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1) New York Members Form National Merger Caucus.
Ten years ago this month, the first holes were shot through the
"Principles of Unity," the document outlining a proposed merger of the
National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers. For
the rest of the spring and summer of 1998, union insiders were consumed with
the debate, which culminated in the proposal going down to crushing defeat
at the NEA Representative Assembly (for the full story, see "Left
at the Altar").
In the years following, there were a lot of raw
emotions left over on the topic, and the issue of merger was a quick way to
get into an argument. While that has petered out, so has enthusiasm for the
NEAFT Partnership, which was formed as an alternative.
This year, the leadership of both NEA and AFT will
change, ushering in the regimes of Dennis Van Roekel and Randi Weingarten,
and it was inevitable that the merger issue would arise again. Whether you
favor merger or oppose it, you have to admit that the
formation of a national merger caucus by New York local president Morty
Rosenfeld is a timely move.
A long-time merger advocate, the independent-thinking
Rosenfeld saw one of his dreams become reality when NEA New York merged with
the New York State United Teachers.
"What NEA and AFT members in New York, Florida,
Minnesota, Montana, Los Angeles and San Francisco have learned about the
benefits of merger must be put to the service of building a national
merger," Rosenfeld writes. The new caucus will meet during the NEA
convention in July.
The biggest change in the world of labor in the last 10
years is the splintering of the AFL-CIO. Since AFL-CIO affiliation was a
major reason for the merger's defeat in 1998, it will be interesting to see
whether the existence of Change to Win simplifies or complicates matters.
2) California Teachers Association Announces
"Voluntary" Dues Hike. Back in 2005, the California Teachers Association
(CTA) instituted a
$60-per-member annual dues increase to fight Gov. Schwarzenegger's
education initiatives.
Well, that three-year assessment expires this year, and
the union is reluctant to part with some of that extra cash. So only $40 of
the assessment will truly expire, while the other $20 has become a part of a
"voluntary dues contribution." CTA gives its members all sorts of options.
They can give $10 to support CTA issue advocacy efforts and $10 to support
the proposed CTA Foundation, a non-profit the union wants to create. Or they
can give the entire $20 to either function. Or they can contribute less than
$20 and get the rest back. Or they can get the entire $20 refunded without
having to resign their membership.
The union gives its members multiple choices, except
one – the ability not to have the $20 removed from their paychecks in the
first place and the freedom from having to apply to get their own money
back. It also raises a simple question: If $10 will support CTA's advocacy
efforts, what is the other $600 or so in state dues for?
3) Union Finds 57 Moonlighting Teachers in Texas.
The Texas State Teachers Association released its biennial report "Texas
Teachers, Moonlighting and Morale," a survey compiled by an impressive
array of Ph.D.s and Ed.D.s from Sam Houston State University.
Before I dissect this frog, let me state for the record
that I have no idea if moonlighting and/or morale is a problem for teachers
in Texas, and since it is a survey, I can only assume that those who
responded were sincere in the sentiments they expressed. However, the report
is sadly typical of much education research, in that the data do not support
the findings, which do not support the conclusions, which do not support the
press release, which does not support the
newspaper headlines and local TV reports.
Let's begin with the sample. The authors state that 700
teachers were "selected using a computerized systematic sample" and a
questionnaire was mailed to each. Of these, 177 were completed and returned.
There are more than 300,000 teachers in Texas. I respectfully suggest that
the small sample size is a big problem.
Moving on:
* "In urban school districts, up to one half of new
teachers leave within the first five years." No, I'm not even going to
bother to again challenge this on substance. I simply note that the study
upon which the claim is made is from 2000.
* On page 3, the authors confuse class size with
student/teacher ratio, which is embarrassing because it shows the United
States with a substantially lower ratio in elementary school than Australia,
Germany, Japan and the U.K.
* On page 4, the authors cite statistics for the
"average number of students." These stats show Texas teachers have fewer
students than the national average.
* "Although about 5 percent of all U.S. workers hold
second jobs, 300,000 teachers or 17 percent of America's 2 million teachers
were employed outside the school system during the school year." Since
America has more than 3.1 million teachers, I knew something was screwy
here. And it's because the citation is from a 1990 article.
* On page 4, the authors write, "Moonlighting adversely
affects teacher recruitment, job stress and teacher efficacy. Changes such
as better salaries, merit pay and productive summer employment are
suggested." This is particularly odd, since the TSTA press release quotes
President Donna New Haschke denouncing "inequitable and unproven merit pay
schemes."
* The authors cite an article on teacher morale from
1998, which is actually a compilation of earlier work.
On to the tables with the survey results:
* Table 2 helpfully provides comparative data from
previous surveys, dating back to 1980. This is unfortunate for the union's
spin efforts because it shows the responses haven't varied much in 28 years.
For example, this year 44 percent of those surveyed said they have
considered leaving teaching. That's lower than the previous two surveys, and
only slightly higher than the 41% average over the life of the survey.
* In 2008, 34% of those surveyed said they held extra
jobs during the summer. That's the lowest percentage since 1998. And the big
headline, the 28% who said they moonlight, is down significantly from the
last two surveys. The average over the life of the survey is 27%.
* Also problematic is that the 2008 sample has fewer
K-5 teachers and significantly more high school teachers than any previous
survey. That alone could account for variations from previous years.
* Only 21% cited money as a possible reason for
leaving, the lowest percentage since 1996.
* Forty-two percent cited working conditions as a
possible reason for leaving, which is up from 2006, but is lower than the
43% average over the life of the survey, and significantly lower than the
68% in 1986.
* Despite the headlines about 28 percent of Texas
teachers having to moonlight, the fact is TSTA found 57 moonlighting
teachers. While the original 700-teacher sample may have been random and
statistically sound, we have no way of knowing if the 177 teachers who
returned the survey are representative of their peers.
In its efforts to support its political and legislative
agenda, TSTA mostly ignored the very real concerns of the teachers who
responded to the survey. The report lists 83 comments from the respondents,
almost all of whom cite paperwork and pointless meetings as their biggest
gripe. Because their time is wasted on this stuff, they feel they don't have
enough time in the day to do the job they're paid to do – teach children.
Other than that, it's a fine report.
4) That Didn't Take Long. "Since the union
technically can't spend money in support of a candidate until he or she is
endorsed, expect an awful lot of 'issue' campaigning and McCain-bashing in
the meantime." – April 15
Intercepts, the EIA blog.
"McCain’s Economic Agenda Attacks Education Funding:
Harmful to Children and Public Education" – April 17
National Education Association press release.
5) All Executive Director, All the Time! After
last week's story about Vermont NEA and its ongoing contract debate with
executive director Joel Cook, VTNEA President Angelo Dorta sent "a special
message" to union activists which confirmed the discussions about Cook's
"future with the organization," and noted:
"During the course of those discussions, some important
differences in approach to governance arose."
That's as specific and detailed as Dorta got, referring
to the controversy as "confidential personnel matters." Meanwhile, the rumor
mill continues to churn.
Meanwhile, other NEA state affiliates are filling their
executive director vacancies. In just the last couple of weeks, the
Pennsylvania State Education Association promoted from within and named John
Springer its new executive director. The Washington Education Association
hired John Okamoto, a former Seattle port administrator, as its new
executive director. And the Utah Education Association promoted
communications director Mark Mickelsen to executive director.
6) School District Tables for Alabama, Alaska and
Arizona Posted. EIA has posted updated statistical tables for each
school district in the states of Alabama, Alaska and Arizona. The districts
are listed by enrollment size, and also contain the number of full-time
equivalent teachers, per-pupil spending, labor costs, and five-year trends
for each of those numbers.
The Arizona table is particularly interesting, in light
of the belated realization in that state that
enrollment has crested.
The tables are located at
http://www.eiaonline.com/districts.htm. District statistics for all
other states will be added over the next several weeks.
7) Last Week's Intercepts. EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from April 14-22:
*
Reg Weaver on Presidential Endorsement. Betting on a horse after the
race is over.
*
Maybe It Was a Card Check. Union brother/sister beatdown.
*
Coin Toss Determines Teacher's Fate. Seniority rules.
8)
Quote of the Week.
"Drop Dead." – anonymous message sent through EIA's
Dead Drop page. Did you come up with that one yourself or do you have a
ghostwriter? |
