Quelle surprise !!!: Rahmbo threatens Chicago unions

[marmar]

from the Sun-Times:




Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel is laying down the law to two unions whose cooperation he needs to turn Chicago around: teachers he wants to work a longer school day and laborers he wants to simply show up at work in greater numbers.

During the campaign, Emanuel declared his support for curtailing teachers’ right to strike. He also made it clear that, if teachers won’t agree to work longer hours for extra pay, he’ll ask the Illinois General Assembly to mandate it.

On Monday, Emanuel said he has made his feelings known to a Chicago Teachers Union that did not support his candidacy and to legislative leaders who are scheduled to wrap up their spring session two weeks after the new mayor is sworn in.

Mayor Daley started out demanding 45 extra minutes in the last teachers contract and ended up settling for no change at all. Emanuel sounds like he’s not prepared to take “no” for an answer. ..........(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.suntimes.com/4663932-417/rahm-emanuel-warns-teaching-labor-unions-about-changes.html

[reggie the dog]

1. what an asshole

[Hugabear]

2. +1

Well said

[xchrom]

3. +2 nt

[Parker CA]

5. Yup.

[Shagbark Hickory]

6. +3 nt

[geardaddy]

53. ...

[reggie the dog]

55. are you welsh?

3 of my best buddies here in France are all from Wales. I like the dragon on your flag. The Dragon is also the symbol of the town i live in and our american football team..

[geardaddy]

59. I'm Welsh on my mom's side.

What part of France are you in? I've been to Breizh (Brittany), which was cool.

[reggie the dog]

62. the Var, way down south by the sea

Saint Tropez is in the Var, i live over the mountains, across the big valley and up in the hills from there, about an hour or so away, where it is cheaper. Cannes is about an hour east of where I live.

[geardaddy]

67. Nice!

I've never been to that part of France.

[reggie the dog]

73. no, Nice is about an hour and 15 minutes to the east

;)

[geardaddy]

75. lol

[Shagbark Hickory]

89. sorry to butt in. Lol is about 150km east of Bordeaux.

[geardaddy]

93. Hee hee

Now find that on the map.

;)

[Shagbark Hickory]

97. Here's "that" on a map, per your request.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=That+&aq=&sll=49.047897,2.034338&sspn=0.006301,0.013797&ie=UTF8&hq=That&hnear=&z=16

[Shagbark Hickory]

90. Are you an American ex-pat?

[reggie the dog]

94. yep, an ex pat from Chicago

i came here with a woman i met in grad school and have never looked back, i had my daughter over here who is french (she will eventually get double nationality). I have been here 8 years and have been French for the past 4, but i am still American too. I blog in 2 languages and talk politics about the USA, France and the EU on a daily baisis. I love the quality of life here even if my salary is much lower than it would be in the states. I have single payer national health insurance and keep it even between jobs. Unemployment is 75% of our salary. I love the safety net here. The people are nice enough but most of my friends are English speaking and come from Wales, Scotland, England, Ireland and Australia.

Are you an ex pat too or do you live in Georgia?

[Shagbark Hickory]

96. I live in Georgia, yes.

You answered some of my questions before I even got a chance to ask them.

What line of work are you in and what are your taxes like? Isn't that kind of an agricultural area?

[reggie the dog]

101. I teach history in the usa

i have an MA so that enables me to get jobs teaching in the university here. I have been a history teacher in english for a year at an international school and this year i am an english language assitant in a middle school (this job does not pay well). I manage to earn about 16,000, a year take home, my soon to be ex makes 25 000 a year and we end up paying no income tax on it as i have a child as a dependent and we pay a mortgage on our condo, i usually even get a small credit from the tax people (due to deductions etc. for miles traveled to work (down on the coast).

property tax on a 2 bedroom condo between the "taxe foncière" and the "taxe d'habitation" comes out to 1300 a year.

sales tax is 19.5 on most items.

the rich pay 50% income tax


you have health care all the time even if you dont work, single payer national insurance

the social welfare state is excellent

where i live the area makes money in several ways, there are many military bases (navy, air force for helicopters, army, and an artillery school) civil servants offices are a source of jobs, you have your shops downtown like bakeries, butchers, clothing retouch, clothes, chocolate, cafés and the like, and the countryside has lots of almonds, olives, grapes, lavender and wine is an industry here, there are herds of sheep and goats from here up, but most of the land here is woods, woods and the beginning of the alps. tourism brings in jobs back here in the hills where people like to come spend time in the sun but not with the crowds down on the coase but on the coast tourism is king with yachts, luxury hotels (cannes, nice, saint tropez)

[Shagbark Hickory]

103. Sounds like a lovely place but like so many lovely places with good safety nets...

it doesn't sound like there's an abundance of opportunity.

How hard was it to become a citizen? What did it cost? How long did it take?

Are groceries a lot more expensive than they would be here? Do you pay tax on food that you buy?

[reggie the dog]

146. tax on food is the standard 19.5% sales tax

but groceries are about the same price, my parents thought it was a bit cheaper here than in chicago

it didn't cost anything to become a citizen, i think i paid 75 euros for my French passport but I married a french woman and got nationality that way. It took me 4 years to get nationality that way.

If you can find work you can get a green card or you can apply directly from the usa without a job, it is easier to move to france than it is to move to canada.

in paris there is more opprotunity then where i live for certain.

[axollot]

123. I was an ex-pat - living in the US again. Had the kids overseas

loved every second of it. Long story why I'm still here c'est la vie.

Cheers
sandy

[BigD_95]

122. bullshit!!

Good for him. I care more for the kids then the teachers. They should work longer days. Maybe you should read the entire article. This part is left out:


“If you took a child in Chicago and their cousin in Houston from kindergarten through high school, the cousin in Houston will spend four more years in a classroom in instruction. Compared to Boston or New York, that’s on average about 2.5 more years. ... That’s unacceptable. We need a longer day and a longer year,” Emanuel said.

“I’ve already been in communication with those responsible for that to happen for Chicago, plus other types of things important for education reform. ... I’ve let it be known that you cannot have a city compete for new businesses, for families when you have the shortest school day and school year in the country of any major city. ... We are cheating the children of Chicago on their future.”

[AlecBGreen]

124. Thats complete crap

He needs to check his math.

“If you took a child in Chicago and their cousin in Houston from kindergarten through high school, the cousin in Houston will spend four more years in a classroom in instruction.

[Shagbark Hickory]

4. wrong place

[mod mom]

7. Another investment banker out to protect the pockets of his peeps.

:mad:

[msanthrope]

12. He wants the garbagemen to show up to work.

You might try reading the article. Then explain to me how wanting the garbagemen to stop a daily 33% absenteeism rate is lining the pockets of any investment banker.

[mod mom]

17. "a daily 33% absenteeism rate" although union official said 5%

"Lou Phillips, business manager of laborers Local 1001, insisted that the daily absenteeism rate is more like five percent.

He accused the Daley administration of lumping together employees on duty disability and restricted duty with those who call in sick to “hide the fact that they don’t have enough bodies to do the job” Streets and San is supposed to do."


I DID READ IT. IT'S WHETHER YOU BELIEVE A UNION REPRESENTATIVE OR A MEALY MOUTHED CORPORATIST. JUST WAIT, 1ST THEY ATTACK W FALSE #'S TO MAKE THEIR CASE LOOK LEGIT, THEN THEY'LL WANT OT PRIVATIZE. STRAIGHT OUT OF THE CORPORATIST HANDBOOK.

[msanthrope]

25. Actually, he isn't disputing the 33% rate---merely how it's broken down.

Note that Phillips isn't disputing that 33% of workers aren't there on any given day--he's just noting that he doesn't think that certain classes of workers, those on disability or restriction, should be counted in. He thinks you should only count the people who call in daily, sick.

Which is bunk--if 33% of Chicago garbageman aren't available to work on any given day, then it's time to fix that.

[Hugabear]

78. And if you read the entire article, the union isn't disputing the need to fix the problem

He accused the Daley administration of lumping together employees on duty disability and restricted duty with those who call in sick to “hide the fact that they don’t have enough bodies to do the job” Streets and San is supposed to do.

“If somebody is on duty disability because they got hurt on the job, I’m not Jesus Christ. I can’t heal `em,” Phillips said.

[ThomCat]

99. That's bunk.

Sanitation is a very heavily physical job.

It is very incredibly reasonable that a job like that, which involves constant, mandatory, repetitive lifting of heavy weight would have a high rate of short-term and long-term disability claims.

You can't simply dismiss disability claims as unreasonable and insist that they disappear.

Not only is that unreasonable, it's illegal.

You're talking about one of the most physically strenuous jobs.

You're also talking about a job where people can and do come in contact with noxious, toxic, decayed and rotten substances with can and do sometimes result in people getting sick.

You cannot reasonable insist that people are not allowed to be sick if they work in an environment like that.

That is also unreasonable, immoral and illegal.

[fishwax]

149. +1

:thumbsup:

:hi:

[a2liberal]

109. Yeah, let's fix that!

Let's fire all the people on disability! Who cares that they got injured on the job (or any other way really)? Gotta make the numbers look good! /sarcasm

[Hannah Bell]

42. nice spin on the word "corporatist". orwell would take note.

[roguevalley]

117. Rahm Emanuel has tiny man syndrome. And this sort of explains the

Obama silence about unions. You can tell a lot of things about people from the friends they keep. Rahm Emanuel is a schmuck.

[Hannah Bell]

18. daley says so, it must be true.

"Lou Phillips, business manager of laborers Local 1001, insisted that the daily absenteeism rate is more like five percent.

He accused the Daley administration of lumping together employees on duty disability and restricted duty with those who call in sick to “hide the fact that they don’t have enough bodies to do the job” Streets and San is supposed to do."

[TheKentuckian]

8. What a foul, traitorous piece of used elephant shit that cruel little man is.

[Name removed]

Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Enthusiast]

35. Traitorous?

I don't think so. He was never on 'our' side to begin with.

[TheKentuckian]

91. Surely he and his defenders will argue that he has always been with us and we are too "retarded" to

understand.

I'll stick with traitor as long as he and his fans pretend he is a Democrat.

[Ignis]

80. ...And those are his good qualities.

[loudsue]

104. I like the way you see things, Kentuk....Rahm is an ass.

A republicon infiltrator into the democratic party, trying to remake the party in his own image.

A corporatist, pure and simple.

[Lorien]

107. And if Kkkarl Rove was "Bush's brain" what does that make Rham?

It's no surprise that Obama has had so little to say about unions since taking office.

[Marr]

140. Obama's id?

[phleshdef]

127. Yea, real fucking cruel. Teachers need to work 45 more minutes and public sanitation people need

...to show up for work. WOW, I IS BLOWN AWAY BY THE CRUELTY.

Your all running your god damn mouths without even having read the article.

[JDPriestly]

138. How many hours are teachers working now?

Is he going to count the hours during which they prepare lessons, grade papers, talk to parents, organize (and sometimes clean and paint) their classrooms, hand in grades, etc.? Does he even know how many hours teachers really work?

Time spent with children in the classroom is only a portion of the teachers' working hours.

And isn't the length of the school day determined by the needs of the children?

Children should not sit all day from 8:15-5:00.

In some European countries, children went to school from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and then were sent home with work to do under parental supervision. If that is still done in Europe, it could explain why European children perform better on comparative tests. Children who are being asked to sit too long just become angry. Rahm Emmanuel does not know anything about teaching or children.

I am not a teacher, but I raised children. That's how I know this.

[phleshdef]

143. Apparently not enough according to the President of the Chicago Teachers Union.

And Rahm Emmanual has quite a few children himself. This is just whiney bullshit over nothing and barely even qualifies as news.

[reggie the dog]

9. We need Jesse Jackson

to run next time. another rainbow push candidate????

[msanthrope]

10. OMG!! He wants an honest day's work for an honest day's pay! The teacher's union agrees with him!!!

Obviously, the head of the CTU must be a sellout....



“If you took a child in Chicago and their cousin in Houston from kindergarten through high school, the cousin in Houston will spend four more years in a classroom in instruction. Compared to Boston or New York, that’s on average about 2.5 more years. ... That’s unacceptable. We need a longer day and a longer year,” Emanuel said.

“I’ve already been in communication with those responsible for that to happen for Chicago, plus other types of things important for education reform. ... I’ve let it be known that you cannot have a city compete for new businesses, for families when you have the shortest school day and school year in the country of any major city. ... We are cheating the children of Chicago on their future.”

SNIP--here's the part where the head of the CTU agrees to a longer day---

"But, she agreed with the mayor-elect that Chicago needs a longer school day. The only question is, how schools would use the extra time."

SNIP---AND GODAMNN RAHM EMANUEL FOR DEMANDING THAT THE GARBAGEMEN SHOW UP TO THEIR JOBS!!!!!

"A 33 percent daily absentee rate has put the city in the position that it’s making choices between services it need not make. ... That’s unacceptable to the city,” Emanuel said."

http://www.suntimes.com/4663932-417/rahm-emanuel-warns-teaching-labor-unions-about-changes.html

I understand why these facts didn't make it into your OP.

[tammywammy]

14. The union president agrees they need a longer school day as well.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis branded Houston the “outlier” for instructional minutes, with no “significantly better” results on standardized test to show for it.

But, she agreed with the mayor-elect that Chicago needs a longer school day. The only question is, how schools would use the extra time.

[msanthrope]

16. Obviously, the head of the Chicago teacher's union is anti-union.

I await the OP confirming this. In agreeing to a longer day, for more pay, she has obviously sold out the teachers.

I'm sure she is a TFA, or Eli Broad minion. Probably connected to some rich investment banker. Her election must have been rigged....

I can't wait for the journal exposing the connections.

[Hannah Bell]

21. CTU spokesperson Liz Brown noted that individual schools already have the ability to lengthen

the school day — by reinstating recess and moving lunch from the end to the middle of the day.

[msanthrope]

22. But obviously, the faculties of the schools won't do it voluntarily.

If you read the article, it must be done by faculty vote.

Since that has not happened--and I cannot imagine why it has not happened, because we all know that the faculties are concerned with the education of children primarily---it must be done from the top, to ensure that each and every child in Chicago gets equal time.

In other words--the teachers had the chance to do the right thing themselves. Now they will be made to do it.

[Hannah Bell]

29. it may be obvious to you.

[msanthrope]

38. Apparently, we've got a CPS teachers on the thread-

you should ask her what her school did, and why.

[kenfrequed]

135. Wait...

Does this mean that the Chicago school day is shorter because recess doesn't exist? Does this mean that Daley and Rahm were comparing their schools to Houston's where Recess definitely exists and then pretending that that diminished time is classroom time in order to force teachers to work more hours?

Could someone do some actual research and clear this up? The paper didn't cite any actual statistics and from Rahm's go at the garbagemen it is clear they are juggling the numbers a bit and therefore cannot be taken at face value.

[Jakes Progress]

36. What a crock of a cut and paste. How about a little truth here.

In your desire to crack union heads, you skipped over the part about how the day would work. The fact is that the union is against adding unpaid hours for test prep.

rahm is doing a good old republican job of stirring up hate for unions. People here on DU are joining in this tried and true neocon snow job.

Had a the republican governor of Wisconsin or Ohio tried this, DU would be up in arms. But since it's Obama's faux-democratic buddy, then the unions must go.

Do you really know anything about education in Chicago or do you just get all you information from one slanted newspaper article?

Try this. Do you support ending unions right to strike? Do you support adding work hours to a day without compensation? Do you believe that "standardized" tests are the best measure for a school?

Besides just lining up behind any one or anything that has touched, stood next to, or breathed the same air as Obama, try answering those questions for yourself.

[msanthrope]

46. In the second paragraph, he calls for more pay for a longer day. Which busts your post.

Look, not even the head of the teacher's union can come up with a cogent argument as to why Chicago has the shortest day of any major city in the nation.

Fighting over that common-sense point isn't going to garner you support for anything else.

[Jakes Progress]

54. Ahhh. As I thought. You don't know anything about Chicago schools.

Check out the "extra pay" that is being offered. Check out the "teaching" that rahm is asking for. The goal here is drumming up support from the uninformed to do what Scott did in Wisconsin - knee cap the unions.

Is this article your only introduction to the issue? Is knee-jerk union attacking your first response to not having all the info?

Go back to my reply and try answering these questions:

Do you support ending unions right to strike? Do you support adding work hours to a day without compensation? Do you believe that "standardized" tests are the best measure for a school?

[phleshdef]

132. You are just making shit up now.

This is not even remotely close to "union busting". Mayors and Governors, many ultimately pro-labor, have been asking public workers to do things for years. Its part of their fucking job. Wanting a slightly longer school day or wanting more sanitation workers to show up for work is not some world shattering, anti-union ploy. You sound so utterly ridiculous that its hard to even articulate a response with any substance.

[JDPriestly]

139. If you are correct, phleshdef, and this is not unionbusting, and if as some

others have said here, the union supports a longer schoolday, then the appropriate thing for Emmanuel to have done would have been to make a joint announcement with union leaders that the classroom schedule will be changed and the day lengthened.

Rahm Emmanuel has changed what you are suggesting is not "union busting" into a confrontational issue. Not smart.

[phleshdef]

141. I think the original article makes it seem a lot more confrontational than it is.

A mayor pushes for longer school days and less absenteeism for sanitation workers. Thats the story and its pretty friggin' normal, unoffensive stuff.

[Hannah Bell]

47. "People here on DU are joining in this tried and true neocon snow job."

the usual suspects. they join in on every attack on teachers.

without exception, in every city where it happens, they're here defending the attackers and justifying the attack.

initially i thought it might be city- or issue-specific.

now i understand that it's not. they want ed deform & busted teachers unions. everywhere.

[msanthrope]

50. Paying teachers more money for more work is a neocon snow job?

Having the garbagemen pick up the garbage???

Yes..it's all a plot...a great neocon plot to have children better educated and the garbage picked up....

[Jakes Progress]

56. Can the neocon rant.

You don't know what is going on in Chicago. In the thread above, you give evidence that this single article is you only background.

You are unknowingly abetting a union knee-capping. Do you care?

[Hannah Bell]

68. no. she has been on every such thread defending the attack for the last year or more.

[Hannah Bell]

66. $1 is "more money".

[phleshdef]

133. LOL. Seriously, I'm speechless at the foamy mouthed ignorance going down in this thread.

[RaleighNCDUer]

134. How much more money for how much more work?

Every hour of instruction time incurs an additional half hour of paperwork - grading papers, tests, etc. And that ratio goes up if you have overcrowded classrooms.

Every teacher i know who is working an "eight hour" day (six of instruction) is putting in more like 11 or 12 hours, including make-up time on weekends. And they are NOT getting paid for that extra 4 hours/day. So requiring an extra hour per day is also requiring an extra half hour of unpaid labor each day - more, if the are 25-35 kids in the class instead of 18-25.

As for the sanitation workers, you want guys to go to work despite job incurred disabilities? If 5% call in sick on a given day, but there is 33% absenteeism because the short and long term disabled are lumped in with it, that means that at any given time 28%, more than a quarter of the workforces, is out with muscle strains, ruptured disks, pinched nerves, and assorted injuries - if you want to make up that difference HIRE 25% MORE MEN. Of course, you can't do that because then you'd have people sitting around on the odd days that fewer than average numbers are out for legitimate reasons. Sanitation work is physically demanding and often hazardous. There is simply nothing that can be done about it other than preemptively over-hire.

You'd think a Democrat would have more respect for working people.

[Wait Wut]

52. +1

A longer school day is NOT to punish the teachers, but to enrich education. If any Progressive had suggested this it would be the bestest, most awsomest idea EVER!!!

[reggie the dog]

61. But teachers should be paid the same salary for that extra hour

that the get for their regular hours, not less. The "overtime" pay offered per hour, from what i have read, is not even as much as what the teachers get paid for a regular hour of class in their schedule. I did my student teaching in the CPS and was all set to start working at Clementé High School but then moved to France but i still watch what is happening to teachers in my hometown. If they want more work they should not insult the union and the teachers by offering pay LOWER than that of the base salary for the extra hours given. Would you work overtime if each overtime hour you worked LOWERED your hourly pay rate?

[eilen]

137. How well educated are the children in Houston?

Maybe they need that extra 45 min to keep up with everyone else.

[damntexdem]

11. Thank goodness we got him out of the WH.

Now the unions in Chicago need to make his life unbearable.

[cascadiance]

19. At least the Rahm-per Room has been moved off the national stage...

It's too bad that Chicago Democrats couldn't have put him out of his misery and voted him out in the primaries, etc. I guess now they have to deal with him for a while before he comes up for election again...

[marsis]

13. Rahm

I have worked for Chicago Democrats for over ten years. Two things I know are that Republicans hate labor and so do Chicago Democrats. You'd think the Dems would at least have an open ear to labor but you'd be wrong. I've found that Chicago Democrats actually hate labor MORE than the Repugs.

[Swede]

15. He wants a longer school day,and street workers to show up for work.

What a monster!

[msanthrope]

20. Wanting the garbage picked up is apparently not a 'progressive value.' We are DLC whores,

obviously...

[reggie the dog]

64. and mandating that people out on disability come in to work

will help what?

[madfloridian]

24. No, he wants to bust the unions.

[msanthrope]

27. Then why does the head of the teacher's union agree with him??? Is she busting her own union?

Not for anything, madfloridian, but when you reflexively call 'union-busting' when someone demands that a union member show up to work and work 8 hours, you sort of undercut your own argument, IMHO.

[reggie the dog]

65. The head of the union agrees in principle to have longer days

but disagrees about pay and what will be done in those hours.

[Recursion]

114. And Rahm's negotiating about that

Can Democrats not negotiate with public sector unions anymore? Has Walker left everybody that handshy?

[reggie the dog]

148. when Rahm's negotiation technique is to outlaw strikes

then no, that democrat cannot negotiate with public sector unions.

[frylock]

83. lets get back to the sanitation dept issue that you keep bringing up..

the one that was addressed by explaining that people on disability are counted as part of the 33% absentee rate.

[AngryAmish]

136. In chicago garbage trucks have 3 person crews

Driver, two guys who wheel the cart over to the truck and hit a button for the machine to dump it.

Obviously, one wants to be the driver because you sit all day out of the elements listening to the radio.

Most other municipalities have two man crews for the same job.

Private trucks have one man crews. They wheel dumpsters by themselves over to the truck - much harder than the garbage cans in Chicago.

Bottom line: the injury and disability rate is a joke and everyone knows it. In IL every worker has the right to get their own treatment, which means going to certain doctors who will let them off work. I see it all the time. Eventually the City will ask for their own medical review but that is months down the line.

[joeglow3]

23. They are looking at moving lunch from the end of the day???

What time does school get out that they have lunch at the end of the day? Frankly, based on this, sounds like a reasonable request. In fact, as a parent, I would be in everyone's face DEMANDING this change.

[Tatiana]

26. It's highly ironic that Democrats are the ones attacking and denigrating teachers and their unions.

I guess they don't need our support anymore. And I guess they also have a vested interest in a dumbed-down curriculum and service-based, inexperienced TFA instructors.

Is our children learning? Not if our politicians on both sides have anything to do with it!

[msanthrope]

28. The head of the union agrees with Rahm about the school day. Is that highly ironic?

And I know that TFA is the root of all evil, but what the hell do they have to do with this?

[Tatiana]

34. I am all for a longer school day. But teachers should be compensated for the extra time.

Are you saying Karen Lewis is asking teachers to work for free? Cause that's not what I heard in our last meeting.

[msanthrope]

37. If you clicked and read the article, you would note that you would be getting more $. Tell us,

though--has your school voluntarily lengthened its day? Apparently you have the ability to do so, through faculty vote. (See discussion upthread.)

[Tatiana]

44. That's what Daley said initially, then tried to backdoor tack on the time without paying us.

When we brought up the contract, Daley decided he would sit kids in front of a computer for an extra period at the end of the day supervised by non-certified staff, since he felt that would be cheaper than paying a certified teacher to actually instruct students for the extra period.

I don't trust Rahm anymore than I do Daley at this point. We've asked for an extended day before to restore some of the specials that had been cut, but were told there was no $$$. So where are they getting the money from now when we're looking at an even BIGGER deficit?

My current school has a longer school day than most in the city. I assume it was extended by faculty vote; the hours were in place when I arrived. Most elementary schools do this to add recess back into their schedule.

[msanthrope]

48. Daley isn't the mayor anymore.

What are your actual school hours?

[Hannah Bell]

51. The initiative started with daley.

[Tatiana]

60. 7 am - 3:30 p.m.

And there is no doubt in my mind that Rahm will be picking up where Daley left off. I hope I'm proven wrong but I doubt I will be. He's already going forth with Daley's plan of additional charters.

As Karen Lewis has stated, Rahm needs to sit down at the negotiating table and drop the threats to go to the legislature before actually sitting down and exchanging thoughts and ideas with the teachers' union.

[reggie the dog]

77. as a kid in the suburbs i had school from

9:10 am until 3:30 pm with 45 minutes lunch an play time plus another recess if teacher let us. School district 59 was very highly rated too.

[apnu]

86. at the CPS elementary school a few blocks from my house on the Northside this happens...

The teachers want a longer day, the parents want a longer day (free daycare they say "yay!" But that's another story). The school day here ends at 1:45PM, which varies from school to school. But the school does not get the funds from CPS to have a longer day or more teachers. So all the classrooms have volunteer parents assisting the teachers and then there are extensive after school programs but they either have a fee so the school can afford them or the local parents group has to fund raise aggressively to pay for classes and programs. Like music and arts classes, plus, full time kindergarten.

So yeah they can lengthen the day, but they don't have the funds to do so, or the teachers have to work pro-bono and they're already paid like shit, so that's out of the question as far as I'm concerned.

And that's a Northside school in a good district with good money around. I shudder to think about the middle and lower class areas of the city. Looking on the CPS website I see that schools in worn-out neighborhoods have longer school days. And they need cash more than we do on the Northside.

Chicago's mess isn't because of the teaching union (though they do have a glorious history of striking, in the 1980's it seemed like they had a strike every year which is probably why Rahm's being a hard-ass now), no Chicago's problems are waste, graft, and outright theft. We have some of the highest taxes in the country, property, sales and gas takes are tops, and yet the city still has to get loans from the state and the Feds. And on top of that we run crazy deficits. Daley privatizing the parking system and tolls (see the rates to go over the Skyway in the past decade if you want to freak out) The system here is grossly broken and needs to be overhauled because City Hall is just sucking up cash and taking it home. There is no other way to put it. This is something Rahm will never try to fix. And that's the problem. Daley wouldn't fix it and Rahm won't fix it -- The Machine runs too well for the fat-cats to let someone like the Mayor introduce sanity to how things work around here.

I've always said that Chicago is a one party town, and its not Republican or Democrat, the one party is "Chicago"

[tammywammy]

40. No, no one's asking them to work longer days without more pay.

"During the campaign, Emanuel declared his support for curtailing teachers’ right to strike. He also made it clear that, if teachers won’t agree to work longer hours for extra pay, he’ll ask the Illinois General Assembly to mandate it."


Karen Lewis agrees with having a longer school day:
"But, she agreed with the mayor-elect that Chicago needs a longer school day. The only question is, how schools would use the extra time."

[Tatiana]

70. Do you honestly see no problem with a DEMOCRAT flat out saying he wants to curtail a worker's right

to strike?

And Rahm is saying teachers will be compensated just like Daley did. I don't believe they intend to compensate teachers at all. Daley surely didn't and this extended day is Daley's baby. As if he knows anything about public education.

[tammywammy]

85. "Do you honestly see no problem with a DEMOCRAT flat out saying he wants to curtail a worker's...

right to strike?"

Where did I say I agreed with that?

[reggie the dog]

72. the extra pay received is then taken out of benefits packages

or in another of their plans would simply be paid less per hour than the hours the teachers are already giving. would you work extra hours if each extra hour were paid less per hour than your normal base salary?

[w4rma]

82. Purge DLCers. Every one of them. (nt)

[axollot]

126. Yes please! Freakin rats since Reagan. n/t

[bvar22]

95. What are you going to do?

What are the Teachers going to do?
Vote for a Republican?
Hahahahahahahahahaha!

[truebrit71]

30. Wants to give them extra pay for a longer day...what, exactly, is the issue with that?

If he was saying work longer at NO extra pay, I could see why it would be a big deal, otherwise :shrug:

[tammywammy]

31. Apparently longer hours with more pay is the new union busting technique

:shrug:

[msanthrope]

32. The issue is Rahm, and selectively chosen excerpts....

All good progressive DUers are supposed to hate Rahm.

All good progressive DUers are supposed to reflexively back all union workers.

All good progressive DUers are not supposed to click the link on OPs and note inconvenient facts that don't jibe with the OP's take....

[reggie the dog]

69. the pay rate is what is important

they want to give extra pay that is less per hour than what the teachers get for teaching per hour. if i teach 20 hours and you add 2 more i should receive at least 10% more pay. From what i have read before the idea in Chicago is that teachers will be paid less because they will not be "teaching" they will be "supervising test prep"... so in other words each extra hour taught will lower a teacher's average hourly salary.

[druidity33]

147. Don't even bother...

you won't get a reasoned reply from this crew. Obfuscate, misdirect, shout, repeat, etc. For some reason they don't understand that a situation can be both complicated and misrepresented by the Paper reporting it. How is it surprising that Rahm is playing with the numbers? Of course he is going to frame his position so that there can be no disagreement. It's the "solutions" he proposes that are the problem...

:shrug:

[Enthusiast]

33. What does this tell us

about the Obama Administration?

[Jakes Progress]

39. That the man has lousy judgement in choosing who he will listen to.

That is the best face that could be put on it. Either he is totally screwed up in his judgement and incapable of thinking for himself or he is somewhere to the extreme right of Bill Clinton in his views.

[Enthusiast]

84. That would be my take. nt

[JackDragna]

41. Questions I have..

Firstly, where's the research a longer school day is going to benefit students? Will the additional 45 minutes add anything meaningful to these kids' education? Secondly, what mandates will be attached to the longer school day?

[FormerDittoHead]

43. And he'll get it because he knows how to get stuff done WHEN HE REALLY WANTS IT DONE. n/t

[sabrina 1]

45. "That's a fucking retarded idea"!!

:rofl:

[msanthrope]

49. Paying teachers more for a longer school day and having the garbage picked up?n/t

[sabrina 1]

57. Going after Blue Dogs and replacing them with real Progressives?

[Jakes Progress]

58. Stop this until you really know what you are talking about.

Say I wanted you to work for two more hours for an extra buck fifty and that i would deduct that sum from you benefit package. That sound good to you?

You don't know anything other than the line that rahm is peddling. His goal is the same as the Wisconsin gov. Stop helping him.

[reggie the dog]

71. exactly, each extra hour worked lowers your overal average pay

and benefits. i bet teachers would agree to work if they were paid overtime, time and a half that is, and not have the money come out of their benefits. hell many would work it if the hours were paid the same rate per hour as their other hours taught if there were no reduction in benefits.

[Jakes Progress]

98. The neocons love to paint it being just about money.

The point is the same as it was in Wisconsin. It is just another trick to cut out unions. DU should be so ashamed that members are so anti-union.

The new party emerges - The NeoDems. Just another giant step toward achieving grover norquist's dreams.

[fishwax]

150. delete -- dupe

[fishwax]

151. curtailing the union's right to strike n/t

[Arugula Latte]

63. nt

[Taverner]

74. Who the fuck side is he on?

[Hannah Bell]

76. you have to ask?

[Taverner]

79. No I don't

Jeez why can't he just call a spade a spade and run as a Republican?

[w4rma]

81. The totality of his actions have proven him to be against Americans and for the idle wealthy. (nt)

[apnu]

87. He's a Chicago pol, so he's on Rahm's side and no one else's.

That's how it works around here. Chicago is Democrat in name only, has been that way my whole life, going all the way back to Daley the Builder and probably beyond that.

But look on the bright side, the last time we had a Republican Mayor, Big Bill Thompson, Al Capone had to pay him 1 million a year to look the other way. So it could be a lot worse than the nightmare we have now.

[axollot]

128. Born there - raised partially there but have family entrenched

there and Chicago is crooked. Had problems leaving Australia with the kids due to an objection from ex (went through the courts properly to over rule him because he was abusive) had relatives ready to contact the senators - to call some chips in so to speak. Didnt need it, wouldnt ask for it either.

Cheers
sandy

[Bluebear]

105. OMG no question

[TBF]

118. I think we all know which side Rahm is on.

At least he's not in Washington anymore, not sure if the unions in Chicago are strong enough to fight him or not (they used to be). Watching democrats attack workers gives me the creeps. What a horrible mockery the party has become.

[Mnemosyne]

88. Rather surprised it took him this long. n/t

[Little Star]

92. I can't stand that asshole Rahm!

[TNLib]

100. DLC Fucker

nt

[Canuckistanian]

102. Gee, who could have predicted that?

Any union member who voted for him is probably regretting it. Why don't people PAY ATTENTION to who they're voting for?

[liberal life]

106. K&R

http://fucorporatemedia.com/

[OwnedByFerrets]

108. Mr Corporate doing his thing, just as he did in Washington

[NorthCarolina]

110. Gotta love those "New Dems" .

:puke:

[RegieRocker]

113. Nope

[Recursion]

111. Negotiating with unions is not union-busting

Getting concessions from unions is not union busting. Mayors aren't supposed to give unions everything they want.

[RegieRocker]

112. And no one sees a connection since he was Obama right hand man?

[marmar]

115. Osama?

[RegieRocker]

116. Damn swype!

[Fearless]

119. Told you so. More of the Obama Corporation politics.

[Exilednight]

120. He can't let Governor Walker have all the fun of kicking unions in the head. n/t

[cui bono]

121. We should all send him a dead fish.

:mad:

[phleshdef]

125. LOL and the CHICAGO TEACHERS UNION PRESIDENT AGREES WITH HIM.

Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis branded Houston the “outlier” for instructional minutes, with no “significantly better” results on standardized test to show for it.

But, she agreed with the mayor-elect that Chicago needs a longer school day. The only question is, how schools would use the extra time.

And then his other demand:

The Sun-Times reported last week that the Daley administration is making dramatic cutbacks in forestry and rodent control services as it struggles to sweep the streets and pick up garbage amid a two-year hiring freeze and chronic absenteeism.

“A 33 percent daily absentee rate has put the city in the position that it’s making choices between services it need not make. ... That’s unacceptable to the city,” Emanuel said.

“Residents and taxpayers and people that expect these services deserve better and they will get better. And I asked the leaders of organized labor to be that partner in solving this problem.”

And I'm suppose to be outraged at Rahm over that WHY?

[mopinko]

129. i don't take that as a threat.

we need a longer school day, we have one of the shortest in the country.
and 33% absenteeism? with all the people looking for work? get outta here.

i sure wish folks had a little more respect for the voters of chicago.

[LaurenG]

130. So is there a difference between him and republicans?

because I'm just not seeing a democrat here.

[WinkyDink]

131. PA. Gov. Corbett = same mission; same orifice.

[mistertrickster]

142. Working longer hours for extra pay? That's not exactly Hitler-esque.

Most teachers I know--as in the vast majority--would agree to that if the pay increase is decent.

[Gregorian]

144. This is a perfect example of why DU is so great.

Sorting out the good and bad, right and wrong. It's also a good example of why we should argue, and why we should not get emotional about arguing, but learn from our perspectives and experiences.

[russspeakeasy]

145. So that's what he was saving his energy for...!

[Jack Rabbit]

152. I knew Chicago should have elected a Democrat

Wasn't there one running?