Beth-Center teachers’ strike makes students pawn in union’s greedy game
If the taxpayers and parents of Beth-Center School District are not already aware, the teachers’ union originally asked for a $1,900 raise for the next five years. The school board offered $,1300, which was turned down by the union. Monday night, Oct., 16, negotiations began again. However, they were unsuccessful in coming to an agreement because the union is now asking for even more, a raise of $2,200. The school board is firm at $1,300 but is still willing to negotiate. The board is also taking into consideration the taxpayers of the community who cannot afford the increased tax. I am not anti-teacher by any means. We have some great teachers at B-C. However, there are a lot of people in the B-C school district as well as people in Pennsylvania who need to educate themselves about the facts.
Have you ever heard of “forced unionism”? Not all teachers in Pennsylvania have to pay forced union fees, only those where an agency-shop clause “fair-share” exists in the local contract.
B-C is one of those districts that has an “agency-shop” agreement in their contract.
It is not indentured servitude to be a teacher. Any teacher is free to leave and seek a job that pays them a better salary. Less than 1 percent of teachers leave the profession. It’s a pure entitlement attitude. Since it is impossible to replace a striking teacher with a qualified applicant, the union argument about being competitive is garbage.
There are plenty of qualified applicants looking for teaching jobs. These people stand little chance of a job because of the protectionist system of tenure. Teachers are public employees who are paid with our public tax dollars. A teachers’ strike is a strike against our children and all taxpayers.
Firefighters, police and the military all serve the public interest without a right to strike. If a teacher does not want to be a public servant and does not want to serve children’s best interests, then they should find another job.
I’m sorry if I offend any teachers, but it’s true. People who believe in teachers’ strikes do not believe in the notion of public service. Nor do they believe, or have they even read Article 3 Sec. 14 of the PA Constitution, which says, “The General Assembly shall provide for the maintenance and support of a thorough and efficient system of public education to serve the needs of the Commonwealth.”
So tell me, do you believe that teachers’ strikes are a way of providing a thorough and efficient system of public education which to serve the needs of the Commonwealth and, most importantly, the needs of our children?
Those teachers who don’t want to strike have no choice because there is no law in Pennsylvania that does not allow them to strike.
The union operates a monopoly system that is routinely abused and it’s the children who suffer. It’s bad enough that the union has forced our children out of school and even worse to know that we’re paying for the picket signs.
Teachers are compensated very well with health care, retirement and job security components that are amazing compared to the rest of this working community (which pays the teachers’ salaries).
The bottom line: if they don’t like it, don’t take the job. Teachers know what the average salary is at any particular school district where they may be applying for a job. They should know even before they decide to go into the teaching profession.
If it’s only about the money, then go into another profession that is known to pay a higher salary. If any teacher is in this profession just for the paid summers, well, shame on you!
The teacher’s union is the only union that can go on strike without any financial penalties. Because of the current law passed in 1992 (Act 88), the number of academic days that must be completed in a school year is 180. So, teachers are still paid even though they strike.
Don’t you wish you could just refuse to show up for work and get more money? It’s nothing more than intimidation of taxpayers, with children being used as negotiating pawns. When they fight, we need to fight back.
The teachers have a right to collectively bargain. They should not have a right to strike. First is the education of our children.
The students of B-C schools, as well as all Pennsylvania students, should have the legal right to receive a strike-free education from the tax dollars that we pay. Children in 38 other states are given this legal right.
House Bill 2921 was introduced on Sept., 25, 2006 to ban teacher strikes in Pennsylvania, and provide for a fair and transparent contract dispute resolution process. This bill can be read in its entirety by going to http://www.stopteacherstrikes.org/index.php?pr=New_Legislation
This bill would allow for teachers to negotiate their contracts without going on strike and the children would not suffer any loss of education.
Taxpayers, parents and teachers are encouraged to attend the next B-C school board meeting on Oct. 23 at 7 p.m., and to sign the petition to help pass House Bill 2921.
We need to teach our children to stand up and fight for what you believe in.
What part of, “Our children come first” do you not understand?
Crystal Dillon resides in Centerville Borough.