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1) Ohio Education Association to Pay
$3.75 Million in Damages to Retired Staffers. The
Ohio Education Association (OEA) settled a class action lawsuit filed in
2004 by retired employees who charged the union with cutting off promised
health benefits (for background, see
EIA's story, item #3 here).
Under the
terms of the settlement, OEA will pay $3.75 million in compensatory
damages to the retired staffers, plus pay into a Voluntary Employee Benefit
Association (VEBA) that will fund healthcare benefits to retired staffers
beyond the age of 65. The proposal is for the VEBA to purchase "a Medicare
Supplement Plan along with additional prescription drug coverage. In order
to receive the benefits provided by the VEBA, class members may be required
to pay an amount expected to be not greater than ten percent of the premium
costs for the supplemental insurance coverage."
OEA's annual contribution is set at $375
per retiree (aged 65 and older) per month plus a pro-rated portion of any
future increase in premium. The benefit will continue for as long as they
live.
There are approximately 118 retired OEA
employees in the class, which means the initial annual payment could exceed
$500,000 - fluctuating in subsequent years based on how many current
retirees reach 65 and how many pass away.
The U.S. District Court for the Southern
District of Ohio will hold a hearing on April 29 to decide whether to give
final approval to the settlement.
2) The Burden of Proof.
The National Education Association and its Florida affiliate celebrated Gov.
Crist's veto of a sweeping education reform bill which, among other things,
would have required teachers to be "retained, certified and compensated
based on student test scores on standardized tests -- not years of
experience or degrees held," according to a
Florida Education Association analysis.
I'm all for judging merit pay on its,
well, merits. Our school systems are rotten with ideas that have powerful
constituencies but not much of a track record in producing better educated
students. What doesn't seem fair is the apparent requirement that the
perfect system must be designed before adoption by anyone, anywhere.
While the unions were enjoying their
Florida victory, the Chicago Sun-Times took a look at the
relationship between teacher salaries and student achievement in Illinois
and
discovered there wasn't one.
Why is the traditional salary schedule
exempt from the same conditions demanded of merit pay proposals? I read a
lot of union literature, and it invariably claims that teachers are
underpaid, that they leave the profession in droves, and that they are
insufficiently appreciated. Is it really beyond the pale to think that
paying them as if they were nothing more than a set of years and college
credits may have something to do with these issues?
Arguments can be made for the
traditional salary schedule, but its greatest asset is the power of
incumbency. If the situation were reversed, and the step-and-column schedule
were the new proposal, it would hard-pressed to pass muster.
3) Recommended Reading: The Beholden
State. Even in the age of instant communications,
the DC-centric nature of political media and commentary leads to a view of
California akin to that of, say, Australia. That is, we know it's big and
stuff goes on there, but it's so far away.
So it's a surprise to find a devastating
critique of California's political culture and public sector unionism in the
pages of the New York City-based City Journal. In "The
Beholden State," Manhattan Institute senior fellow Steven Malanga leads
us through the history of public sector unionism, relevant California laws
and ballot initiatives, and the nut-and-bolts of union clout in the state's
cities and Capitol.
The California Teachers Association
figures prominently in Malanga's piece, but equal attention is paid to SEIU
and the powerful prison guards' union. It's a cautionary tale for all
states, and well worth your time.
4) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from April 12-20:
* If
You Can Read This, Thank a Non-Teacher? Too much
tooth and tail.
*
R.I.P. Rubber Rooms. Tearing down the wall.
*
Fun With Pension Underfunding. The Ant and the Grasshopper.
*
Three Stories I’m Having a Hard Time Getting Worked Up About. Flash!
Union officer puts something stupid in a memo...
*
Doo-Doo Heads. ...and then it gets even sillier.
*
Great Idea: Teacher Cross-Training. Saves time, money and jobs.
5)
Quote of the Week.
"It is the greatest middle-class, job-creating mechanism that we have ever
had in America that doesn't cost tax payers a dime." - Andrew Stern,
retiring president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU),
referring the organized labor movement. (April 14
Washington Post) |
