Kids are going hungry, families are losing income, kids are being left home alone and dangerously unsupervised, and school budgets are being wasted by Wisconsin’s teachers. Why the heck are Wisconsin’s teaches putting so many kids at risk? Worse, why is the Old Media allowing the unions to get away with this without calling them on it?
There are several questions that should immediately come to mind with this whole situation and all of them tend to show that these teachers don’t care at all about the kids that they keep hiding behind. After all, these actions perpetrated in Wisconsin by the state’s teachers are hurting kids all across the state.
Let’s consider what is going on in Wisconsin, shall we?
- The special breakfasts, lunches, and in some places even dinners given to kids has stopped because these teachers have illicitly shut schools down.
- Some kids are now home alone because with schools shut down poor working parents are at work and some kids are home left unsupervised.
- After school programs have been shut down hurting low income families.
- Those working parents that act responsibly for their children are now staying home, missing work and losing income because of it, hurting working families.
- Costs to schools will grow as schools will be forced to stay open later in the year to make up for lost days.
- Kids were put at risk by being taken from schools without parental permission slips for the protests last week.
- Teachers are shutting down government, the wellspring of all caring for kids (at least in their formulation of the matter).
Now, if any organization or coalition on the right were responsible for shutting down government and hurting kid’s benefits so much the Old Media would be hollering this meme from the rooftops. Yet with all these things happening as result of the actions of these left-wing unions, not a peep is being heard from the oh-so-caring media establishment.
Imagine that, right?
In any case, it seems pretty clear that all the tropes the left throws around when it concerns education are merely a smoke screen to protect high salaries, rich benefits, and overstuffed pensions. The “kids” are the human shield unions use to hide behind.
February 21st, 2011 at 3:36 pm
I think the teachers have probably wrestled with guilt about not being at work, but desperate times call for desperate measures. At this point, they do feel (and I agree) that that the fight to preserve a basic right to have at least some say in their work and livelihood is indeed a desperate fight. Why did Walker have to go that far, anyway? They are agreeing to pay and benefit concessions, he’s insisting on a whole lot more from them.
Maybe if more workers in America had tried to hold onto that right to negotiate a little harder, things wouldn’t be so unstable for workers today. No such thing as job security anymore, wage growth is sluggish or even declining in so many sectors, and of course, pensions have been swapped for crappy 401K plans.
And we citizens share some blame, too, by willingly buying so many shoddy overseas products. We’ve enabled the wiping out of a lot of jobs in this country.
It’s all very depressing, frankly. I was looking online yesterday for made in the USA toddler clothes. I could hardly find anything. I would pay more. They’re just not out there.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:01 pm
I think these teachers should all be fired. They are using children as human shields. This business of the teachers using phony doctor excuses is a fraud and the school districts should act with mass firings. There are plenty of teachers who would be available to take their place.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:16 pm
I wonder if the tax payer is paying for these bogus sick slips ?
I wonder if the victims can get reimbursed for day care and babysitters and lost wages ?
Ginnie, one of these days you’ll realize that its very unhealthy if your state/fed workers are allowed to collectively hold the tax payers dollars hostage and why its illegal for them to strike.
But, bless their little souls its just a “work outage”
February 21st, 2011 at 4:28 pm
Actually, it’s plainly against the Constitution to try and STOP them from striking.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:33 pm
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/21/rasmussen-poll-on-wisconsin-dispute-may-be-biased/?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Rasmussen polls may be biased. Shocking.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:35 pm
And teachers and cops and social workers are taxpayers, too. Just an FYI. You’re talking about them like they aren’t.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:40 pm
While the pensions for many public employees is exorbitant it also only a component of the debt accrued by these states.
Both Walker and now Snyder here in Michigan immediately either enacted and/or extended massive corporate tax benefits.
In fact, the Michigan governor just enacted a new budget that will now tax the pensions of all retirees.
The seniors in this state were justifiably angry and in a state with and “old” demographic I doubt he sees a second term.
Seniors always vote and they tend to remember.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:40 pm
Additionally, he eliminated the film credits.
We were developing a thriving film business with 200 projects slated for development.
Admittedly they only realized a $.50 return for every dollar spent, but the numbers were skewing upward. He merely had to adjust the tax credits and we still would have retained the 7000 jobs dependent on this industry. Instead he eviscerated the business.
I know, I know, People will say this is backwards thinking, but this a state can “invest” in an industry. Most large businesses lose money for a few years before they realize a profit.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:48 pm
This is just income redistribution under another banner. In some cases it’s reparations. If your job could be done by a 9th grader (emptying bedpans) you’re not too high wage food chain.
Against the Constitution to strike? Who’s constitution? The peeps are starting to get it.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:51 pm
hondo your absolutely antideluvian. Your like trapped inside some Dicken’s novel.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Hondo: “Against the Constitution to strike? ”
Eh? I think you misread my post. I’m saying the opposite…it’s Un-Constitutional to try and stop people from striking.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:57 pm
And actually, Hondo, fitting a bedpan under a patient is harder than you think, especially doing so in a tactful, non-intrusive, comfortable way for a patient who’s already embarrassed as hell that he or she can’t do that function on their own at present. It’s not just emptying it.
So is making up a fresh bed of sheets with a stricken patient still lying in the bed. You can’t turn them over, you can’t jostle them.
Health care work, especially at the lower-paid levels, is very strenuous. It requires a lot of dexterity, a lot of patience, and a lot of endurance to work twelve hour shifts or longer. And with our aging population, we’re going to need more people willing to do such work. I personally think we should pay them decently and treat them with a little more respect.
I also frequently wonder how often some of you rightwingers actually get out into the real world.
February 21st, 2011 at 4:58 pm
“And teachers and cops and social workers are taxpayers, too. Just an FYI. You’re talking about them like they aren’t.”
So what ?
There so called “taxes” came from “MY” taxes.
Its just dog eat dog.
Cant you see that ?
Wisconsin state law prohibits teachers and public servants from striking.
And, since the doctors notes are bogus the “sick out” is hardly valid
February 21st, 2011 at 5:00 pm
“And actually, Hondo, fitting a bedpan under a patient is harder than you think, especially doing so in a tactful, non-intrusive, comfortable way for a patient who’s already embarrassed as hell that he or she can’t do that function on their own at present. It’s not just emptying it.”
Cry me a river.
Thats all besides the point.
hey, guess what ?
I got a bargain for you.
You work 40 honest hours a week for me and I’ll pay you 800 honest dollars a week.
What you do with that 800 is your problem…
…bye
February 21st, 2011 at 5:05 pm
“I also frequently wonder how often some of you rightwingers actually get out into the real world.”
You wouldn’t last a fcking minute with me.
What I do voluntarily most people wouldn’t/couldn’t do for 100 bucks an hour
February 21st, 2011 at 5:06 pm
It is fairly shocking a nursing home contract doctor can glance over someones chart, say high to the patient, and up the wet to dry dressings and skeedaddle and charge them a full visit, maybe as much as $75 and go see half a dozen patients over 30 minutes or so and leave with $450 with billings. Meanwhile it will take less than $100 an 8 hour day to get the orderly or nurses aid to get all those patients up, washed, teeth brushed, dressed in clean jama’s, fed, sitting in the day room, and then put back to bed, bed sores cleaned and bandaged, and running around helping the one nurse on shift, pushing bedpans under incontinent people and feeing patients their meds. So who do we attack here as the problem, the aid? Her union fought and got her a personal day a year, and a little cola. sad.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:09 pm
Eh? I think you misread my post. I’m saying the opposite…it’s Un-Constitutional to try and stop people from striking.
Yeah, my bad.
Bed pans and making beds etc. is not rocket science. It’s important and these folks do work hard (I do know something about hospitals BTW) but it doesn’t take a lot of training. What it is is a springboard for something better. You do this well, get more training and move on to bigger things.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:10 pm
@ Ginnie, it may be a violation of the law, and their precious union contract, to stage this wild-cat strike. That’s what it is! The teachers should all be fired!
@ Allen: As to the Rasmussen Poll, even if it was skewed 4-points in favor of the Republicans, that still makes it 6-points in favor of Scott Walker and his Repair Bill. Pretty much every single poll from Gallup and the rest skew in favor of Demoncrats (hehehe). I don’t hear too many people on your side complaining about that!
February 21st, 2011 at 5:13 pm
micky: “Its just dog eat dog.
Cant you see that ?”
No. This whole event has got me thinking about what my family gets back in return for our property and sales and income taxes from a local and state level.
We have cops that patrol our neighborhood. A private security firm would cost us much more. We have a nice new school up the street to educate our toddler when he’s ready. Private tuition would wipe us out. The streets are in relatively good condition, there are parks for us to picnic at, they even decorated the entire county to look like Bedford Falls for Christmas.
I’m sure I’m leaving out a lot more. I think we’re getting a lot back for our money. I’d actually be ok with a tax increase, in fact. I wouldn’t be crazy about it, but I wouldn’t feel robbed.
micky: “Wisconsin state law prohibits teachers and public servants from striking.”
Well, that is Un-Constitutional. Do you know what part of the Constitution I’m referring to?
February 21st, 2011 at 5:15 pm
No. Help me out.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:18 pm
Hey Ginnie, I get the whole right to assemble thing.
Wisconsin state law prohibits teachers from striking.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2676016/posts
“State law prohibits public school teachers from striking. So did Wednesday’s “sick out” by Madison School District teachers constitute an illegal strike?
No, said John Matthews, Madison Teachers Inc. executive director, who called the event “a political action,” not a strike.
“They’re not protesting against their employers,” he said. “The employer had nothing to do with this. This is trying to save public education in Wisconsin.”
Madison school officials didn’t respond immediately Wednesday to requests for comment.
Peter Davis, legal counsel with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, which administers the state’s collective bargaining laws, declined to say whether the action — in which 40 percent of the Madison union’s 2,600 members called in sick as of late Tuesday — amounted to a strike since his organization could be called on to make that judgment in any complaint against MTI.
But in general, Davis said, a strike includes any concerted work stoppage by municipal employees, any concerted interruption of operation of services, or any concerted refusal to work or perform normal duties for the purpose of enforcing demands on a municipal employer.”
“a strike includes any concerted work stoppage by municipal employees, any concerted interruption of operation of services, or any concerted refusal to work or perform normal duties for the purpose of enforcing demands on a municipal employer”
“Despite the liberal talking mouth pieces … this *is* an illegal strike. Fire them. Fire them all.”
February 21st, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Hondo: “What it is is a springboard for something better. You do this well, get more training and move on to bigger things.”
I don’t know, Hondo, I’ve seen too many people use similar excuses to pay peanuts to people who work their a##@es off. It may not be rocket science, but we’re getting to a point in this country where too many people couldn’t even do physical labor if they tried.
And these nurse techs and health aids spend some of the most time with patients. (How often do you actually see a doctor, anymore???) Again, I don’t want these people to be low wage, low respected, disgruntled employees.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:24 pm
micky, yeah, I read that article. But I wasn’t going to use his reasoning that this wasn’t really a strike. I’m going with the Constitutional argument. They are assembling to petition the government. If he fires them for doing so, he’s effectively chilling that right. It’s also a right that supercedes state law.
Even if it didn’t, I still think it’s BS to try and totally take away anyone’s right to bargain, collectively or otherwise. If some modification is in order, I’m willing to listen to that, but to just effectively take almost all the teeth out of it…no. That’s not going to work.
February 21st, 2011 at 5:24 pm
Ginnie.
You have the constitutional right to strike and be absent from work.
Ask Reagan
February 21st, 2011 at 5:24 pm
I don’t want these people to be low wage, low respected, disgruntled employees.
Me neither. I want them to be glad they have a job and some benefits. And there should be a pathway for them to improve their circumstances. If they are happy to stay where they are and have no motivation to improve…that’s OK too.