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Scott Olson / Getty Images, file
Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) delegates embrace after voting to end their strike on September 18, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union have overwhelmingly ratified a new contract, union officials said late Wednesday, ending a bitter dispute with Mayor Rahm Emanuel over school reforms that prompted the first strike of city teachers in 25 years.
The deal will give teachers an average pay raise of 17.6 percent over four years if the three-year contract is extended an extra year.
The pay increases would cost an extra $74 million a year, the district has said. Chicago teachers make an average of about $76,000 annually, according to the school district.
In addition to the pay raises, the deal establishes for the first time an evaluation system for teachers that is based in part on student performance on standardized tests. It also gives principals more authority to hire teachers for their schools and extends the length of the school day.
Scott Olson / Getty Images, file
Mayor Rahm Emanuel greets students as they arrive for school at Frazier International Magnet School on September 19, 2012 in Chicago, Illinois.
The union got guarantees that any teachers laid off will have preference to be rehired by the district, and Emanuel dropped a demand that teacher pay be tied to merit.
A statement from the CTU said 79.1 percent of the 20,765 votes cast by teachers, paraprofessionals and school clinicians were in favor of the contract, put before them on Tuesday. Ratification required a majority vote in favor.
“This shows overwhelming recognition by our members that this contract represents a victory for students, communities and our profession,” CTU President Karen Lewis said. “Our members are coming are coming out of this with an even greater appreciation for the continued fight for public education. We thank our parents for standing with their children’s teachers, paraprofessionals and clinicians.”
The Chicago Teachers Union agreed on Tuesday to end its strike, allowing 350,000 students to return to classes on Wednesday and ending a tense standoff. However, the contract still requires ratification by the union's 26,000 members. NBC's Rehema Ellis reports.
Members of the Chicago Board of Education must also vote approve the contract before it becomes effective. That vote is expected Oct. 17, and approval seems likely.
Biggest losers of Chicago's teachers strike? The students, critic says
"I am pleased that the members of the CTU have ratified this contract, and we can now demonstrate to our students that even when two sides start far apart, they can find common ground and reach a resolution. It’s an incredibly important message to send," Chicago Board of Education President David Vitale said in a statement.
Thousands of teachers in the nation's third-largest school district walked off the job on Sept. 10 after more than a year of slow, contentious negotiations over salary, health benefits and job security.
Students were kept out of classes for seven days before CTU's members voted to end the work stoppage.
Chicago teachers agree to end strike, classes to resume
Fitch Ratings earlier this week downgraded the Chicago Board of Education's debt rating, citing the school system's increased budget pressures in the wake of the deal.
This followed a downgrade by Moody's Investors Services last week and could mean the district pays higher interest rates on any debt issues.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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if the city could, it would outsource the job to illegal hispanics, indians with H1B visas speaking a weird type of english reading off a script like a robot, and chinese migrant workers with a yes siree bob communist kind of brainwashed attitude. too bad it actually has to pay a professional salary to its own citizens who deal with the dirty laundry bill cosby talked about, and paid tens of thousands in college loans and underwent licensing exams to get there. yikes!
America wish it has teachers of the quality from India and China, where their students easily surpass American students in math and science. Many students from India and China write better english with proper grammar than most Americans, judging from a certain blogger.
that's why when i call dell or citibank, i get indians who cannot understand my sentence structure, and are trained to read a script to bypass being questioned using logic. and if chinese can speak and write better english than americans, how come no one outsources to them? oh that's right. that awful accent as well as missing words like the, as, or when they speak or write.
Yes DPL, but I would imagine that they speak English better than you speak Chinese.
Teachers get a HUGE raise, but dont expect anything in return (Unless of course you're Obama).
Students will walk into the same class rooms with the same old disinterested teachers they had last year, except the teachers will be driving new cars and smoking more expensive crack.
Yup, cant wait to see all those SAT scores soar to new heights of inadequate.
Well isn't this just wonderful! These teachers are text book examples of how the Progressives view Obama's " Fair Share" mantra! They will now recieve an average wage of $89,000.00 ( more then DOUBLE the average wage in Chiago)! They successfully extort this from a city whos budget isn't just broke, but heavily in debt and deficit! This is the Progressives idea of a contribution to balancing the Cities Budge!
What have they done to deserve this largees? They have amassed one of the poorest achedemic records of any American School System (Therefore in the entire Industrialized World)! Typical Progressive logic: Reward the least competent, while deamonizing and belittling those most competent!
Dirty- That's exactly what these teachers(?) represent. the "Brainwashed Communist Attitude" !
I agree totally! You are spot on.
Wallstfatcat - Don't put all of it on the teachers. Our teachers are no longer allowed to discipline students & they have to make everyone feel good about themselves. In India and China, I'm sure the students aren't permitted to terrorize teachers. The students don't fear anything from teachers in this country. Give the kid a bad grade, Mommy & Daddy come storming into the school blaming the teacher because their brat refuses to learn.
17.6% and you don't have to produce a good product. Yep, union all the way.
So Chicago, how does it feel having that HUGE dildo shoved up your butt with no lubricant?
Imagine you work 40 hours a week for $50k a year and suddenly you're required to work 45 hours a week. Would you work those five extra hours without pay?
Judgment of the raises should depend on whether they're commensurate with the increase in hours.
Chicago, if O'Bama is reelected the Fed. Gov. will bailout the state ( he's already bailing out some union leeches in California )and the American people will get the dildo!!!! This could be the last election to rid the U.S.A. of public sector union trolls........Romney/Ryan 2012
See the size of these teachers? They need to eat the Mooshell student diet at the student cafeteria.
I have friends who are teachers. Every day they have to deal with "students" who refuse to do assignments or homework. They just won't do it. When the parents are informed and asked to make sure the work is done correctly, the parents state that they will not force their precious brood to do something they don't want to, insisting that doing so would be "bad parenting." And when these kids obviously flunk the "standardized tests," the fault is placed on the teachers whose jobs are now on the line because of it.
I hope the Board of Education rejects this contract. The idea of guaranteeing these kind of raises without any requirement to meet any performance measures is completely absurd. It is even more absurd in this economy. There are more than enough out of work teachers out there that would gladly take these jobs, even for 25% less pay, that there is no justification for allowing this type of extortion from the union. The teachers union tried to claim the strike was about the kids but every single sticking point in the negotiation was about what the teachers were getting. The union has successfully extorted the city for a ridiculous pay raise while avoiding any meaningful level of accountability for actually performing their jobs well. This is a prime example of why Scott Walker had it right, we need to get rid of these public employee unions and put an end to their ability to extort the government for absurd pay and benefits. The city of Chicago should have pulled a Reagan and fired all of the teachers the same way Reagan fired the air traffic controllers when their demands got out of hand. There is no way with the current performance of these teachers and in this economy that guaranteeing this type of raise to teachers who are already some of the highest paid in the nation is acceptable. With a 50% graduation rate and the large percentage of those that do graduate being borderline illiterate these teachers should be getting a pay cut or being fired, not getting a raise that exceeds anything being seen in private industry.
So do you want 4 FOUR more years of this B .S.
The headline should read "Chicago Board of Education and students get robbed by Teachers Union."
irtyPantiesLover
that's why when i call dell or citibank, i get indians who cannot understand my sentence structure, and are trained to read a script to bypass being questioned using logic. and if chinese can speak and write better english than americans, how come no one outsources to them? oh that's right. that awful accent as well as missing words like the, as, or when they speak or write.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
In China the students start English language classes in kindergarten. Most American parents would be outraged if their child was expected to learn another language so early. I said "most parents", not all. The American parents that are better educated and the ones who are involved and interested in the childs education would support two or three languages beginning in kindergarten. The focus in China is education, not sports.
BUT......"it's for the kids" .. right ?
"it's not about the $$" right?
Buried in the story is that the school day was extended. SO some of the raise that everyone is so upset about, is NOT a raise, but just more money for more work. It's interesting that when the NFL refs were on strike, people were upset with the league, not the refs. When did teachers become the enemy? They work extremely hard, they are professionals, and they deserve a living wage.
pamm, if they extend the school year because the teachers were on strike ... and they pay the teachers for the extended school days ... how do you figure that it's equitable? Teachers got strike funds for strike period plus city funds for extended period ... so the teachers make out double! duh!
Now that the crybabies got what they wanted what do they intend to give in return? Yep, didn't think so.
Exactly where did you read that the days are being extended because of the strike? My understanding is that this was part of the terms BEFORE the strike.
No, they won't 'now' receive an average wage of that amount. That's after 4 years.
Do you understand what inflation is? Do you understand that $76,000 is not worth as much in 4 years as it is right now?
As for the average wage in Chicago, perhaps we should be looking at it and think that it's just not enough, rather than looking at teachers and being jealous that they actually have a decent wage that allows them to support a family? Or are you another of those race to the bottom types?
Chicago schools are a mess. Where is the accountability? And to thse who are blabbing about the extended hours, most professionals have this issue all the time. It is not counting hours. It is getting the job done.
Why don't you look at the average wage of college educated professionals to compare salaries? In Chicago $78k (which is the average btw) is not that much to live off of with college loans and a mortgage.
Nobody else is getting raises right now...and inflation...look to obama's guy bernanke and QE1, 2, & 3. Putting more money into the system from thin air creates inflation.
@wryview #1.7 and jerry #1.11: The system is stacked against urban city public school teachers. You can't legislate good parenting. But, by allowing vouchers and more charter schools, good parents will move their kids to schools that have better performance (with the understanding that if their child has behavioral issues or academic sub performance, they are subject to expulsion). By allowing teachers the ability to remove the problem students from the classroom, the rest of the class can progress at a faster rate. By showing students that there are consequences to disruptive behavior, it keeps the majority in line.
Proof of this lies in the suburbs of Chicago. Less than 10 miles from the city, there are school districts that spend far less per student and the students far outperform their Chicago counterparts. China and India do not have more intelligence potential than US students. They have parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders who will not tolerate disruptive behavior in the classroom. Sort of like we had 40 years ago. Now are kids are worried about what clothes they wear to school, sexting etc. More distraction that takes away from the learning process.
@pamm #1.17: Comparing the NFL refs to the teachers of Chicago? Seriously? I would bet that I would have no problem filling the teacher slots of Chicago for 66% of the current payroll and that those teachers would perform as well as the striking teachers.
Inflation is not something that has only happened with Bernanke. Isn't he also Bush's guy, anyway?
By the way, I have had raises, so have other people I know. Maybe you need to look elsewhere for work if you haven't.
I am a tax accountant with a 4 year degree and no teacher in my state can make more money than me ever. Literally the pay scale does not reach that high. I am not yet 30. Let that sink in before you complain about teachers salary.
Hmmm...and I thought this strike was not about money!
Dummy...it's always about money!
Glad I don't live in the cesspool called Chicago. When they implode, and they will, who's going to bail the crybabys out?
Wow! 17 + % over 4 years?? For those of us lucky enough to have a job, I can only DREAM of a 4% annual pay increase. Insanity in these times.
If people want other people to educate (and babysit) their children, then fork over the $$. Otherwise, people can educate their children themselves. It's called homeschooling. Can't do it because both parents (if there are two parents) have to work? Well, tough. They had them, they take care of them, or else stick a crowbar in their wallets and spend the $$ to have someone else to do it. Those are the only choices.
If someone is lucky to have a job, and one that doesn't give them a 17+% pay raise over four years, then they should quit that job and look for one that will. Underemployed workers drinking the tea party koolaid need to stop being envious of workers who have managed - especially through unions - to make the owners and administrators dish out the loot in these times. The underemployed are the ones making the money for the wealthy heads. Organize, and shut the heads' operation down so they can't get any more money; they'll come around.
So, quit your job, go back to school, end up in over $100,000 in debt, pay thousands more for the license (that has to be renewed, through mandatory extra classes, that also all cost thousands), and become a teacher, dealing with undisciplined kids who don't want to learn and cuss out teachers and do even worse, coming from effed-up parents. Then you can also get a 17+% pay raise. If you don't want to do that, stick with your mundane job with low salary and plug away making money for your master...I mean your boss.
The contract states the teachers will make up the strike days missed. And they're paid salary, so making up those days won't result in any extra pay.
According to the Chicago Teacher Union, the labor strike was aways about the students and quality education, not the 17.6% raise for the teachers. You see, all the teachers ever wanted was respect and educate the students. Nothing for themselves. The Chicago teachers are so great and wonderful instructors that half of all the inner city students failed to graduate and those that do are functionally illiterate. It's a monkey-see-monkey-do vicious circle. The 17.6% will go a long way in improving the disasterous Chicago public schools, cornered by the labor unions.
but the fatcats on wallstreet deserve their bloated pay for engaging in fraud schemes year in and year out. yeppers!
Dear DirtyPantiesLover 2 wrongs do not make a right..... UNIONS are nothing more then LEGAL MAFIA..... There is no way in hell they should have received at 17 % increase 17 % decrease would have been a lot fairer..... The extremely high compensation to so call leaders of coporations are the fault of the investors..... Investors have the power to claw back these large compensations.....
Consider this: The Public sector unions hold close to $10 TRILLION of the Country's debt......Let's just not pay them, wat da going to do break our legs?
umm....Lee how about they could sue in court for the legal obligation. You have to pay the teachers their earnings. Teachers even in this area make far far less than the average college graduate. You don't believe me look it up. Study after study agrees. You might want to compare them to everybody but they have a college education that is probably in a tougher subject that yours.
Not wanting to undermine educators in any way, because I am one of them, and don't want to throw the baby out with the dirty bath water, but these so-called "teachers" need to be more grateful that they get a PAYCHECK!
I'd argue that not all, but a good number of those unions representing educators, are too self-centered, greedy and politically-driven!!
Thanks Rah for telling it like it is.....
check any college's statistics and you'll find that the majority of the students receiving less than average GPA's are in the Education programs, the business and science majors are getting stellar grades while the future teachers are just barely able to scrawl their names on their financial aid forms.
Yep, they are getting a huge pay raise and only work 9 months out of the year for that salary. What a rip off. They also get pensions and benefits after they retire don't they? At taxpayer expense and paid for by taxpayers that have no pensions or health benefits after they retire except Medicare and Ryan wants to take that away as well.
I do agree the kids they teach are more unruly thanks to the apathetic parents out there (not all but a significant number). These are the parents who feel their kids does no wrong, but can't be bothered to spend time with them. We have kids with one parent or many. People need to think more before they bring children into this world IMHO. It is a lifetime commitment and yes, you need to put your own life on hold.
I am disgusted.
Let's see, I haven't gotten a raise in 4 years and bust my ass at work everyday. I do make a decent wage, not $77,000 a year, but I am not destitute. These people get 4% guaranteed a year for substandard performance. Too bad I have no desire to move to the windy city, cake work, without having to be real responsible for the outcome of your product (smart students).
Join a union or run for office, either way you get great pay and benefits and are not held accountable for producing anything.
@tiredofitall14,
Just ran that 4%+ raise thing by my boss, last I checked, he's still laughing and mumbling something about hell freezing over..
MRZ, of course he's laughing. Every year inflation means your wage is worth less unless it is raised. Meanwhile (generally speaking) companies make more and more each year. See the record profits many are making right now for an example. Do you think CEO's don't (again, generally) get raises every year?
Are you happy with the fact that average wages have remained stagnant for years and years whilst companies rake in record profits after record profits, even when times aren't so good?
Rob80,
What?
It was a joke. You know humor. Maybe not.
The Chicago school system is quite possibly one of the most in- affective school systems in the nation! You can count on them going on strike every year at just about the time the kids go back to school. Let's see, they only have to teach 2 years and they are tenured, they are guaranteed a raise every year plus a benefits package and their raises and benefits are not contingent on whether or not they perform well. While there may be one or two teachers here and there that give a rat's fanny about the kids the teach the majority of them do nothing more than perform the task of room monitor. Every other job on the planet is performance based. And you can't fire a teacher--God forbid, unless they commit a felony and then for the most part they go on teaching somewhere else (unless of course they molest or abuse a child). Seems to me that the teacher's union has it pretty good. Money for nothin' and your summer's free.......
@WallStreet- I am a teacher and work very hard to educate my students. Just like the old saying of "You can lead a horse to water...", you cannot FORCE a child to learn. Why is it that most middle class students do well and there is a higher percentage of poverty-level students who do not do well? The MC students generally have stable home lives, don't worry about being evicted or where their next meal is going to come from. They go to doctors when they are ill. They have parents who stress education and have the financial ability to give their children enrichment activities at a young age. Students who come from a low income family have numerous issues that make education more difficult. We can look at Finland which has amazing educational results, success their leaders base on the fact that ALL students have their basic needs met.
Before you comment on education, try going into the schools and getting some facts.
I am a middle class parent and I can tell you why my kids do well. It is because I have the time to compensate for the lousy job their schools are doing by spending hours every day teaching them what they should have learned in school. If I didn't have this time, my kids would be failing just like the inner city kids.
Let's face it, the educational system, both in the suburbs and inner city, needs a complete overhaul. The kids' education needs to finally be put ahead of the politics of the unions and school districts. Until this happens, all our children are being short-changed and the success of countries like Finland are just a dream.
So, you're saying it's the parents fault for having kids they are not able to take care of, bringing them into a world of poverty, dumping them into the lap of the rest of society so history can repeat itself, and the teachers bear the brunt of those children's ill behavior, right?
Oh yes, let's blame the parents.
I have sat in on several classroom sessions at my childrens' grade school and was appalled at the curriculum, the quality of the teachers (or lack there of) and the "herd 'em through" attitude of the administrators. One teacher was so drunk as to be nearly incoherent although is very popular with the students - they get to watch movies practically every day, wonder why?
Schools have become the dumping ground for the near unemployable
jcc is a typical Progressive. With them (championed, and guided by Obama's example) it's always "Looky yonder" for the answer and the responsibility! Hoping no one will look at them.
I wonder how Jaime Escalante, from East L.A. or Ron Clark, from Harlem, or Ken Carter, from Richland California would respond to the excuse that " It's not my fault! It's the parents fault"? These REAL teachers made a HUGH difference in the lives of their students, from the very same background as those in Chicago!
So, it's the teachers fault the students are failing and do not deserve to have a job teaching for $70K one with COLA's over the years?
Stop blaming the customer! Your vile and corrupt teachers are trained and educated to teach, start doing it! In private schools in the worst ghetto in NYC, all black as the ace of spades the kids that is, out perform the white one in Westchester country. Why, cause guys like you aren't teaching them, nor is your union.
Well, since you seem to know what the problems are (as do the rest of us), and you are in this profession (unlike the rest of us - we're just the ones paying for everything), what is your profession doing to address the problems....beyond whining, and then striking for higher pay when almost nobody is getting higher pay for anything? Your profession has shown itself for what it is....you have to live with that now. And knock off the crap about how hard your job is....we're paying your salary out of property taxes on homes that have dropped half of their value, we've had NO payraises for several years, and many of us have lost our jobs. Try our shoes for awhile, you self-absorbed little twit!
Maybe the reason a lot of these families are destitue is because they have to pay high school taxes to keep these teachers living in luxury. i want to see these teachers get jobs in the private sector. they would be in for a rude awakening. You might even have to get off your asses and work.
I HAVE been in the schools, thank you, and $76 K is WAY too much. Hey, power to them for getting it, but please, enough with "it's a tough job" crap. I wouldn't want to clean urinals for a living either, but that doesn't mean janitors deserve 76K a year.
The only message this sent to the students is that one side can act like big bullies and hold the other side over a barrel by refusing to work and the law doesn't allow a darn thing to be done about it. If I walk off my job, I get fired. Why should it be any different for unions? Puts way too much power on the side of the union members to act like spoiled brats and get what they want.
I love how they said it was never about the money, but walk away with a big, fat raise guaranteed for 4 years at a time when most people are lucky if they get any raise at all.
"average of about $76,000 annually" That's pretty good money for a 4 year degree. It seems pretty out of line when you compare it to other jobs and compensation rates. Chicago taxpayers should be upset because I've read students there have high dropout rates and terrible test scores.
It is especially out of line with comparable careers when you consider that teachers only work 9 to 10 months of the year.
These teachers(?) willingly accept these pay increases, but determinedly resist any accountability! "How dare anyone evaluate ME! It's not my fault these children don't learn. It's those darn uneducated Parents fault! Never mind that many of the parents are themselves a product of this failed system and victims of some of these same teachers!
And unionized teachers taught their parents.....GO FIGURE
Why not make it a 40% increase over 4 years? Heck, if you run short on money just raise taxes some more and the more you squeeze out of the overtaxed serfs the more you can give away to another union.
why....WHY on earthdid i ever think working a highly skilled trade when i could have had ez street as a Chicago teacher, and make almost 2 times as much being a baby sitter, vs a skilled labor?
The median income for the city of Chicago is around 45.7 thousand dollars per year. Even without any pay increase, compared to the average citizens of Chicago who's labor pays the teachers, these teachers still earn almost double the annual salary. Not bad folks ... not bad at all. Now for reasons which I can not even begin to understand, the negotiator representing the interest of these tax paying citizens ... the mayor ... has agreed to a pay increase for these same teachers at 17.6% over 4 years! Hello ... hey anybody know what the rate of inflation ... you know the cost of living is and what it is projected to be over the next 4 years? I'll bet ya it doesn't even come close to 17.6%! All you working taxpayers of Chicago, go ask your boss for the same increase and see what kind of answer you'll get. But take heart all you taxpayers of Chicago, the teacher's union is breaking out the "good stuff" in celebration of a victory for the students and the community. I think that the required reading for all the students ... well at least for those who can actually read ... should be "Alice in Wonderland" and then write an essay on a comparison between that story and the city of Chicago.
This strike was all about the teachers, nothing about the children or the community thus I am very appalled that the teachers would dare say anything other than that. 17.5% raise is what anyone of the Chicago taxpayers would dream of getting. The teachers union is one of the most corrupt Unions in the US. They care about one thing only - THE Money. This union needs to be busted and the children and the communities need to stand up and fire each and every one of them and start over with teachers who want to teach rather than be bulled in to thinking that just because one is poor you cannot be educated,
These larger districts are perfect for unions where its impossible to replace thousands of teachers a couple of hundred would be possible. Split up these larger districts and the union wouldn't have the power to shutdown a entire citys schools.
Outlaw public sector unions, much cheaper.
That's over 4 percent a year and their pay can not be based on merit. So that means the worst teachers will get the same pay as the best teachers. Yay unions everyone deserves the same no matter how crappy or how good they do. Pukey
That's what unions are all about. Suck the incentive out of the system. Reward the mediocre..
The teachers at our school district get half of Chicago's teachers without any pay raise for years yet our students perform much better. When teachers have 45 student classrooms and 10 yr old books they do a lot of yelling yet somehow that fatter paycheck is more important than any of that.
And the Chicago economy takes another hit. One more step towards national bankruptcy.
Too bad they don't "BACK BETTER EDUCATING STUDENTS". One of the nations lowest reading level systems on the planet.
Unions are the very reason I buy non-union made cars. It's the only way I can fight back. The UAW looted the US Treasury, and I'm supposed to be thrilled; much of the looting was written off and doesn't have to be paid back. The Chicago teachers union should be arrested for child abuse.
They didn't just loot our Treasury, they also looted our Retirement funds! I still refuse to buy a foreign car but you can be assured that my next car will be a Ford!
What good is a 4% annual pay increase when inflation rate is going up 6% annually? All teachers AND politicians AND any union workers should only get a pay increase for performance, like any other profession, we work hard to climb the ladder of success and are rewarded for performance, should be NO DIFFERENT ! Where IS the equality?
This economic package seems way out of line in the current economic climate - and in the long run unsustainable - unless Chicago's citizens can swallow ever increasing taxes paying for a public education system that isn't working by any measure. Rahm's got problems!!!
So these Teachers make $35,000 more than the national average and 12,000 more than Chicago poilce? Plus they have the summer off, christmas break, spring break, sick and vacation days, these teachers have it made. I hope they all have at least a Masters in thier field and actually teach Chicago something.
Of course they agreed to it. Their average salary is 76,000 and now in four years the average will be almost 89,000? The median income was 30,500 in 2011 according to the census bureau. AND they get it no matter what, good teacher, bad teacher, makes no difference since ol' Rahm took out the merit part. Wouldn't it be better for our kids to make teachers perform better to get a raise? Of course at 76000 dollars maybe they should only do a demerit system, then they wouldn't be making tens of thousands more than the average teacher.
Yup, victory, Now lets head down to the Golden Corral and celebrate. what a waste.
S3usarmy from augusta
Yup, victory, Now lets head down to the Golden Corral and celebrate. what a waste.
LOL...my fav place to eat also. But then, my public service job ONLY pays me bout 40 grand a year, and for what I do, I still feel SO overpaid.
Wanna bet you wouldn't find one of these teachers caught dead in a lowly place like G.C. ;)
Can't believe that 21% voted no to this contract....wow.
Too bad they didn't go to the same schools they teach in, they wouldn't have been able to read the contract!!!
What a crock of crap, just don't come looking for a bail out from the federal government after January. New sheriff in town Mr Romney will not put up with this kind of crap.
And you wonder why Chicago is the armpit of the nation.
There are rules to follow. The principal can have a Mercedes. The assistant principal can have a Jag or BMW. The teachers can have anything considered below that. Emphasis on european or japanese vehicles. Driving American is not liberal enough.
They get them in stupid and send them home that way. The idea of actually turning out students capable of anything other the video game play or drive bys is a joke.
What do you expect for only 7% over two years. Remember they retire with 85% of the last 5 years pay. The work all the extra and overtime to boost the last 5 years and retire making more than when they occupied space in the school.
All this and working almost 7 hours a day.
GBA
zorro...I agree with what your wrote except that you limited it to 'liberals'. If you look around neighborhoods with high incomes you will see those expensive cars owned by all types of folks. It is the emphasis on material wealth and greed in this country that is the problem. No thought for future generations.
I know plenty of 'conservatives' who drive expensive foreign cars and 'liberals' who drive inexpensive economy cars.