Three letters to The Bee today give you a good taste of the depth of frustration there is in the Fresno Teachers Association over the direction of the contract negotiations, which have dragged on with Fresno Unified since the agreement expired in July 2006.
FTA President Larry Moore is under attack from some teachers, although the longtime union leader still has strong support among many of the 4,000 members of the union. A Moore supporter says in her letter the upstarts are undermining the union's efforts to get a better contract for teachers. Two anti-Moore members just elected to the FTA executive board say in their letters that there are big problems with Moore's leadership, including questionable expenditures.
Meanwhile, a 5.5% raise for teachers sits on the table while the union members bicker. I'd take the money, especially at this time of year when a bit of extra cash always is needed. In this editorial, The Bee urged union members to approve the contract proposal from the school district. The only problem is Moore won't put the contract up for a vote, and that is causing a backlash in union ranks.
This contract would include retroactive pay for about 16 months and the back wages would come in handy during the holidays. District officials say they could prepare "retro checks" by Christmas if the teachers would accept the contract proposal.
The proposal also would keep teachers' share of health benefits payments below $70 a month.
Not bad given the state of the economy, and the high cost of health benefits.
But the bigger question for the union is whether Moore's stubbornness in these negotiations will weaken his union, which has been riding high since last year's school board elections. But things always change. It's not a good sign when the members are second-guessing the union president's tactics.
The members are complicit in this incestual affair that gave birth to baby Moore.Both are being exposed for what they are-a self interest group.Education results are never part of the equation. The only thing that matters to these folks is pay and perks.All this phoney baloney concern for the children is just that.Could the Bee do an expose on what teachers are paid and their benefits and contrast it against what they actually do and accomplish.That would be a good read.
How would you propose to put a monetary value on a special education teacher teaching an autistic child to write his name, Brian?
I can't think of very many jobs more important than teaching. Good teachers are worth far more than we can afford to pay them (bad teachers are another story). The antics of Moore and his followers do nothing to enhance the status of the profession, though. Do the members of the teachers union realize Moore is costing them money, since they aren't going to get interest on that long-delayed retro check?
Moore is in no hurry because it isn't effecting his livelihood. It sounds like a good deal to me. I don't really care for unions because the people really don't get to speak and those that are in the middle of it almost always face a backlash