And also, make a teachers job reliant on whether or not their students score well on standardized tests. Because no student has thought of doing poorly on a standardized test in order to get back at a teacher. What is the students penalty for doing this? Not a thing. What would the teachers penalty be? Getting fired. It makes total sense to me.

The average income for a family in Chicago is 46,000.00, and the teachers that work 180 student days per year over nine months get 76,000.00 excluding lavish health and retirement benefits. The teachers were offered a 16% increase in salary and benefits, but the union decided that was not enough for teachers that oversee an average 50% graduation rate and decided to strike instead. Just another example of how unions are ripping off taxpayers nationwide, and thanks to corrupt politicians that could careless about the taxpayers, they are getting away with it. Nothing but a Rahm Emanuel manufactured crisis set up for Obama to put on his cape and fly in on AF1 to save the day. All just political theater at taxpayer expense, from the spare no expense political elite.

hey RealAmericansFirst

when gov romney sneezes he does more than you have ever done in your pathetic parasitic little life.

After a violent Chicago summer, police Supt. Garry McCarthy said he was "emptying our offices" to patrol the thousands of unsupervised kids on the streets.

The union has called the plan to care for children during the strike a "train wreck." It warned that caregivers for the children do not have proper training, and there are fears of an increase in gang-related violence in some high-crime areas.

This is exactly what I thought of when I heard of this strike. The city already had a major issue with gang-related crimes, and now the kids are being thrown out of the school's due to the pettiness of the Union and teachers. The one's who will suffer the most out of this are the children, and it's a damned crying shame.

Say what you may about Rahm, he is standing firm on his promise to manage budget well, against unions who backed him and our president. That is leadership

He'll fold like a cheap suitcase if this strike starts hurting his hero in the White House.

Oh please, Jason, are you really that naive? How old are you to be this silly? This is all for show, Rahm is going to cave to the union, watch and learn, grasshopper.

This mayor is on a roll!!! "Leadership" huh Jason...

Who can blame the bummer for wanting another term as the prez? I would also look for any excuse to stay the hell out of Chicago - especially if I could sucker the American public into paying me for doing as lousy a job as he.

and when he does cave in they will never report how badly.

if romney gets the white house he wants to be like reagan who sold our steel to japan. oil to saudia arabia, fired the air traffic controllers,cut the emergency medical system, charged 18% taxes to the waitresses and waiters that were making 2.17 an hour. he did the foreigers well like romney will do for japan and china. (reagan brought down the berlin wall).i told you would cry in your be&r if you voted for reagan(you did).now do it again vote for romney and then go cry in your be$r.

Chicago, what an inspirational city...by the way teachers don't work anywhere near nine months a year (more like six) and get PAID for any extra curricular activities they do. NO it is not about the kids. It is about the union and $$$.

texastornado55,

I'll take Reagan's "bad times" over the last 3+ years of a floundering economy and, by far, the largest deficit level's we've seen in this country. Also, keep in mind, Reagan was able to work successfully with the other party to get major legislation passed...something Obama seems uncapable of doing.

Don Harris -- six months? Get a calculator and count again.

It's really simple, give students and parents a choice. Impliment a voucher program and let those tax dollars go to the schools that parents decide are the good ones. If a school is not doing a good job, nobody will go there and they will not get the funding. Next, end all public unions, period. They have grown into a giant political machine and people have finally realized that they are the problem, not the teachers. When a school gets $17,000/student and only 15% of that money goes toward education, there's your problem. The rest is going to adminstration, union political kickbacks, unnecessary buildings and property, secretaries for a secretary and the worst waste of money of all, UNION LEADERS. If we can focus on education instead of politicans who want to keep their jobs, we will all be better off

Everyone needs to see the movie "THE CARTEL". It's about New Jersey but we all know that unions have a tight grip on each and every state. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the movie. I suggest every parent, every tax payer, every student see this movie.

"The Cartel is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest level of per-student education spending in the U.S.[1] According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film asks: "How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider 'basic'?"[2] The film regards teachers' unions as the cause of the problems (they are "the cartel" of the title), due to, among other things, the obstacles they put in place to firing bad teachers, through tenure. It also makes the case for school vouchers and charter schools,[3] suggesting that the increased competition will revitalize the school system, leading to improved efficiency and performance in all schools, both district and charter."

When we address the problem, we have an opportunity to solve it. For the past 40 years, we have never really addressed the actual problem, UNIONS. Remove the public unions and treat teachers like every other professional by holding them accountable and rewarding success. Here in Wisconsin, we had a bloody battle and the tax payers decided that it's time to change the way things are run. We had protests, violence and corruption. In the end, the tax payers and parents prevailed and Scott Walker won't more votes than he did before his recall. Now, we have a budget that is in the black, schools are better off financially and eventually kids are going to get a better education. Just south of here, in Illinois, you see the difference. We decided that fiscal responsibility and less union control were more important for our childrens education. These large cities who are being forced to pay large sums of money towards public union workers pensions will soon find themselves bankrupt and WE THE PEOPLE will not allow our hard earned tax dollars to go toward a "bailout" when responsible states and counties made the hard decisions and did it right. Failure will no longer be rewarded and Success shall not be punished. America is ready for leadership, it's time we let the right people do what they do best. It's also time we let the dead weight drop. If you don't know what I mean, you are not paying attention. ROMNEY/RYAN 2012!!

@texastornado55: Just like oboma sold millions of job to China because their suppose to be faster and cheaper then the Americans. 4 major bridges that needed to be restructures - San Fran, Brooklyn, and two other and he gave the jobs to the Chinese all in 2010 and us Americans needed those jobs. That's what I call sell out.

The Teachers had to vote for the strike, the union doesnt decide without a vote, so to hell with them.

Those teachers don't look very smart out on the sidewalk with signs of fairness around their necks, when they are the ones not cooperating, they are making twice as much as the average tax payer, everyone is tacking hit after financial hit, most peoples incomes are skyrocketing backwards and the economy is poised to collapse, not very smart at all. to ask for more when the pot is empty, the world is financially falling apart and most of the socialist countries are facing austerity programs from just this sort of attitude, if they can't see and learn they probably can't teach for $#!+, get rid of them now and start fresh, do it now while its their fault and they have only their own stupidity to blame. and set a example for the rest of the overpaid under worked government employees. the party is over, we cant afford you especially when Obama care kicks in and mandatory insurance gives us all a 50% boost of inflation. have you noticed how fat those teachers are.

When you don't have a good crisis to help Obama, Emanuel is manufacturing one for him. This will get a few days to pick up momentum in the press before Obama sweeps in to save the day. Obama knows the importance of education and he wants these kids back to school, even if the graduation rate is only 50%. Emanuel will play his part of the wits end mayor, grateful for the help only Obama could offer. In the end the press will swoon over Obama, and Emanuel will let Chicago know that he had to give the unions everything they demanded, or the poor children would have been victims. Anyplace but Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, Obama, and this might have been believable.

I'll take Reagan's "bad times" over the last 3+ years of a floundering economy and, by far, the largest deficit level's we've seen in this country. Also, keep in mind, Reagan was able to work successfully with the other party to get major legislation passed...something Obama seems uncapable of doing.

Reagan's bad times got better because he raised taxes, which fixed the economy. If you were "taking Reagan's bad times", you would have supported working with Obama to raise taxes and decrease the deficit.

Interestingly enough, that is what Obama wants to do, and you are criticizing him for the other party obstructing him.

I always have to laugh at people who don't know how long a school day really is or how many days kids really are in school.

On average it's 6 hours/day, and approx. 183 days/year. That's pretty much across the country and that is just about 6 months a year although it gets spread out to 9 months.

Scansin Dave,

You have good points, however, I wouldn't let America's youth off the hook so easily as to why the educational system is failing. They and their parents do have to accept some personal responsibility. We've allowed them to scrape by in a system without consequences. If the graduation rate is so low, it is not only the fault of the teachers. We've already "dumbed down" the curriculum to the eighth grade level and are practically paying kids to attend.

Outside of my interjection, you are correct. There ia a superintendent in CA who just retired with a nice retirement bonus, in addition to a $200,000 a year pension. Multiply that by the number of school districts in CA and then ask yourself why schools can't afford books. Then ask yourself how a school board member in San Francisco was able to charge over $100,000 on dinners, laptops for her home office and gas in under a year and not be charged with fraud, waste and abuse.

texastornado55

if romney gets the white house he wants to be like reagan who sold our steel to japan. oil to saudia arabia, fired the air traffic controllers,cut the emergency medical system, charged 18% taxes to the waitresses and waiters that were making 2.17 an hour. he did the foreigers well like romney will do for japan and china. (reagan brought down the berlin wall).i told you would cry in your be&r if you voted for reagan(you did).now do it again vote for romney and then go cry in your be$r.

My God I'm embarassed for the great state of Texas. You are truly an incoherent rambling fool, who hasn't got a clue what the hell you're talking about. There's a reason Ronald Reagan is in the history books as 1 of the best presidents the United States has ever had. You obviously do not know how to read, and even worse, you're an inbred democrat who believes everything the Lame Stream Media and Obama are saying.

For what it's worth, the erosion of Socialism is what led to the breaking-up of the Soviet Union, and Mr. Gorbachev had more to do with that than Ronald Reagan could ever have contributed. But you're right if you were insinuating that it was through Reagan's successful relationship with Gorbachev that had an impact on the fall of Socialism in what use to be called the Soviet Union.

A great man once said: "Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy. It's inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery"....... In other words, socialism doesn't work; as if the fall of the Soviet Union, and East Germany weren't enough to enforce that truth.

An evem greater man said: "You cannot strengthen the weak, but weakening the strong"..... In other words, taxing the rich won't solve the problem of their being poor people or people in need, taxing the rich only gives government bureaucrats more money to play and spend on themselves.

Now go drink your watered down beer.

Reduce taxes and allow parents to take responsibility for their children. Sending a child to public school IMO should be considered child abuse.

Public schools exist to enrich a vast number of idiot teachers and even more idiot administrators. The whole enterprise is a scam on the American people of the grandest kind.

Fire each and every one of these greedy morons and replace them. I am willing to bet results improve and grades increase.

Dupahs - such common sense and so few willing to listen!

Not much better here, but it will take a few years before the real damage is known. Already Brookfield (a predominantly republican/Walker supporting community) is complaining about school closings and 30+ kids in a class. Somehow folks there didn't realize that cutting a billion + from education would affect their rich, white kids too.

Walker is doing a great job. Wisconsin has a surplus and Union membership is decreasing. Maybe his opposers can waste another 20 million for another failed recall.

Bob, that comment about rich white kids was absolutely uncalled for!!! If the parents were rich, they probably would be in private school anyway....but you just had to throw that class warfare card in there right along with the race card!!!

look at romney bacground when he talks bob 2112 looks like all the constitutiens are arryan. nobodies being racist. i like everybody. but he's right most of your wealthy 1% population is mostly arryan.it does make you wonder about this one romney's parents are latino. what gives?

Uh, Tex, could you try that in English please? I'm guessing that you think Romney's support is all Aryan, right? I have black, white, far Eastern, and Hispanic neighbors and ALL of us are for Romney instead of being in favor of Oblameo's higher taxes for everyone and more folks on the government dole.

Everyone needs to see the movie "THE CARTEL". It's about New Jersey but we all know that unions have a tight grip on each and every state. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about the movie. I suggest every parent, every tax payer, every student see this movie.

"The Cartel is a 2009 American documentary film by New Jersey-based television producer, reporter and news anchor Bob Bowdon, that covers the failures of public education in the United States by focusing on New Jersey, which has the highest level of per-student education spending in the U.S.[1] According to The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), the film asks: "How has the richest and most innovative society on earth suddenly lost the ability to teach its children at a level that other modern countries consider 'basic'?"[2] The film regards teachers' unions as the cause of the problems (they are "the cartel" of the title), due to, among other things, the obstacles they put in place to firing bad teachers, through tenure. It also makes the case for school vouchers and charter schools,[3] suggesting that the increased competition will revitalize the school system, leading to improved efficiency and performance in all schools, both district and charter."

When we address the problem, we have an opportunity to solve it. For the past 40 years, we have never really addressed the actual problem, UNIONS. Remove the public unions and treat teachers like every other professional by holding them accountable and rewarding success. Here in Wisconsin, we had a bloody battle and the tax payers decided that it's time to change the way things are run. We had protests, violence and corruption. In the end, the tax payers and parents prevailed and Scott Walker won't more votes than he did before his recall. Now, we have a budget that is in the black, schools are better off financially and eventually kids are going to get a better education. Just south of here, in Illinois, you see the difference. We decided that fiscal responsibility and less union control were more important for our childrens education. These large cities who are being forced to pay large sums of money towards public union workers pensions will soon find themselves bankrupt and WE THE PEOPLE will not allow our hard earned tax dollars to go toward a "bailout" when responsible states and counties made the hard decisions and did it right. Failure will no longer be rewarded and Success shall not be punished. America is ready for leadership, it's time we let the right people do what they do best. It's also time we let the dead weight drop. If you don't know what I mean, you are not paying attention.

ON WISCONSIN!!

Here is what the liberals have left....Use the race card....Revert back to Romney's taxes.

That's it. Democrats are leaving Obama left and right. I know many here in Wisconsin. He's fighting a losing battle. Romney will fix education, not throw more money at it. That's what Liberals do, if something isn't working, spend more TAX DOLLARS.

The next time I bring up something that Obama is doing, or in most cases, isn't doing and someone labels me racist, I'm gonna blow a gasket. My dislike of Obama has nothing, NOTHING to do with his skin color. It has to do with his ethics, his morals, his decisions, his lack of leadership and constant dividing of this nation. I don't care if he's pink, green or purple. What's he's doing is wrong and he needs to go back to community organization.

In the interest of full disclosure here are some facts from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction that the teachers union and Nicolet School Board are not telling residents:

• Nicolet teachers are the highest paid public school teachers in Wisconsin. Their average salary and benefits for the 2009-2010 school year (latest available) was $103,300 per year. And that was before the School Board recently awarded them a 2 percent annual pay increase retroactive to 2009.

P.S. This is public information. I am not paid by anti-union fat cats. I am a tax payers and I will do what ever I can to make sure my daughter gets a good education. I will also do what ever I can to make public unions go the way of the dodo bird. Tenure needs to be replaced with merit. Bad teachers need to be fired. Good teachers need to be compensated. Just because you do something for a number of years, doesn't mean you're good at it. It means you kept under the radar. Kids deserve better, heck we're paying enough.

Uh, Tex, could you try that in English please? I'm guessing that you think Romney's support is all Aryan, right? I have black, white, far Eastern, and Hispanic neighbors and ALL of us are for Romney instead of being in favor of Oblameo's higher taxes for everyone and more folks on the government dole.

Obama has specifically stated that he doesn't want higher taxes for everyone - just the people who are making more than $250,000. For everyone else, he wants lower taxes.

But don't let the facts keep you from renaming him "Oblameo" and chastising him for what he hasn't done or said he's going to do.

Yes, but those teachers in Chicago only make 76,000.00 per year excluding benefits for 180 student days per year. If they worked any less they might have an argument for the same pay and benefits as members of congress. You can bet Obama will get involved in this Rahm Emanuel manufactured crisis, and in the end the unions will get everything they actually wanted. But they already know that to be the case, this crisis is all for show. The only sad part of this whole situation is that for all the money and benefits taxpayers are forking over to these greedy unions, the Chicago public schools average only a 50% graduation rate.

Amen. Allow parents to take responsibility for their children and educate them. Children are not cheap to raise and education is not cheap to provide.

We can see that the the teachers do not care what happens to the kids.

Yeah just be happy to have a job... I'll remember all of you said that when your "patriotic" employers start hacking away at YOUR salaries and benefits, first down 1/4, then 1/2, then 3/4, but hey... JUST BE HAPPY TO HAVE A JOB, right? Yeah... thought so!

Here in Tennessee where we have the auto plants that used to be in Michigan, we have plenty of auto workers that relocated from the midwest. Yeah, they are happy just to have a job.

It is time for a Reagan moment and fire them all as he did with the Air Traffic Controllers. There are many teachers that would relocate for that package of salary and benefits. Or Rahm could say, "You all have Obamacare from this day forward. What is your problem with that?"

Gov...

I didn't see anything in the article about anyone "hacking away" a single nickel from a single employee. The school board is probably hoping for another federal 'stimulus' plan to haul in taxpayer supplied booty for beefing up their budgets. The 'shovel ready jobs' that get promised morph into extra federal funds for educational budgets.

Wrong warrior! Those jap plants were NEVER up here in the Midwest! They are in tenn. because the japs new they could bull$hit you into believing that you are manufacturing a car not like you do,just assembling parts built in japland!!

This is a Rahm Emanuel manufactured crisis. Remember, Emanuel says you never let a good crisis go to waste, and apparently that means even one you have to manufacture. Teachers in Chicago get on average 76,000.00 per year excluding benefits for 180 student days annually. They are among the highest paid teachers in the country, and yet they work in schools that average only a 50% graduation rate.

These teachers fail half the students, and yet they want more and their union handlers are demanding it for them. Emanuel wants nothing less then to hand these unions everything they want, but the political theater to get to that point is worth so much more. So they strike, Obama sweeps in to save the day, and Emanuel has an excuse for sticking it to the taxpayers for the salary and benefit increases to teachers that fail half the students. Public sector unions are the biggest scam going, lucky for unions there are plenty of corrupt politicians to buy.

Unions are bankrupting states and local communities all across the country. They found it much easier to buy politicians that could sell out the taxpayers then having to deal with corporations that were actually in business to make a profit. Unions have driven most manufacturing out of this country as products can no longer be competitively produced here, but they still see tax payers as being able to afford more. Chicago public schools average a 50% graduation rate, but since when did employee performance ever matter to a union?

California is being financially destroyed by public employee and teachers unions. Ridiculous unfunded pensions plans unheard of in the private sector coupled with non-market compensation rates have buried this state. Democratics answer to this? Hey, lets raise already high taxes again in a recession in the lowest rated state for business activity in the entire country so we can continue this frivolity at your increased expense. A fiscal cliff looms, federal tax rates are likely to go up also but, we have beaches and sunshine and "medicinal" marijuana to ease you pain. But, if you are sufficiently intelligent not to buy into this nonsense, we hereby threaten to wipe out public services and give your kids a level of education on a par with Uganda and class sizes that could fill stadiums. Thank you teachers unions and a hearty "up yours" from everyone in my family.

I love the " you MUST have a Rolls Royce" argument from government unions while providing YUGO quality. Get rid of the whole bunch and hire on the open market. We could NOT do worse than US public education!

The money isn't there because some "patriotic Americans" hide their taxable monies offshore.

That's right, blame the rich because clearly all of our woes can be fixed by simply taxing the people more with our any spending controls.

So it would be better to have the policeman teach math, the firefighter teacher history and the nurse teach art? I think that all are important. Do police, firefighters and 911 operators get benefits, vacations, holidays and sick leave? Do they have pension plans? Who pays there salaries?

If you think about it, public service workers pay part of their own salaries through property taxes, right to work tax, city tax, etc. They pay into their own pension. Many times sticking points in a contract are about working conditions, hours, lunch time etc. It is never black and white.

The 4% raised had already been agreed to --they were under contract and the city cancelled the raise. The city broke the contract. Many cities went to teacher and asked for concessions, forgoing raises etc to "help balance the budget". Teachers agreed and then the following years the trend continued. You can never get that back. Each time you give in, another benefit is taken. Pretty soon nothing is left but the job. By the way, young workers will tell you---"I won't work for that".

Striking never accomplishes what you hope for but sometimes you have to take a stand.

gov hater like mitt twitt and pauly crackers. they wont show their taxes for five years. they are cheating the american government by putting their money in overseas banks so they wont have to pay taxes to the american government..then complaing that obama has not done a good job and all the time cheating the american government out of money.now go vote for these high stakes rollers so they can take your money too! these two wealthy go getters need your money more than you do.......si.

TT55, because Obama has done such a good job managing the money he has been given we should all trust him, remember 16 Trillion in debt up from the 5 trillion Bush left him.

7.3 History-255 " Pretty soon nothing is left but the job. By the way, young workers will tell you---"I won't work for that"."

Then let-em starve. No safety net for those that are able-bodied, that refuse to work! I've had to work jobs that were below my level of education and experience and certainly below what I felt that I desearved to be paid. But I understand something that Liberals don't: The world doesn't owe you a living. Get off your ass and earn your keep, or starve! You do what you need to do to weather the storm. You take shelter where it's offered. False pride is, and should be, a lethal affliction or at a minimum a teachable moment for those that are too self important to take off their rose colored glasses.

@ dave-781087 & romney and ryan leaders

What are you two clowns on some kind of payroll for the RNC. As soon as anyone reads "Oblahbo" or "Dictator Obama" you lose any credibility. Are you two like twelve years old or something. It does really matter what Obama does, you will crucify him anyway. If he doesn't get involved then you'll bitch and moan on how he doesn't care or some other idiotic drivel. And if he were to make a comment or try to facilitate an ending, then the other tin-hats will piss themselves on how Obama "The Dictator" is trying to take over America and then the world. Or better yet, why don't you bring up the "messiah" line, that's always good to then bring in the religous rightwackos with talk of the false prophets or the good ole armageddon scenario. There is plenty of blame to go around on both the CPS and the Teacher's Union. But you only seem to know how to point fingers and bitch, but I don't see either one of you providing any real insight, just rhetoric. Now have your mommies make you a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich and let the adults talk now.

Your a really funny one Azrael.They're just calling what they see him as a lying, conniving sack of horse excrement that he is.

Another 4 yrs of the "Messiah" and you won't recognize America, so go stick your head back in the sand and the ADULTS will call when it's all over.

My neighbor worked for the board of education for 20 some years. She told me " it's not about education, It's about teachers wages, benefits,and pensions". Period.

Dave and Worldofhurt:

You contribute nothing to the discussion. Azrael is right - you buffoons provide no insight what so ever.

blearyeyed,

I fail to see where either of you provided anything either.

Now, to the point, I find it interesting that democrats in a democrat city can't make democrat organizations and people happy. This is funny as hell, but it's also the downside to the divide and conquere approach the D's have. Eventually they will run into conflicts between their protected groups, such as this conflict (taxpayers/teachers), and will have no clear solution.

Sure I don't blearyeyed.

Quote "if this economy isn't fixed in 3 yrs this is a 1 term proposition" end quote.

Lie #1, do I have to go on? How lets get back on subject shall we?

Yea, thats the soulation fire them all and give the jobs to people who will do it for less? My daughter go to a charter school most of the teachers are from the Phillipines. There are 2 classes that my daughter can not even understand what the teacher says. That does not really matter since most of the classes she just writes what is projected onto a screen. If you ask a question most of the time the teachers tell them to look it up. My daughter is teaching herself because of all this unionbusting antiteacher crap. Who is behind this stuff go to kochbrothersexposed.com/

Why?

Are you implying that people from the Phillipines are not capable of being smart? That's a little rude.

Regardless, even with the union in Chicago, it looks like all of their children are teaching themselves these days, so not even a union can fix that. Unions and their slaves are bad.

yea bleareyed the are. they are telling us if we vote obama out we can have much worse. we go to india and china if we want jobs none left in america. vouchers for medical care no good. call medicine man.no college funding for our young folks they are nt the 1% wealthy.romney already talked governor rick perry in banning government funding for planned parenthood in texas.(young mothers cannot get birth control now).medicare and medicaid are gone bye-bye. so you old and disabled go sit on the park bench and hope someone will throw you some scraps of food.

no why is saying there is a language barrier. its really bad in texas maybe 2 out of five people even speak english. its mostly latino a language americans dont undestand because we are supposed to be an english speaking nation.but not anymore. we just have the tower of babel. it wont be long we wont need teachers anymore. the computers will teach our children. all we will need is a gaurd to walk the halls and classrooms to protect the children.

@ Inthemiddle

No, What I am saying is my little girl cannot understand what the teachers are saying because they do not enunciate the English language well enough to even hold a job at walmart.

@aworldofhurt

Why is it that wingnuts constantly refer to President Obama as our "messiah". You guys spend half your time comparing Obama to the anti-christ and other religous crap. Are you going to convert to a Mormon if Romney were to steal the election. I'd say elected, but that just makes me laugh to hard to even contemplate. Have you already gotten your magic underwear from Mormons R Us just in cast. But I'm even more curious as to how you think America will be so unrecognizable when Obama is elected again. Is that the same line of thinking where the NRA preaches how Obama is taking away our guns, when he has done only the opposite. I kept my head in the sand and trusted the government and the Repubs when they kept spouting off on WMD's and how our nation was at risk. And you honestly think that Romney and Ryan, who BTW, voted on every Bush initiative is going to clear things up. You might want to smell what your're trying to shovel, friend. @!$%#e still smells like @!$%#e.

too many foreign languages in the united states latino,chech,chinese,german,french,phillipino etc. english is not the american language anymore. so we can no longer communicate on the job, in the classroom or at walmart with each other.the work gets left undone and everyone is mad because you cannot speak my language.this problem is undissolvable and the battle goes on...........thank you texas and america for making this problem unresolvable. really great for making a rotten workplace.

Yawn

Azrael, enough with the msnbc talking points already. As I recall both dems and repubs voted for sending troops into Iran to find WMD's, in fact even pelosi voted for it.

Right back atcha buddy,

Yes they voted on going into Irag, based on what? Outright lies from Bush and Cheney. That's not a talking point that is fact. Ryan doesn't vote on facts or perceived facts but along party lines. Remeber the pledge from your party to do anything to make him a one term President. Or as Limbaugh so eloquently put it, we want him to fail and the country to suffer so that republicans can be elected back into power. But please keep telling us about our "messiah", your so blinded by your spoon fed fox news rhetoric you can't even think for yourself.

The President doesn't need this to help him look bad. Add 5 trillion in Debt, a horrible plan for Health Care and Tax the so called rich who make over 250k a year. We all know if he is elected what will come of taxes for everyone. UP UP and AWAY! He looked bad way before this strike. OPEN YOUR EYES PEOPLE! If not you will be opening your bank accounts to our Government.

DID YOU ACTUALLY READ THE ARTICLE!!!!

Rahm agrees there's no more money and has not buckled to the union. That's the way it's supposed to work - negotiation. And if it continues, they SHOULD be fired.

Whether Mitt or Obama is elected, the middle class will see their fed inc tax go up. But with Mitt, the rich will get a tax cut. Bet on it.

working poor and middle classs if you wanna give all your money to the wealthy 1%. vote for the repubs.

vote for Obama and your money is going to pay for Obamacare....

Yep, welcome to the new America where the "job creators" have everyone undercutting their fellow countrymen for the scraps... yeah that's the answer!

Average $75K a year for a Master's degree plus an average of 16 years experience. Starting teachers don't make that and those close to retiring make more. ANY job has similar stats. I'm sure you could find a CNC operator (no degree) who makes over 100K with overtime and bonuses...so what? My last position offered 28K to start, that was 20K less then the lowest paid employee there, but I would do the same job and I had more education and experience. Employers are simply taking advantage of the unemployed because they'll find someone who will work for nothing...is that the race we want to be in?

Look, there's always someone working harder and longer than you are and getting paid less. You have 2 choices

a. drag everyone down to the lowest level to be FAIR

b. lift you and others up to be BETTER

And the line about there being no money...if there's cash for wars, corporate welfare, bailouts, and tax breaks for billionaires...there's cash somewhere for education. I think most Americans would rather spend taxes on education than the above...you think?

So, Bob, are you suggesting that my federal taxes help pay for the teachers' salaries in a city thousands of miles away because the school board decided they deserve it? The monies you are talking about are federal. You have just recomended a fully federally funded education system. I thinks I have seen something like that somewhere before...

I have said this all along and I'll say it again. I believe that every American should have to serve either 2 years in the military or 2 years being a teacher/teachers aid.

Now, for all those that keep harping on the $75K a year average for a Chicago teacher....

1. After my daughter spent 4 years of college to become a teacher she started at NO WHERES NEAR that amount. Not even close.

2. She spent a whole year being an aid and working for ZERO for that year. Zip, Nada.

3. If you think that the teachers are off the clock when they leave their schools you are SADLY mistaken. Teachers don't work week-ends and holidays? BS! At home they are grading papers, updating/making lesson guides, making copies for school ( and usually paying for it out of their own pockets because the school copiers are always broken ), buying supplies out of their own pockets ( because in California the schools are BROKE ), updating student files, writing progress reports to parents...etc....

4. My daughter fights with parents on a daily basis because the parents feel that it is not their jobs to help their own kids. It's the teachers jobs to raise/teach THEIR kids.

5. What would you do when a 5th grader tells you that they are not going to do any home work, that you can not force them, and they know they will get passed to the next grade no matter what...and then they are right? Then when the other kids see this one kid getting away with not doing homework you would be surprised to see how many rebel and follow suit.

6. Another kid was only in her class for 2 months out of a school year. My daughter had to flunk the kid ( and rightly so ) but the school and the district passed the kid to the next grade anyway.

7. According to what my daughter sees, and other teachers could also confirm this, less that 3% of parents hep their kids with their homework. MOST parents see the school systems as a day care center. Period.

Think you know how good teachers have it? Volunteer a solid week or two as a aid for your kids teachers. Sit in for a night of parent/teachers conferences/open house ( and see how many parents actually show up ).

You will walk away knowing what the truth is.

All of you people that think teachers have it made should go to college, and get a teacher's license, then get a teaching job and live the easy life. I don't mind that people have opinions but many of you have no idea what you're talking about. So go ahead, become a teacher and report back to us on living, "The Good Life."

Reagan, ya mean the guy who gave amnesty to 20 million illegal aliens, raised taxes, traded arms with Iranian terrorist? You cant even spell his name correctly yet you criticize teachers? Maybe you should have just paid more attention to YOUR teachers, you might have learned a bit more spelling and history!

You're just another person that creates his own facts. I take it that history was not your subject? As to Reagan. I guess you have never had a type pol mistake in any of your comments. I can only hope that you are not a teacher?

Everything that GovHater wrote in his/her first sentence is a fact.

I see history was not your subject also...

They are versions of the facts only. GovHater is a little angry......must be hell living inside his head.

Typical Reich-Winger... "versions of the facts" lol, that's a new one! Did you cop that from Rumsfeld's "known unknown's"? Just do the research (I know, facts get in the way of a good spin), obviously you both didn't and I know you wont because admitting you're wrong is something your ilk can never do!

I tend to agree with the opinion that this is all theater. The Unions that put Rahm in office will get big raises alright. But they have to ask for a rediculous one first, and have the tough ole Mayor back them down to just a big raise. (wink..wink..)

And your experiance in this matter comes from where? Your knowledge about this issue is what?

The experience comes from watching a failed system run by Unions who refuse to allow teachers to be paid more based on their ability to do their job well and to not allow the removal of teachers who are incompetent at their jobs.

If we got rid of the unions and then paid teachers based on how well they did their job, you wouldn't you salary complaints. This would happen since all the bad teachers wouldn't be working and the good ones who get to keep their jobs would get more money. Scary how simple things become when you take out politics and apply common sense.

Jay, good question. We all must remember Education is a triad that includes Teacher, student and parent. If ANY ONE of these fail education fails.

For the rest of you, you operate under so many misconceptions and are so blinded by anger it is hard to decide where to start.

1. $70,000 average salary. That is AVERAGE SALARY. Not EVERY teacher in Chicago makes that much! Salary depends upon Longevity and Educational level. Someone with a Masters AND 20 years will make more than someone with 5 years and a Bachelors.

2. A union IS necessary. Do you realize how EASY it is for a student to make an UNFOUNDEDallegation against a teacher? The union provides a Liability policy against such things, so a teacher has the resources to fight it. When I taught, my union provided a $1,000,000 policy. Teachers don't HAVE TO BELONG to a union. But if they don't they usually have what they call FAIR SHARE, where the non-union teacher pays a certain amount of money to the union to get the benefits the union provides like contract negotiation.

3. One of the sticking points in Chicago is pay based on student performance on the standardized tests that the government uses to assess school performance. THINK ABOUT THIS! Do you really think this is fair? You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink. The same goes for education. You can teach a child all day using a variety of methods, but if he is not WILLING to learn, he won't! Many kids don't see the value in standardized testing and will just fill in the bubbles to make a "pretty design". and you expect a teacher's pay to be linked to that?

4. Many of you seem to be JEALOUS of the time a teacher WORKS: No weekends and summers off. Have you ever thought of when teachers correct papers and grade assignments? I'll tell you that it is at night after work and on the weekends. Ever think when teachers devise new lessons or methods to teach a lesson? I'll tell you that it is at night or on the weekends. Yes some may work during the summers, but some also take additional courses to add to their knowledge or add to their skills.

5. Finally, let's talk about the classroom environment. Class size and class time is very important. A class size of 30(my experience) and a time of 42 min/class left me with 1.5 minutes for individual attention if needed. Teaching time was further diminished by any disruption by any "student" that felt like it was his day to be a jerk.

6. Someone mentioned why teachers don't strike during the summer. That question certinly had no thought put into it. The answer is simple: There would be no leverage if school was out.

I ask you to please examine the issue again. And if you think that these teachers should all be fired, by all means, every one of you should line up to take their place because you seem to have all the answers.

Joe Fabiny 9th Grade Earth Science, 11th Grade General Science.

Fire the parents! The unions have been around when you went to school and apparently, you're a prodigy, so the problem isn't there. I think the problem is obvious.

It never fails to amaze me how many anti-union puds can glaze over the fact that nearly every labor practice in America today, public or private sector, union or otherwise, was influenced in some way by a union. Why do you have overtime? Standardized work weeks? Child labor laws? Benefits of any kinds? Management that wont gun you down? Think that's a joke? Google Battle of Blair Mountain.

I hate unions. We do have a few crappy teachers who are only there because of the union. In fact, we've had crappy presidents who are only there because of a union.

Our country is founded on the ideas of the union. The only thing worse than a union is no union. Grow up.

Unions are good for companies that Generate a profit. Public sector Unions are killing our states and cities. The CPS is $400 million in the hole. The citizens are hurting but they are underpaid. BOO HOO It's a joke. Chicago citizens pay thier taxes The city then pays the teacher and seperatley pays the Union Directly for the teachers Union dues. Then the same union uses the dues money to fund the strike against the very same people who gave them that money. Essentially the taxpayer provides the bullets for the strike gun that is currently holding them hostage. Brilliant. It will be settled by making a deal with the union with more borrowed money from our grand kids and Illinois pension debt will climb further. Then the city will have to raise taxes again and people will be crying about how high their taxes are. After complaining about that they will run to the polls and vote right back in the same people that creae these awsome policys. They will spend more money in 2013 on unfunded pensions than they will on education for the state. UNIONS ARE GOOD HOW IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR?

rock doctor lets look at your logic.

1, average salary 70k that speaks for itself. i think the average reader understands what average means.

2, fear of student accusations? did not know you could insure yourself against freedom of speech. evidence would rule the day.

3. standard tests and assesements. ok what do you suggest? just giving raises because you have been teaching for years?

4/5. 180 days of instruction is what is required in my state. please dont complain about workload. 350k students and 25k teachers plus aids equals 15.38 kids per. not what you see? speak to your useless admin. they are useless because of union rules. and dont complain about grading papers, that is part of your job.

6. you can strike if you want but be prepared for the city to file bankruptcy. go figure. it is a trend throughout the country now.

7. lets keep the schools open year round and see how quickly teachers respond to that.....the money is already there.

Charter schools are functioning. I guess that points towards a solution.

Give California.....:

1. I don't think average speaks for itself, otherwise so many wouldn't be complaining about ttat fiqure quoted for salary.

2. Didn't know you could insure yourself against free speech? If a student makes a false allegation against a teacher for say sexual misconduct, that teacher will be suspended until an investigation is done. Yes evidence will rule the day, but once that allegation is made and entered into a teacher's record, it is always there. (NO I don't speak from my experience, but I know that it happened to a fellow teacher).

3. Any where in the public school system that is how pay schedules are established: longevity AND amount of education. You conveniently failed to argue the point of continuing education and pay based upon performance on standardized testing. Is it because you have no arguement to counter those two points?

4/5. Firstly, I didn't complain about anything. I merely pointed out the truth in response to what everyone else is complaining about: Yes teachers ONLY TEACH 180 days per year but I also pointed out for the uninformed what work was required OUTSIDE of the Classroom. And NO ONE had to tell me what my job was when I taught, least of all you.

6. I am not going to strike. You are so blinded by your anger that you must mistake me for a Chicago teacher. I am retired. I feel sorry for you.

7. Some schools around the country are kept open year round. Those schools have breaks distributed throughout the year and still have only the state mandatory number of days of education: for example 180 days.

Lastly I would like to ask you what University you obtained your BSEd. from, what you are certified to teach and what state you hold your Certification in?

Joe Fabiny, BSEd, BS Earth Sciences, Bloomsburg University of PA, Certified in Earth and Space Science. Certified in PA. 31 credit hours towards a Masters.

If you take the backing of thugs, they will blackmail you when it is most inconvenient. Unions know that they can get Rahm to fold quickly after a phone call with whitehouse. Why would they not use it?

"I like being able to fire people."

Being able to fire non performers is and good thing, and you should like it.

Union members, teachers included, are fired every day. You are simply upset that it requires a level of accountability that most managers are incapable of. YOU MUST BE MORE COMPETENT THAN THE PERSON THAT YOU WANT TO FIRE!

So we have incompetent managers who can't fire incompetent workers. Sounds like a recipe for a great workforce...

Thta's sort of what is going on in Ontario; strong unions, lots of pension money. I am surprised that teachers are still allowed to strike; they should be deemed an essential service so that they can't strike.

Just remember that when it happens to you, don't go complaining.

Boss: Hey, you're all fired but I'll hire some of you back at 75% pay, part time, no benefits. (Thanks Walmart/McDonalds)

You: Yay!!! I won't even try to stand up for my rights or a fair wage. Maybe I can go pick tomatoes in California for $4 a day. Hey...it's a job right?

Bob, if you knew anything about business, you'd know that every company that has tried that, has failed or lost a lot of money. Fot that reason, Cricket will never have to worry about that happening to him. Unless unions give up the mentality of not be able to be fired for non performance, they will go the way of the dinosaurs.

Teachers should absolutely be evaluated, and I know that teachers agree with that. However, the system wants to only assess teachers based on student testing. But we all have students that bring a lot of baggage with them to school each day. There is so much going on at home and parents are increasingly uninvolved in their kids' education. The article proves that much at least by stating all the provisions having to be made for children since teachers are not in their classrooms.

I am not union. There should be no tenure. That being said, teachers should not lose their jobs because of student performance alone. They should also be judged based on anecdotal evidence. Would you want your job to depend on the test performance of children? Too many parents and children don't care about education, and even a good teachers can not compensate for that!!!

To illustrate how stupid that position is, I hope they do fire all of the teachers. Who do you think will fill all of those vacant positions for less money and smaller benefits packages? I'm sure they will be the best and brightest! Dumb.

I wouldn't teach for all the tea in China. The kids are spoiled, entitled brats; classroom bullies can't ever be punished; parents demand more than they would from a neurosurgeon; and the public hates you more than Osama Bin Laden, LOL.

They would need a big raise from the private sector to make their pay reasonable. Give me a break.

First, they are punishing the students. Either go back to work or get fired. Second, when will these public sector employees/unions understand that they cannot keep getting wages, compensation, benefits, and pensions as in the past? Which should not have happened anyways. When will they realize that cities, states, and our nation are in financial straights? Illinois is one of the worst. With millions of Americans with a teaching degree looking for jobs. Boot the strikers out, and bring in the people that want a job, grateful for a job, and who want to teach. Tenure is a joke. Another roadblock on getting rid of lousy teachers.