What The Chicago Teacher Strike Is About
I don't have the words to convey the ire I feel toward public school teachers who would strike against taxpayers and students. Let me reiterate that, against taxpayers and students. I write those words because that is who the teachers are striking against, not "management." Government isn't business. There is no wealth creation or insufficient distribution of profit earned by all sections of the supply chain. No. There are services paid for by taxpayers. Taxpayers who have agreed to pay a certain percentage of their wages, and have additional monies added to their purchases, in order to pay for services.
"Management" isn't "exploiting" hard working teachers. Teachers are exploiting hard working taxpayers.
Let me just share a couple of quotes and facts regarding the issue.
Chicago Public Schools had to agree to hire new teachers to prevent teachers from working a 7-hour-40-minute day, an " unworkable, seven-hour, 40-minute teacher work day," as described by CTU President Karen Lewis.
Unworkable?
According to the Sun Times, Chicago teachers currently have 170 "instructional" days and work 1039 instructional hours. For this, they make an average of $71,000 a year excluding benefits (using the union's lower average figure). This means that a teacher makes $68.33 per instructional hour.
The average full time worker works 8 hours a day. They work 2000 hours a year (if they take two weeks of vacation).
The median income for a "household" in Chicago is $46,877. This is $9,000 less than the average household income for the state of Illinois.
This means that the median worker in Chicago makes $23.44 an hour. Not nothing, but almost a third of what a teacher makes.
The average employee doesn't have near the perks and benefits of a Chicago teacher. The average employee is paid by a company that is distributing profits. A strike against a company doesn't deal with money that is compulsory. If customers are frustrated by striking workers, or a company's policies regarding its employees, they can buy from a competitor.
If a taxpayer is disgusted with the CTU or CPS, they "can" pull their kids out to pay for a private school. Though they will then be paying for two educations -- the public one taken from taxes as well as the private one -- and will likely be doing so on a salary that is a little more than half what a teacher makes and while working roughly twice as many hours.
Teachers are on the gravy train. They've got it easy, and they have the future in their hands.
It is a travesty.
"Unworkable seven-hour, 40-minute teacher work day?" I guess all those double shifts I worked in construction and at the casinos for a lower wage than teachers were "unworkable" too.
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Comments:
Sep '10
Re: What The Chicago Teacher Strike Is About
ConservativeWanderer: Looks like Teh Won is starting to get some of the blame from the union thugs masquerading as teachers:
I'm sure the signs were professionally printed by a union shop, too. · 0 minutes ago
It's probably not the September surprise the president was hoping for.
Jun '12
Re: What The Chicago Teacher Strike Is About
drlorentz
ConservativeWanderer: Looks like Teh Won is starting to get some of the blame from the union thugs masquerading as teachers:
I'm sure the signs were professionally printed by a union shop, too. · 0 minutes ago
It's probably not the September surprise the president was hoping for. · 13 minutes ago
That's what makes it a surprise! (evil grin)