Friedrichs: Did Justice Sotomayor Claim Teacher Unions Are Company Unions?

We’ve already permitted subsidization of bar associations, of government programs. We’ve permitted assessments on a lot of different levels, so why can’t the government, as employer, create a State entity? Because this union under California law is a State entity.... Justice Sotomayor

Mike Antonucci dug up the nugget below.

We have often claimed that the UFT/NYSUT/AFT educational complex often functioned like a sort of company union - the support for ed deform for so long has been a major indicator.

The discussion then veered off into the weeds of whether the teachers’ union is a creation of the State, which I’m sure must have puzzled the union members and officers in the audience. 

I think that history shows that the UFT especially was in many ways a creation of the state. We'll delve into some of that history another time.

While the "company union" term may not be totally apt, I believe that the creation of public service unions was partially inspired by the desires of the powers that be to be able to use these unions to assist in controlling the workers. My recent posts on Detroit is an example of the threat a rank and file off their leash poses.

And we have here in NYC seen the most restrictive leash by our own ruling Unity caucus party. If the UFT under Unity control were failing due to Friedrichs, watch the powers that be rush in to ensure its survival. They need a cooperative non-militant union as a partner.

I remember being at a reception and running into the 2nd command at the DOE. It was during the Chicago teacher strike. He looked worried. "Do you think Mulgrew could go that way," he asked? I broke out in hysterical laughing. "You have no worries," I said.

Here is Mike's full post:

Justice Sotomayor’s Ingenious Solution to the Agency Fee Problem

Written By: Mike Antonucci - Jan• 12•16

I spent most of yesterday answering questions and reading analysis about oral arguments in the Friedrichs case before the U.S. Supreme Court. Everyone seems to be enjoying reading the tea leaves, but we’ll find out soon enough. In the meantime, it is only prudent for the unions to continue to prepare for the worst.

Almost all of the commentary I read focused on the line of questioning – often hostile – by the conservative Justices towards attorneys for the union respondents. I can’t fathom how everyone overlooked this fascinating proposition by Justice Sonia Sotomayor.

We’ve already permitted subsidization of bar associations, of government programs. We’ve permitted assessments on a lot of different levels, so why can’t the government, as employer, create a State entity? Because this union under California law is a State entity.

I don’t know what went through the mind of Friedrichs attorney Michael A. Carvin upon hearing this, but he responded in the only sensible way.
“No,” he said.
Justice Sotomayor then read from the respondents’ brief of the California Attorney General, which cited the Perry case.

“When recognized as the exclusive bargaining representative, a union assumes an official position in the operational structure of a school.” So it seems to me that ­­– and California tells the union what topics it can negotiate on, it requires them to do training, and in the end it accepts their recommendations with respect to the issues of employment at its own will, meaning the State is creating the union as part of the employment training and other responsibilities.

The discussion then veered off into the weeds of whether the teachers’ union is a creation of the State, which I’m sure must have puzzled the union members and officers in the audience. Justice Sotomayor eventually returned to the debate. She asked Carvin whether, without the benefit of agency fees, the union could claim it could not financially fulfill the duties of exclusive representative and ask the school district to pay those expenses.
Carvin then asked if she meant could the government subsidize the union’s collective bargaining efforts. “Mm­-hmm,” she replied.

MR. CARVIN: I think they might be able to, but of course no State—
JUSTICE SOTOMAYOR: All right. So why can’t they assess ­­ — why can’t they assess all of their employees a tax for that contribution?

Who could have guessed that the way out of the agency fee mess was for school districts to form company unions? And then charge teachers for the privilege?
Carvin noted this would be a violation of the National Labor Relations Act and the discussion moved on. It apparently stuck in the mind of Justice Samuel Alito, however. Later on, when California Solicitor General Edward C. Dumont was beginning to present his case, Justice Alito interrupted him:

JUSTICE ALITO: Before you get into that, could I just ask you a preliminary question that came up earlier in the argument? Do you think that the California Teachers Association is an agency of the State of California?
MR. DUMONT: No. I think a — ­­ a — ­­ a union that becomes an exclusive representative, under the Perry case, has an official place in the functioning of the school district. But it is not ­­– it does not become an organ of the State.

Some of us here in California have often worried that CTA was a de facto part of the government. Apparently Justice Sotomayor thought it was de jure.

Everything He Touches Turns to Shit: Will Joel Klein New Venture in Health Insurance Sink Obamacare?

This will likely lead to yet another major flop. really he should have stayed in the Justice Dept. where no one realized his incompetence.  Hopefully he'll stay out of education for good!... comment on listserve

Uncle Joel has a new job. And yet another venture to fuck up.

Joel Klein, Ex-New York Schools Chancellor, to Join Health Insurance Start-Up

Trouble in a UFT Charter - Bronx Charter School Says F-U to UFT Teachers

The contract for members of the school's staff who belong to the United Federation of Teachers expired in June, and although tax forms show that the academy's net assets increased from about $1.4 million in 2011 to $3.2 million in 2013, the board is still trying to reduce the annual increase that teachers get for experience, union members said.

Dave Zimmerman, a fourth grade teacher at the Bronx Academy of Promise charter school who has also been there for six years, said that he knew teachers at the academy could not expect their pay scale to match the Department of Education's but still viewed the potential new contract as insulting.

The board wants to reduce the teachers' annual salary increase from roughly 3.5 percent a year to 2 percent a year, and until the new contract is approved, teachers will not receive raises and continue to earn what they did during the 2014-15 school year, according to the union.

Charters present a much greater threat to teacher unions than Friedrichs. I will keep saying this time and again. Yet we hear a lot of hang wringing over the impact of Friedrichs as the death of the union. Non-union charters will kill the union in the long run. And as the story below shows, even UFT unionized charters can spit in the face of the union at will.

We see how the charter industry is so excited at more giveaways.

The UFT response is to organize teachers at charters.

Even if they managed to organize every charter we would still have each school on its own bargaining individually with no real power for mass action which was what won things for us at the very beginning.

The story below at DNA Info about a UFT organized charter and illustrates how they can spit in the face of the UFT despite a "contract."

Detroit Sickout Mystery: Who is Leading and Who is Trying to Stop It?

Why am I reporting so much on the Detroit wildcat sickout? Because of comments I've seen by dissident teachers here in NYC who are hoping for a UFT loss on Friedrichs and feel that with a weaker union teachers will arise from their slumber and revolt - and Detroit may be a model for a weak union. So I'm trying to decipher exactly what is happening - are there leaders who organized this? To what extent is this spontaneous combustion?

...the DFT [Detroit Federation of Teachers]—discredited for its willingness to sign onto any concessions contract, layoff and school closure handed down by a succession of emergency managers—has been unable to stop or control the sickouts and has gone into crisis mode. For the DFT and its national parent organization, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), it is now ‘all hands on deck’ to try to quell the protests while at the same time trying to prevent further loss of union membership come next June, when members will be able to opt-out under the state’s right-to-work law.

Meanwhile, the corporate media, from the local Detroit press to the New York Times and UK-based Guardian, have falsely claimed ousted DFT president Steve Conn is the leader of the protests. But teachers have gone through an experience with Conn’s brand of pseudo-left racial politics and unprincipled maneuvers with the Democratic Party, and the organizers of the sickouts have specifically dissociated themselves from him.... the 4th International, World Socialist Website

There is too much information coming in on what forces are behind the revolt in Detroit which may be a true rank and file movement independent of the official union, the Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) and Steve Conn and his group BAMN.

We've reported on Steve Conn's story of being elected as president and then removed and tossed from the union. Knowing the DFT which follows Randi Weingarten's lead was too  passive to lead the sickout I assumed that it had to be Steve.

Well-known and trusted blogger Nancy Flanigan posted a comment on Ed Notes and a link to her blog affirming that the union is not involved but also casting doubt on the role Steve Conn has played. Nancy Flanagan on Detroit Sickout.

 This story has been reported, as all stories are reported in MSM, by contacting union leaders, rather than garden-variety teachers. Because that's what reporters do, when they want to hear the "teachers' voice." As you well know, official union leadership (as well as deposed leadership) does not always represent what classroom teachers really want. Steve Conn has taken credit for a bubbling surge of rage that he had no hand in instigating--here's a quote from a DPS teacher:

"Mr. Conn held a meeting this afternoon first touting it as teachers taking a strike vote and then as an endorsement of the current sick outs. He even went so far as to encourage yet another sick out on the 20th for people to show up at his hearing and show their support for him! Imagine closing down the schools over an internal union issue rather than an issue with the schools. And that gives you an idea at how crazy things really are right now."

Public hearings would a chance for the conditions in DPS and the dedication of DPS teachers to be heard, rather than glossed over or buried under still more governmental blah-blah. Here in Detroit, there is no school board, there is no democracy--there is management by fiat. A public hearing would be something the press could report on.

I'm curious since Steve Conn did seem to win election as president over a DFT Randi choice. And then was removed and tossed from the union.

Nancy on her blog includes comments from rank and file teachers:

• This teacher sick-out is not an action spearheaded by the DFT! We teachers are sick and tired of always being the ones who compromise. We have lent the district money in good faith, we have remained frozen in our pay since 2008, we have taken decreases in health care--and that's not even half of it! If we were in school today every student and teacher would have had to wear coats hats and gloves, because there's no heat.

• Recent teacher sickouts ARE NOT a DFT union-led activity. These sickouts have been organized by individual groups of teachers. This is how dysfunctional Detroit is. Teachers, who have been largely apathetic in the past decade even in light of their diminishing pay, benefits and working conditions are standing up and saying No More! The district wants to paint these teachers as uncaring about their students' welfare when the truth is exactly the opposite. They are taking a stand and saying "Our students deserve better and we will not be complicit any longer."

I'm guessing Nancy is pointing to what appears to be a third force - DPS FIGHTBACK - a Union Within a Union: DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK! "A Union Within a Union".

DPS Teachers Fight Back (A union Within a Union), is a group of teachers mobilizing to unite, shed light on unsafe and subpar learning conditions, and demand resolution. 

Is this the real group behind the sickout? They do make it clear that

We are not affiliated with BAMN, its' leadership, or any former DFT leadership.  We are teachers united as it is time that we stand up and defend our students, our profession, and our rights!  Our cornerstone issues are Academics, Fairness & Equity.  Our goal is to ensure that Detroit students are no longer pay for the deficit created by state control, and to protect their civil rights and ability to receive an exemplary education.  

Some sources in Detroit point to them as an offshoot of the DFT but that is not clear. Oy! If I were a real reporter I would start calling people and dig this story out. Or better yet, if there were real ed reporters out there who actually get paid to report on education we might get an accurate report. But don't expect that. Is Chalkbeat still in operation?

Then there is this long piece from the World Socialist Website - the 4th International with attacks on both the DFT, Randi AND Steve Conn.

http://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2016/01/13/dpst-j13.html

Detroit public schools teachers continue sickouts

Randi's Detroit Deja Vu: Is Union "One Voice" Arguement Fundamentally Undemocratic When You Toss an Elected President Because You Don't Like His Voice?

"One voice" is the source of major policy errors - like support for mayoral control, NCLB and RTTT to name just a few.

Unions Argue for One Voice in collective bargaining in Friedrichs - which I get -- but Unity uses same argument to send 750 Unity "One Voicers" to kill democracy at AFT/NYSUT. Then there is Detroit.

AFT national headquarters took control of its Detroit local, and now they are running around the city simultaneously distancing themselves from the sick-outs and using them to regain support for the union.... Antonucci at EIA

Randi returns to the scene of the crime (really, multiple crimes):
Lookee who is going to be the main speaker at the DFT general membership meeting - which will bar Steve Conn because they threw him out of the union after he won the majority of votes in 2 elections.

What do you think would happen if there was a miracle and Jia Lee was elected president of the UFT - there is a better chance to win the powerball and I'm going out to get a ticket. Unity would find some way to undermine it.

But more on Detroit and union democracy below.

I'm not into the lock-step expressions of horror at the impact of Friedrichs on the UFT/NYSUT/AFT, an impact that will certainly be influenced by the way these 3 levels of the union have been run for 40 years where a small oligarchy based in the NYC version of Unity Caucus has been in absolute control and exhibits no evidence of changing the way things are done.

I'm not even so sure Unity will be too upset to lose a batch of their most vehement critics who will leave the union - as long as they are not organized enough to cause the kind of problems we see in Detroit or Las Vegas (more below).

The UFT may have to go leaner but will still make sure they are in control. So they cut down a bit on the patronage machine. They will still spend millions to send their 750 to conventions instead of sending Mulgrew to cast a vote for all 750.

No, they will not alter the way they operate.

In other words, we will not see changes in the at-large voting in UFT elections that sends 750 Unity winner take all delegates through at-large voting to AFT and NYSUT assemblies where they get to shove Randi decided policies down our throats. Nothing like hearing the Unity cheers for Bill Gates or for uncle Mikey when he threatens to punch you in the face if you take his common core. Of course this summer we will hear Mikey say the opposite and get the same cheers from the same people.

Unless a growing opposition to Unity leverages Friedrichs in ways to force change.

My guess is that 70% will continue dues checkoff and the union probably believes if can use peer pressure to convince another 10-15% to join their colleagues.

(I think the longer term threat to teacher unions is non-union charter schools which will one day chop 35% off union membership.)

It is hard to argue that a SCOTUS anti-union decision takes away democracy when you don't have democracy.

EIA's Mike Antonucci at Intercepts delves into the "one voice" argument used by unions: Collective bargaining offers professionals the advantage of being able to speak with one voice.

Unity brings up the same "one voice" argument when we bring up proportional representation - which means that if MORE gets 20% of the vote they get 20% of the 750 delegates. (morecaucusnyc- Union Democracy: A Life-or-Death question for the UFT).

MORE is raising the proportional rep point in the upcoming UFT elections which cannot be won by an opposition until the fundamental election rules are changed away from the massive at-large where everybody votes, including retirees, for most positions. Most other teacher unions have flexible systems where people can win positions based on divisions and even geography and you get a cacophony of opinions and voices brought to the table. Democracy may be messy but be debating the issues at the top levels of the union you get better decisions. Like from Day 1 going back 30 years, we would have tried to put the breaks on support for ed deform.

"One voice" is the source of major policy errors - like support for mayoral control, NCLB and RTTT to name just a few.

Can there be a lawsuit making the claim that we are taxed/pay dues without representation? Get the tea and toss it into the bay.

Here, in One Voice? Written By: Mike Antonucci - Jan• 13•16

“Collective bargaining offers professionals the advantage of being able to speak with one voice.”

Mike, who is a noted anti-education union libertarian, raises the kind of things that should concern us.  

This is an excellent sentiment if you happen to agree with what that one voice is saying, but it is when you disagree that it leads to problems – to the point where the U.S. Supreme Court has to work them out.

The unions say they were democratically installed – albeit by an electorate 40 years ago, in many cases – and the majority voice should prevail. That is the American way.

But recent events in three major American cities illustrate that teachers’ unions aren’t so enamored of that one voice supported by the majority when it doesn’t speak the words they want to hear.

Well, more than 3 cities. The Unity way is not majority rule as they claim. Their system would be equivalent to a political party that gets 51% of the vote then gets 100% of all the seats in Congress.

First Mike talks about Steve Conn and Detroit:

* The Detroit Federation of Teachers ousted president Steve Conn from office and from the union. He had majority support of the members who voted, and now he’s running around the city organizing sick-outs. AFT national headquarters took control of its Detroit local, and now they are running around the city simultaneously distancing themselves from the sick-outs and using them to regain support for the union.
Meanwhile, there is another group – Detroit Teachers Fight Back – that describes itself as “a union within a union” and says it is not affiliated with Conn or his supporters. This group is organizing its own rallies and – it seems – its own sick-outs.

Ahhh, Detroit.

And then there are 2 other cities related to the NEA:

* The Nevada Employee Management Relations Board certified the election that made Teamsters Local 14 the exclusive representative of education support employees in Clark County, which includes the city of Las Vegas. The incumbent NEA-affiliated Education Support Employees Association (ESEA) could muster only 970 votes in an 11,000-worker bargaining unit, yet the board allowed 30 days to challenge the certification in court, which ESEA is likely to do.
There have been rumors that the Teamsters would follow up with an attempt to organize the teachers in Las Vegas, currently represented by the NEA-affiliated Clark County Education Association (CCEA), but that would be a steep climb. On the other hand, NEA’s backup plan has included splitting the ESEA bargaining unit and incorporating school-site employees like paraeducators and secretaries into CCEA and letting the bus drivers, custodians, and off-site personnel go to the Teamsters. This would run contrary to the union’s usual insistence that school support employees not be separated by job title.

And Memphis: Well, I'll leave just the link http://www.eiaonline.com/intercepts/2016/01/13/one-voice/ if you want to go on as that story is a bit more obscure.

Ed Notes on Detroit sickout:

• Nancy Flanagan on Detroit Sickout: Neither DFT Lea...
• Detroit Union Calls for Public Hearings While ille...
• DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK! "A Union Within a Union"
• Detroit: Randi Sends in the Troops to Back Puppet ...
• The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroi...

morecaucusnyc- Union Democracy: A Life-or-Death question for the UFT

I'm reposting this. It is based on work ICE did on democracy in the UFT from 2003-2010. This is a surface presentation and at some point we need to drill down on some of these points to find practical ways to not only put them on the agenda but prepare for the Unity assault on these ideas.

While my colleagues in MORE seem to view a loss in Friedrichs as a negative thing I don't totally agree. More on why in the future.

morecaucusnyc

Union Democracy: A Life-or-Death question for the UFT

As the Supreme Court is poised to remove the right for the UFT to collect mandatory agency fees in the Friedrichs case, threatening to starve our union of income and imperil its ability to maintain its organization, the question of how to involve members in the union becomes an urgent one for very survival of the labor movement.

How can the UFT motivate members to voluntarily pay dues to an organization over which they have very little democratic control?  This will become a life and death question for our union in the next couple years.

We need a union that is structured to insure that no matter who is elected to leadership they will be accountable to those of us who are working in the schools. An active, well-informed and honestly represented membership is the necessary backbone of a union that is capable of standing up to the attacks on teachers, children and the public schools.

Instead, what we have is a union that has become progressively weaker, members that are defenseless, demoralized, disengaged from unionism and resigned to tolerate all manner of abuse, and now fears that any change will be for the worse. A large part of the problem is the fact that our union is led by those that are removed from the reality of our schools.

Since its inception in the early 1960s our union has been dominated by one group, Unity Caucus which constantly adjusts its methods to insure that it monopolizes decision-making. President Michael Mulgrew knows how to portray himself as a tough leader at union meetings and in the pages of the NY Teacher, but his number one concern is to have a seat at the table with politicians and wealthy investors, rather than advocate for us and represent our best interests.

The three levels of decision-making in our union are the ADCOM (citywide officers), the executive board, and the delegate assembly. All three are tightly controlled by the overwhelming presence of Unity Caucus members, beholden to their caucus, recipients of patronage, who rubber-stamp all of President Mulgrew’s policies, even when they themselves disagree.

 

Our platform calls for “Democratic,Transparent and Accountable Member Driven Union” In order to achieve this MORE will propose the following when we serve on the Executive Board.

1. Divisional vice-presidents (high school, middle school, elementary, functional) should be elected by those they serve, members in their respective divisions.

2. The number of at-large members of the executive board should be greatly reduced and the majority of the executive board should be voted in by active members of their respective divisions

3. The number of retiree members of the delegate assembly should be reduced and their election should also be on the basis of proportional representation.

4. District representatives should be elected not appointed.

5. Every issue of the NY Teacher and UFT’s website should be opened to every member’s viewpoints, with space available for the printing of statements both for and against ratification of proposed contracts.

6. All caucuses who have met requirements to run in an election should be able to mail at least one piece of literature to all the members at union expense during election time.

7. There should be an open microphone at all union meetings.

8. Retirees should not vote for UFT officers, who are responsible for negotiating the contract for active members. 

9. Monthly UFT borough and district meetings open to all members to discuss and direct union policies.

10. UFT officers and/or organizers will visit every chapter throughout the school year to  listen to the concerns of their members, assist them,  and insure there is a functioning chapter.

Most important for democracy is an underpinning of active school chapters where meetings are held monthly and school issues are discussed openly. Chapter leaders are there to protect the interests of the members with respect to the administration and also to see that the flow of information between the chapters and the various levels of leadership of the union travels on a two-way street. This means that chapter leaders must do everything possible to encourage attendance at meetings and to carry out the wishes of the members, both within the school and as a representative to other union bodies. It is the concerns of chapter members, who are the best informed about the issues, that should be driving union policy.

Nancy Flanagan on Detroit Sickout: Neither DFT Leaders Nor Steve Conn Represent Voice of Classroom Teachers

Nancy FlanaganTuesday, January 12, 2016 at 10:25:00 AM EST

This story has been reported, as all stories are reported in MSM, by contacting union leaders, rather than garden-variety teachers. Because that's what reporters do, when they want to hear the "teachers' voice." As you well know, official union leadership (as well as deposed leadership) does not always represent what classroom teachers really want. Steve Conn has taken credit for a bubbling surge of rage that he had no hand in instigating--here's a quote from a DPS teacher:

"Mr. Conn held a meeting this afternoon first touting it as teachers taking a strike vote and then as an endorsement of the current sick outs. He even went so far as to encourage yet another sick out on the 20th for people to show up at his hearing and show their support for him! Imagine closing down the schools over an internal union issue rather than an issue with the schools. And that gives you an idea at how crazy things really are right now."

Public hearings would a chance for the conditions in DPS and the dedication of DPS teachers to be heard, rather than glossed over or buried under still more governmental blah-blah. Here in Detroit, there is no school board, there is no democracy--there is management by fiat. A public hearing would be something the press could report on.

If you would like to read some commentary from real DPS teachers: http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2016/01/whats_going_down_in_detroit_today.html

Detroit Union Calls for Public Hearings While illegaly deposed DFT President Steve Conn Calls for Sickout/Strike - and What Impact on Friedrichs?

At a news conference Monday morning, [Acting DFT President] Bailey and other union officials, teachers and parents expressed frustration about conditions in many DPS schools and called for public hearings.... Detroit News

A WTF moment that exposes how the Randi Weingarten ideal of a union operates. I just heard a report on NPR's Takeaway where the point is made that the city manager is claiming that the union has not sanctioned the sickout and that only a minority of teachers are supporting it.

How different is the destruction of the Detroit school system than the poisoning of the water in Flint?

• The Man Who Poisoned Children in Flint Criticizes Teachers’ “Sick-Out”

The NY Times report has the below the lines bias, trying to paint this as an internal union dispute:

The job actions are tied up in the politics of both Lansing and the teachers’ union itself. The sickouts have been organized by Steve Conn, who was ousted in August as president of the union, and still has an ardent following.

Mr. Conn had been a firebrand activist at odds with union leadership — as well as the district administration — until a year ago, when teachers elected him president. Seven months later, the union’s executive board removed him over charges of misconduct.

No attempt to provide context for Steve's removal. At least they give him credit for leading the sickouts and given the appearance of a DPS FightBack, "union within a union" which says it has no affiliation with Steve - a group promoted by Diane Ravitch, I begin to wonder if  they are not a front group set up by the union itself to divert people from Steve. Just thinking out loud.

Previous Ed Notes reports:

• DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK! "A Union Within a Union"
• Detroit: Randi Sends in the Troops to Back Puppet ...
• The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroi...

Meanwhile, Steve Conn, the legally elected president of the DFT had this to say:

Steve Conn, the ousted president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers, has been calling for teachers to stay home in protest. “It’s great,” Conn told The News on Monday.
On Sunday, Conn had told reporters he expected three dozen closures — and added that “an all-out strike will be the only way to save public education in Detroit.”
At Sunday’s meeting, Conn called his Jan. 20 reinstatement hearing with the American Federation of Teachers, which has placed the DFT in trusteeship, “D-Day.” Monday, Conn said that if he’s not reinstated, the Strike to Win committee will pursue a full-blown strike.
“It’s all one thing — the degradation of local control of our schools,” Conn said.
Though teacher strikes are illegal in Michigan, Conn brushed off those concerns Sunday.
“Teachers strikes have always been illegal, but I’ve been through four of these,” Conn said.
Conn was removed from office and expelled from the DFT in August by the union executive board, which found him guilty of internal misconduct charges, including illegal cancellation of meetings and failure to investigate abuse of members.

Acting DFT president Bailey had more to say:

“The deplorable conditions in our schools have created a serious environmental and educational crisis that is being ignored. We refuse to stand by while teachers, school support staff and students are exposed to conditions that one might expect in a Third World country, not the United States of America,” Bailey said. “The children of Detroit, Flint or any other community should not be exposed to atrocious, environmental hazards.”
Bailey said health and safety hazards include rat and other rodent infestations, crumbling walls, holes in ceilings, cracked sidewalks and broken boilers and no heat. She also said DPS has 170 teaching vacancies and that some special education classrooms have no textbooks.

But no plan of action to fight it other than the usual bitching and call for lame public hearings.

In the meantime, it was the actions of deposed president Steve Conn and other teachers willing to make a stand that got conditions noticed and are generating national headlines.

What is DPS Teachers Fight Back?
Then there is this group that I posted about yesterday that Diane Ravitch mentioned: DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK! "A Union Within a Union"

Exactly what is a union within a union? I spoke to someone named Kimberley who said Steve Conn had not reached out to them. In the full article below there is no mention of DPS, only Steve Conn. DPS states clearly that it is not affiliated with Steve's political group, BAMN which has run against Randi since 2010 at AFT conventions. Is DPSFB an attempt to separate itself from the more radical Conn? Note that they do not say a word about a strike.

There is a full membership meeting this Thursday and as Steve points out his hearing will be Jan. 22. If Randi's minions bury Steve he may form another union in Detroit and challenge the DFT as the bargaining agent. In the light of Friedrichs coming decision there is a lot to chew on.

DFT, like the UFT, plays a role -- to make sure things don't get out of hand and become too militant in ways that threaten the current power structure in the union and the Democratic political establishment.

Left-tinged social justice unionists with lines into the communities have the potential to cause all sorts of problems with the comfortable partnership teacher unions have established with the establishment over the past 55 years. Throw in the wild card of Friedrichs which will certainly harm the more traditional unions than the radical ones in terms of dues collection.

Just think Chicago, where over 90% of the teachers support a strike, inconceivable here in NYC. I would bet that the CTU will have less problems collecting dues than the UFT.

But also think about the power structure like Rahm in Chicago facing radical, militant unions that can be leaner and meaner than the UFT and not be as vulnerable to government attacks. We found that in Puerto Rico the union was attacked mercilessly and company unions were brought in to undermine them - yet they continue to collect enough dues to keep them alive.

I think the idea of a teacher union out of control begins to sink in at some point and the avid supporters of Friedrichs may end up with many unintended consequences. It is one thing to be a southern right to work state and quite another to have had certain rights in a northern urban city and then see them taken away. But members of the UFT are increasingly asking "exactly what do we have and what value do we put on it?" The last 20 years as our leaders have capitulated to ed deform are a lesson.

Full Detroit News story here and below the fold.

Nancy Carlson-Paige on Childhood and Play Plus My Student Shares Some Memories

It’s in low-income, under-resourced communities like this one where children are most subjected to heavy doses of teacher-led drills and tests. Not like in wealthier suburbs where kids have the opportunity to go to early childhood programs that have play, the arts, and project-based learning. It’s poverty — the elephant in the room — that is the root cause of this disparity.
 ..... Nancy Carlson-Paige

I understood exactly what Nancy is talking about when I found myself teaching in one of the poorest communities in the city. The neihborhood was considered dangerous and some parents did not let their kids out to play, especially the girls. I knew I had to close the play gap.

I taught upper elementary grades and always believe in the value of play, ---didn't need no stink'n research--- or theory--  but from observing the impact of play on my kids and how positively it affected my kids and the classroom atmosphere. I used a lot of trips and took them to places they would never get to go with their families. There were lousy playgrounds - if at all - in Williamsburg so when I found a bunch of them state of the art playgrounds in Central Park, they became a regular haunt on our trips. They had rubberized equipment and sand all around. Oh the joy I saw on their faces.

Early childhood expert Nancy Carlson-Paige talked about the loss of play in her speech accepting the Deborah Meier Award. Valerie Strauss in her WAPO column publishes Nancy's speech in full. (Nancy also happens to be great actor Matt Damon's mom.)

How ‘twisted’ early childhood education has become —

Play is the primary engine of human growth; it’s universal – as much as walking and talking. Play is the way children build ideas and how they make sense of their experience and feel safe. Just look at all the math concepts at work in the intricate buildings of kindergartners. Or watch a 4-year-old put on a cape and pretend to be a superhero after witnessing some scary event.

Recently, a bunch of my former students from almost 40 years ago have connected on Facebook and were remembering some of the things I did with them -- and here one of them touches on some things she remembered, especially on the trips and how she interacted with strangers.

Mr. Scott you did take us to see a few movies Grease, Wiz with Michael Jackson a few more can't remember the name,you also took us to a Mets game several museums, botanical garden, zoo and yes many trips to central park and the sand parks those were the best. I was the shy little girl that always seemed to attract all babies and little ones and always spoke with the parents of the little ones which would seem to amaze you because I was so shy with my own peers but not with adults or younger children.

There  was this one mother who I was speaking with but she spoke very little English you were of course like always checking on us your children making sure all was okay when you realized that the women wasn't speaking English or Spanish which were the only two languages I spoke you asked me what language she was speaking and how was I able to understand her. I told you she was speaking Portuguese so whatever she couldn't say or understand in English she would say it in her language which was very similar to Spanish so I was able to understand her. I spoke to her Spanish and English and we had a  conversation about her baby for about 30 minutes.

Same thing happened with another mother on a different trip. She was Italian and spoke to me in Italian and I was also able to understand everything she said. I remember you saying to me your gonna work with children when you are older or have lots of your own. (Lol) I had three of my own but work many years in day cares and also as a nanny. So you were right. Children have always been my passion I feel they teach us as much if not more about life, treat them right as you did with us your children which was how you revered to us and the end result are individuals that pay it forward. Thank you.

Mary, former student from my 5th (1978) and 6th grade class (1979). I had all of her brothers in my class over the years and have run into Mary a few times over the years with her kids.

A whole gaggle of students from those classes (I looped for the 5th and 6th with most of them) have been in touch on FB and there is talk of a reunion.  They are in their mid to late 40s and some are grandparents. Mary posted the 1979 class photo and they are trying to contact as many of the kids as they can. (That's me on the right with hair - lots of it.)

DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK! "A Union Within a Union"

Teachers whose organized sick-out shut down more than 60 Detroit schools today demanded that their voices be heard and that the district address what they've described as deplorable teaching conditions. Their pleas at a rally today received immediate responses. ---- Detroit Free Press

Diane Ravitch posted the press release below from a group calling itself DPS Teachers Fight Back - noting they are a union within a union. What exactly does that say? Does it mean that the Randi manipulated Detroit Federation of Teachers is not willing to fight back. Is this a caucus of sorts that has led this sickout? Or is it something else?

DPS FB also notes:
We are not affiliated with BAMN, its' leadership, or any former DFT leadership.  We are teachers united as it is time that we stand up and defend our students, our profession, and our rights!  

I called them today asking about the role Steve Conn has played and they said he has not contacted them. Which is interesting given that previous reports talk mostly about the role Steve has played so far, as reported in previous ed notes posts:

• Detroit: Randi Sends in the Troops to Back Puppet ...
• The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroi...

If I knew any real education reporters I would ask them what they have learned. I could act like a reporter - after all, I do some acting, but I am way too lazy.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRESS RELEASE                          Contact: (313) 355-3205

 

DPS TEACHERS FIGHT BACK!

"A Union Within a Union"

"Teachers from more than 40 DPS schools are demanding safe conditions, adequate learning environments, and a level playing field for DPS Students." 

 

Detroit- DPS Teachers Fight Back (A union Within a Union), is a group of teachers mobilizing to unite, shed light on unsafe and subpar learning conditions, and demand resolution.   Just as doctors take the Hippocratic Oath to uphold ethical standards, teachers also take a Loyalty Oath to serve, protect and allow no harm.  Unfortunately, we have been unable to live up to that with the constant change of leadership, state control and 4 consecutive Emergency Managers.

On Monday, January 11, 2016, 12 p.m., DPS Teachers will join in solidarity during a rally organized by teachers from Paul Robeson at Malcolm X Academy at the Fisher Building, 3011 W Grand Blvd, Detroit, MI 48202.   Despite the increased cost of medical care, and lost wages, teachers are choosing to go without pay or to take a personal day stand in unity.

We are not affiliated with BAMN, its' leadership, or any former DFT leadership.  We are teachers united as it is time that we stand up and defend our students, our profession, and our rights!  Our cornerstone issues are Academics, Fairness & Equity.  Our goal is to ensure that Detroit students are no longer pay for the deficit created by state control, and to protect their civil rights and ability to receive an exemplary education.   

In an Open Letter to DPS Parents, DPS Teacher Sarah Jardine shared the following: 

"Dear Parent, I write this to you on this night because you're on my mind. You live in Detroit and you send your child to Detroit Public Schools. You trust me everyday with your children. I feel that I owe you an apology. I apologize because I should have stood up. I kept quiet as they dismantled our schools. I was silent when they took your schools from you. I didn't protest in the streets when they put our schools in State control. I said nothing when they took your democracy. I should be ashamed of myself. I, the teacher you trusted, had power to start a revolution, and fight for you, and I didn't fight back. Tonight, I am going to make you a promise that I won't sit quiet any longer." (Read Here)

Public education is the cornerstone to democracy, and Detroit teachers deserve to be treated the same way teachers are treated in Livonia, Novi, West Bloomfield, Grosse Pointe, Troy, and all other districts throughout the state of Michigan.

In an Open Letter to Darnell Earley,  4th Grade DPS Teacher, Pam Namyslowski said:

"Mr. Earley, I have been a teacher in Detroit Public Schools for 24 years. I feel the need to respond to some of the comments you made during your press conference this week. You described the actions of protesting teachers as "unethical". I'm curious, then, how you would characterize the learning conditions of the children of Detroit Public Schools that have existed for years. These deplorable learning conditions happen to also be the teachers' working conditions." (Read here) 

The DPS Teachers Fight Back Rally will include remarks from Dr. James Perkins, Greater Christ Baptist Church, DPS Parents, and DPS Teacher organizers, during which a list of concerns and demands will be shared including: Safe learning conditions for all students, Increasing student academic achievement, and the removal of Emergency Manager Darnell Earley, who was an integral part of the Flint Water Crisis.  We hereby stand united to protect the 47 thousand students remaining within Detroit Public Schools and demand immediate corrective action!

###

click here for DPS Fight Back Press Release PDF

WDIV School Closing List

=====

DPS teachers at rally: Sick-outs a demand to be heard

Teachers whose organized sick-out shut down more than 60 Detroit schools today demanded that their voices be heard and that the district address what they've described as deplorable teaching conditions.
Their pleas at a rally today received immediate responses.
Mayor Mike Duggan said he would tour schools Tuesday to assess the condition of the buildings. And State Superintendent Brian Whiston called for health and safety issues in the district to be immediately addressed.
Still, both men called on teachers to return to the classroom. And some lawmakers decried an action that had many students missing a day of learning.
The closures affected 64 schools and 31,000 students, DPS officials said. And there were indications that more sickouts could be coming this week.
The afternoon rally — organized by a group within the Detroit Federation of Teachers called DPS Teachers Fight Back — brought a crowd of teachers and supporters to the Fisher Building in Detroit.

"Detroit kids matter," they chanted. Many in the boisterous crowd carried signs that illustrated their displeasure with the district. "Thirty-five is the speed limit, not a class size," said one. "Students support DPS teachers," said another.
Theresa Williams, a first-grade teacher at Burton International Academy, held a sign that said, "I have 39 first-graders in my classroom."
"It's quite challenging," Williams said. "You want to meet the needs of all of the children. You have to do the best you can."
The rally featured state lawmakers, members of the City Council and members of the Detroit Board of Education. Many said the conditions in the district wouldn't be tolerated in suburban communities.
"I stand with you," Councilwoman Mary Sheffield told the crowd through a bullhorn. "We can no longer be silent."
The district closed the 64 schools because more than half of the teachers in those schools called in sick. The closures represented more than half the 97 buildings in the district.
While health care and salary cuts and large class sizes are big issues for teachers, much of the attention today was on health and safety problems.
Teachers —at the rally and during an earlier news conference — described problems such as mold, leaky ceilings, busted windows, rodents, roaches, lack of heat and standing water.
Duggan issued a statement hours after the rally saying he'll visit a number of schools Tuesday along with the heads of the city health department and the city department of buildings, safety, engineering and environment.
"Based on what we find, the City of Detroit will take whatever enforcement action is necessary to make sure all Detroit Public Schools are compliant with all health and building codes," Duggan said.

Detroit: Randi Sends in the Troops to Back Puppet DFT Leaders

Randi sends in AFT organizers with meds to heal the sick teachers.


From the DFT website:

Organizers Hitting Detroit Schools [1.5.16]

Twenty organizers from AFT affiliates across the country are in Detroit and will be coming to your school over the next nine days. They will be there to talk with members at various times throughout the day and during any free periods. DFT leadership and organizers also are making home visits. Our goal is to talk to every member. Please reach out to them for discussion on your concerns.

As we thought in our earlier post (The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroit After Randi Weingarten Undermines Union - Will Detroit Influence Friedrichs Decision?), Ivy Bailey, Randi's hand-picked interim president to replace Steve Conn says:

While we don’t condone the action taken by a small number of our members, we understand the utter frustration underlying it. 

To counter Steve Conn's call for a Sunday meeting:

No Strike Vote Sunday [1.10.16]

The DFT is not holding a membership or mass meeting on Sunday and there is no strike vote to be called. We will have a full update and plan to discuss at the Jan. 14 membership meeting at 4:30 p.m. at the IBEW hall.

 STOP THIS NONSENSE OF RESISTANCE. SUBMIT!
Don't you love this one:

DFT has ramped up its efforts to address the many urgent concerns that educators and members of our community have about the deplorable conditions in schools around this city. 

Exactly what does "ramping up efforts" mean? Certainly sickouts or strikes are not on the table.

Ivy Bailey Phone Call to Members

Good evening, sisters and brothers. This is Ivy Bailey, interim president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers.

more

DFT Statement on School Closings

Detroit Federation of Teachers Interim President Ivy Bailey on the sporadic closing of schools, and on statements made by Detroit Public Schools Emergency Manager Darnell Earley: “Really, blaming the teachers—the glue that holds this system together? While we don’t condone the action taken by a small number of our members, we understand the utter frustration underlying it. It’s the frustration of educators who are trying to teach children in schools where black mold is spreading, in classrooms crammed with twice the number of students they should have, in schools where special needs students lack learning materials, and in high schools that no longer offer art, music or other electives. This is an emergency. And the emergency manager has failed to act. Pointing fingers at educators rather than acting to help them help kids is enough to make anyone sick.” DFT Administrator Ann Mitchell added, ”Perhaps the emergency manager is engaged in this deflection because he knows that the DFT has ramped up its efforts to address the many urgent concerns that educators and members of our community have about the deplorable conditions in schools around this city. Detroit’s public schools bear the scars of the city’s struggles and challenges. We can’t do this job alone, and we urge all Detroiters to call on officials to make high-quality public education a top priority.”

The Wrath of Steve Conn: Wildcat Sickout in Detroit After Randi Weingarten Undermines Union - Will Detroit Influence Friedrichs Decision?

A “substantial” number of teachers from at least 40 schools in Detroit’s public school district will participate in a “sickout” on Monday, the Guardian has learned. The move for teachers to simultaneously call in sick, fueled by frustration over large class sizes and “abominable” working conditions, could close nearly half the district.

Finally, some of you might be saying, a teacher union showing some militancy. Not so fast. The teacher union, which has been even more weakened than it was due to repeated Randi/AFT interventions, seems to be playing no role as they usually do in putting the breaks on militancy.

Nor consider this an outrage: "An estimated 41 cents out of every state dollar appropriated for students in Michigan is spent on debt service, according to an analysis by the Citizens Research Council."

Imagine that. Have you heard a word from Randi and crew that taking away almost half the money from children for debt service is obscene and must be resisted? Screw the bondholders. They took their shot and lost.

What happens when there is not much of a union left to sell out?

What happens if Friedrichs, opening today at SCOTUS, weakens a union to such an extent that teachers left to their own devices and without a union to put the breaks on them actually begin to organize themselves?

Don't think that this threat and what is going on in Detroit won't have some influence on the decision. People in power, from state and local governments through school boards may be seeing the nightmare of not having cozy unions like the UFT and AFT around to undermine militancy.

Friday’s closures brought to five the number of DPS buildings that were closed at least one day this week because of teacher sickouts, a tactic former Detroit Federation of Teachers president Steve Conn takes credit for implementing.... Detroit News

Detroit is an example of how Unity Caucus will undermine a local in danger of going rogue. We've reported on how Randi and AFT crew took charge in Detroit after Steve Conn was elected president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers by having him charged with something or other and throwing him out of the union.

Conditions in classrooms are “abominable”, said Steve Conn, a teacher and former president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers who was removed from office for alleged misconduct in August. Conn has vowed to contest those charges.

Detroit has been on our list of Randi Sellouts since she brokered another one of those contracts loaded with ed deform provisions that ultimately

undermine teachers and the union (see Newark).

Given the history of Randi/Unity Caucus non-militancy, to me it was clear that the DFT now under her control would have little to do with a sickout. Our leaders are perfectly comfortable with debt service coming first, in contrast to our pals in Chicago who have put the influence of the banks in siphoning money out of schools front and center.

Now for my anti-left/social justice friends out there, Steve Conn is from the left and a big social justice guy. That infuses militancy not stops it.

In fact, the only group to oppose Randi and her Unity crew at recent AFT elections is Steve Conn's By Any Means Necessary (BAMN).

In the articles below I don't see one comment out of the union. Let's watch this play out when Randi offers to come in and "mediate". She despises Conn and this should be fun. (I have some great video of Steve disrupting Randi's speech at a rally in Detroit during the AFT2012 convention.)

If you want some background here are some ednotes links to the Detroit situation going back to 2008:

Ed Notes Online: Randi's Nightmare: DETROIT TEACHERS ELECT ...

Jan 17, 2015 ... Randi's Nightmare: DETROIT TEACHERS ELECT STEVE CONN FROM EON/ BAMN TO HEAD DFT. Randi must be banging her head against ...

Ed Notes Online: The Trial of Steve Conn: Is Attack on Detroit Union ... Aug 4, 2015 ... The Detroit Federation of Teachers executive board put president Steve Conn on trial this morning for conduct detrimental to the union.

Ed Notes Online: Randi's Nightmare Continues: Steve Conn Sworn ... Jan 28, 2015 ... Conn, who has run for DFT president about a dozen times before, credits his victory to members being fed up with the "fiasco disaster" that ...

Ed Notes Online: More on Detroit Union Elections: Steve Conn and ...

Nov 17, 2008 ... So what's going on in Detroit with a slate of pro Green Dot so-called "reformers" ( see post previous to this) and Steve Conn running in the ...

Ed Notes Online: Detroit Union Election - Is Randi guy in trouble? 38 ... Dec 6, 2010 ... Detroit teacher Steve Conn (above center) spoke to the Peace and Justice Caucus of the American Federation of Teachers on July 10, 2010 ...

Ed Notes Online: Randi Invades Detroit Dec 9, 2015 ... Aug 4, 2015 - The Detroit Federation of Teachers executive board put president Steve Conn on trial this morning for conduct detrimental to the ...

Detroit braces for 'sickout' by teachers frustrated by class sizes and conditions

http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/10/detroit-sickout-teachers-frustrated-class-sizes-con

A ‘substantial’ number of educators are expected to be absent from at least 40 schools in a district facing financial calamity with liabilities of $3.5bn

Ryan Felton in Detroit

Sunday 10 January 2016 15.26 EST
 

A “substantial” number of teachers from at least 40 schools in Detroit’s public school district will participate in a “sickout” on Monday, the Guardian has learned. The move for teachers to simultaneously call in sick, fueled by frustration over large class sizes and “abominable” working conditions, could close nearly half the district.

Detroit schools close due to teacher sickout in protest of education reform

Detroit teachers have recently staged numerous such organized mass absences from work, prompting closures at some of the largest schools in the city of 680,000.
State and local education officials have criticized what they call an “unethical” approach to raising concerns that they say hurts students the most.

Teachers say students are already devastated by conditions in the district, which is facing financial calamity with liabilities of $3.5bn.

Last week, nearly a half-dozen schools closed for at least one day due to teacher sickouts. On Monday that number could climb, according to two sources with knowledge of the plan who spoke to the Guardian.

It is unclear what impact the pledges will have on school closures, but such a large-scale demonstration could prompt the closure of nearly half the districts’ 103 schools, which include an estimated 47,000 students.

Conditions in classrooms are “abominable”, said Steve Conn, a teacher and former president of the Detroit Federation of Teachers who was removed from office for alleged misconduct in August. Conn has vowed to contest those charges.

“I’ve been a resident of Detroit for 30 years … my daughter grew up in the neighborhood, went to Detroit public schools, and the conditions increasingly, especially since 2007 with the financial crisis, have been awful,” he told the Guardian.

Another source with knowledge of plans for the demonstration said 90% of teachers at one school had voted to participate in the sickout. Organizers received “pledges of substantial participation” from teachers in at least 40 schools, the source said.

Detroit’s public schools have been a problem for Michigan’s governor, Rick Snyder, a Republican who ushered the city into the largest municipal bankruptcy in US history. Most observers agree the success of Detroit is contingent upon whether its schools can be fixed.

Snyder has made a $715m proposal to overhaul the failing district in 2016. It has so far received little support in the Michigan legislature.

Asked about the spate of sickouts, David Murray, a spokesman for Snyder, said: “Detroit children need to be in school. In addition to their education, it’s where many children get their best meals and better access to the social services they need. There are certainly problems that [need] to be addressed, quickly.”

Snyder’s plan would eliminate debt in the district that is equal to $1,100 per child, Murray said. That was “money that could be better spent in the classroom, lowering class sizes, raising pay and improving benefits”.
Tom Pedroni, an associate professor at Wayne State University, said the governor’s plan was commendable for “taking seriously the notion that Detroit public schools needs debt relief”.

“We know that with the current debt figures if the issue is not addressed soon, Detroit public schools students will be losing [nearly half of the state’s per-pupil funding total],” Pedroni said, adding: “It’s unconscionable that students lose that to debt service.”

The problem with Snyder’s plan, Pedroni said, was that it relied on governing the school district with a board of appointees, not elected members. Since 2009, under a state-appointed emergency manager, the elected board has been effectively neutered.

“There’s currently a lot of debate over whether those appointees for the new Detroit school board [in Snyder’s proposal] would be mayoral appointees or gubernatorial appointees,” Pedroni said.

“But to me, really all of those are inexcusable because what I think we see happening in the district in Detroit is really an indictment of the sort of heavy-handed power from the executive branch without any checks or balances.”

Pedroni said this was similar to what has taken place in the nearby city of Flint. There, a state-appointed emergency manager has been alleged to have decided to use a local river as the city’s main water source. The move has been linked to an increased level of lead in household water supply.
When in 1999 the state first stepped in and overhauled the governance of Detroit schools, the district’s budget carried a $93m-surplus. According to an analysis by the Citizens Research Council, a Michigan-based policy research group, in the most recent fiscal year the district reported a budget deficit of nearly $216m.

An estimated 41 cents out of every state dollar appropriated for students is spent on debt service, according to the council’s report.

“Despite being under the control of a state-appointed emergency manager since 2009, Detroit public schools, the state’s largest district, is failing academically and financially,” the report said.

Despite a depleted school enrollment, class sizes have increased and teachers have repeatedly taken pay cuts. Only one-third of high school students are proficient in reading, according to Snyder’s office.

Teachers say students are being judged unfairly. In an open letter to the Detroit public schools emergency manager, Darnell Earley, who blasted teachers for the sickout protests last week, fourth-grade teacher Pam Namyslowski said pupils had been “set up to fail in every way”.

“We ARE [the students’] voice,” Namyslowski wrote. “We are on the front line, working side by side with them every day, trying our best to overcome numerous obstacles.

“In the winter, we often work in freezing rooms with our coats on with them. In the summertime, we survive with them in stifling heat and humidity in temperatures that no one should have to work in. We wipe their tears and listen when they are upset.”

Successes in the classroom typically go unnoticed, Namyslowski continued, as “most cannot be measured or displayed on a data wall”.

“We, as teachers, know our students and what they need. It is heartbreaking to see that our students don’t have what they need and certainly not what they deserve.”

In a statement released on Sunday, Earley said: “It’s clear that teachers are feeling an overwhelming sense of frustration over the challenges that they and all [Detroit Public Schools] employees face as they do their jobs each day. We understand and share their frustration.

“However, given the reality of the district’s financial distress, it is becoming clearer every day that the only way that we are going to be able to address these serious issues in any way is through an investment in DPS by the Michigan legislature.

“Unfortunately, obtaining that support becomes more challenging with each closure of a school due to a teacher sick-out.”

A teachers’ protest was planned to coincide with the sick outs, at noon on Monday outside the Fisher building in downtown Detroit.

====

State superintendent calls on teachers to end sickouts

James David Dickson, The Detroit News 6:52 a.m. EST January 8, 2016

(Photo: Detroit News file photo)

Detroit — Michigan’s state school superintendent called Friday on Detroit teachers to stop the sickouts that have caused repeated school closures this week and over the past two months.
“I understand that teachers in Detroit Public Schools have real concerns about the financial, academic, and structural future of their schools, but for the sakes of their students, they need to be in the classrooms teaching,” Brian Whiston said in a statement issued after classes were canceled Friday at East English Village Preparatory Academy and Mann Learning Community.
Friday’s closures brought to five the number of DPS buildings that were closed at least one day this week because of teacher sickouts, a tactic former Detroit Federation of Teachers president Steve Conn takes credit for implementing.
“I am calling on teachers in Detroit public schools to end their systematic plans of not reporting to work. ...,” Whiston said. “I will be calling a meeting of state and local stakeholders to sit down, discuss the issues, and finally put together a viable solution that will move education forward for the children in the city of Detroit.”
Whiston issued his statement a day after the chairman of the Michigan House Appropriations Committee on School Aid called on him to sanction the teachers union.
Rep. Tim Kelly, R-Saginaw Township, said Whiston should consider “all available options” and called the sickout “selfish behavior and a blatant attempt to circumvent the law barring the DFT from walking away from their responsibilities and striking.”
The leader of a statewide association that advocates for school officials also called for the teachers to be punished.
“I think any time people use kids for a political statement, I think there has to be ramifications,” Chris Wigent, executive director of the Michigan Association of School Administrators, said Friday during a taping of the public affairs television show “Off the Record.”
“I’m not giving a broad brush over every teacher that they’re not there for kids, and probably even the teachers who are doing this are there for kids, but politics can’t take over what’s going on in the classroom, especially with the types of student achievement that we need to get in the city of Detroit,” Wigent said.
The sickouts have been staged by teachers upset by large class sizes, pay and benefit concessions, and Gov. Rick Snyder’s plan to create a new, debt-free Detroit school district.
Conn said he and a contingent of DPS teachers will meet at 4 p.m. Sunday at Gracious Savior Evangelical Lutheran Church to plan their next moves, which might include a full-blown strike.
Conn was ousted as president of the DFT and expelled from the union in August after the local’s executive board found him guilty of internal misconduct charges.
In a statement issued Friday by the American Federation of Teachers, interim DFT president Ivy Bailey said Sunday’s meeting is not sanctioned by the union.
“The Detroit Federation of Teachers has learned that Steve Conn is holding a meeting on Sunday to talk about further actions,” Bailey said. “Let me be clear: This meeting is not a DFT-sponsored meeting, as has been mistakenly reported.”
Besides the two schools closed Friday, classes this week were canceled at Cass Technical High School, Renaissance High School and Martin Luther King Jr. Senior High School. That means roughly 6,730 students have missed class because of sickouts.
Teacher sickouts also resulted in several school closures in November and December, including Bates Academy, Mason Elementary, West Side Academy and Mackenzie Elementary-Middle School.
District officials at that time sent “notices of investigation” to teachers thought to be involved in sickouts on Nov. 3 and Dec. 1, 10 and 11, according to the DFT.
In a press conference Thursday at King High School, DPS emergency manager Darnell Earley said that while he did not begrudge teachers the right to protest working conditions, it is “unethical” for them to do it in a way that takes learning time away from students.
“These actions, caused by a minority of teachers, disrupt the efforts intended for those who can ill afford to lose instruction time,” Earley said Thursday.
In a statement posted on the DFT’s website, Bailey criticized Earley for “blaming the teachers — the glue that holds this system together.”
“While we don’t condone the action taken by a small number of our members, we understand the utter frustration underlying it,” she said.