Comments on: Three Cheers for Self-Interest!

By: educ8m

educ8m — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 16:52:31 +0000

Readers should try to see The Cartel, [http://www.thecartelmovie.com/]
a documentary that the filmaker subtitles: “how American public education primarily serves its employees, not its children.”

By: NYC Educator

NYC Educator — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:58:06 +0000

For the record, there is no “bumping” in NYC. That was given away in 05. And I’d disagree completely that the UFT opposes “reform.” In fact, it’s done much to enable it, including supporting mayoral control at its inception and right now, with Randi Weingarten writing an editorial in the NY Post supporting it, and the paper declaring, “Right on Randi.”

I’d say Mayor Bloomberg, who’s good at nothing but PR, qualifies as that “boogie man.” But the UFT has enabled him at every step, and has given him a relatively trouble-free ride. He’s got no better pal than part-time union head Randi Weingarten.

By: Matthew Brown

Matthew Brown — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 00:57:03 +0000

Yes, teachers unions are paid to represent their members self-interest. The trouble comes in, I think, in who they are defending it from. Society is comfortable with self-interest craft unions because they protect workers from companies we know to be brutally profit oriented. But when it comes to teachers unions, there isn’t so lovely a boogie man. Teachers unions find themselves opposing reforming politicians and a public calling for reform. One might even go so far as to say teachers unions tend to protect their members self-interest from the people elected to protect our self-interest. Given that this is the case, an open admission of self-interest seems a losing bet for these unions.

By: Jim Stegall

Jim Stegall — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 02:03:15 +0000

There must be a special place in hell for those who spend their lives mining the public’s concern for children and families for their own narrow financial interests.