I wanted to follow up the STRIKE! post with some hard numbers. The Mayor says Quincy pays better than any other district on the South Shore. I looked up how much I would make in other South Shore towns given my degrees, years of service, and department head status.
In Quincy, I make $61,123. For the same exact job, I would make:
75,295 in Norwell
74,345 in Duxbury
70,025 in Milton
68,550 in Hanover
67,565 in Scituate
66,530 in Cohasset
66, 238 in Marshfield
66, 255 in Hingham
65,105 in Abington
64,657 in Brockton
64,898 in Braintree
63,985 in Weymouth
62,905 in Rockland
61,055 in Hull
That puts Quincy second from the bottom in the sample I looked up.
THESE TOTALS TAKE INTO ACCOUNT DEDUCTIONS FOR HEALTH BENEFITS, whether 90-10, 80-20, 70-30, 50-50, whatever.
And I say again, I will go to 80-20, probably even beyond. It's not a matter of holding to 90-10. It's a matter of not earning less for the same job I do now.
But more than that, for me right now, it's a matter of being truthful about the situation. The mayor quite simply has not done that.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Monday, June 11, 2007
STRIKE!
Today concluded day two of the Quincy teachers strike, with another day to come tomorrow and no end in sight. These have been a few of the most surreal days I've ever lived.
To anyone who pays attention, I must urge you to not believe everything you see on TV or read in the newspaper. TV news tends to oversimplify by saying that this is all about health benefits. It's not. That is a significant part of the issue, but it's not the only one. Everyone I know is prepared to concede on this point and move more in line with working America and double our contributions. What we're asking is that the city phase it in over a longer period and offer raises to offset the increase in cost.
I've done the math many times over: in the first two years of the city's proposed contract, I lose money, break even in the third, and begin to see a modest raise in the fourth. The mayor's 13% raise over four years when combined with benefit shifting amounts to a 3% pay cut for me. It's worse for my colleagues on family health plans.
The mayor likes to point to other city unions that have accepted his 13% raise to offset the doubling of benefits contributions. Please do not forget that those workers have ample opportunities to earn overtime - something teachers do all the time, but never get compensated for. We have no inventives or opportunties to mitigate the benefit shift, like some other city employees do.
He also keeps referring to us as "the best paid teachers on the South Shore." How he can say this when state statistics are readily available (and disprove him) is beyond me.
And notice the 17% raise he got last year alone is never mentioned, nor is his salary of $95,000 - not counting his $4800 travel allowance.
And let's not overlook the new Quincy High School project, now $48 million overbudget because of his tardiness in filing state papers, while districts all around us build new schools and repair exisiting ones at state expense, not local taxpayer expense.
I don't know about you, but an extra $48 million would be nice to have lying around.
In my ranting I do not intend you to make you take my side. Just simply look at the whole story and consider the limited information the press is giving.
The Patriot Ledger ran an unfair and biased editorial this weekend. They gave us "an F" for failing Quincy's students by going on strike. I'll say only this in response: over the last ten years, Ledger management has absolutely crushed the unions in its employ, so its overt anti-union stance in that editorial makes sense. Also, the term "outsourcing" could be applied to the Ledger's employment patterns - another indication of its feelings about workers.
I canceled my home delivery Saturday afternoon.
As for the strike itself, it's been great for two reasons - during our morning picketing I walk 4 miles (according to a digital pedometer), which can't be bad for my overall health. And I've never felt so united and close to my co-workers as I do right now. We are a team, not separated by departments, seniority, or supervisory status. We're in this together, and that togetherness is palpable every minute when we picket, carpool to South Boston to sit through union meetings, or storm city hall. Unfortunately it takes this kind of thing to have that kind of effect.
So tomorrow promises another 6-9am picket, 4 miles of exercise, a quick bite to eat, a two-hour membership meeting in a packed and stuffy union hall, and some variation of the "storm city hall" routine in the afternoon. I should be giving my period two class its final exam and preparing book orders for my department. But the former scenario is what I'm stuck with - perhaps by choice, but then again, not really. This situation could have been averted months ago, even a year ago, if the city of Quincy had the kind of leadership it deserves.
To anyone who pays attention, I must urge you to not believe everything you see on TV or read in the newspaper. TV news tends to oversimplify by saying that this is all about health benefits. It's not. That is a significant part of the issue, but it's not the only one. Everyone I know is prepared to concede on this point and move more in line with working America and double our contributions. What we're asking is that the city phase it in over a longer period and offer raises to offset the increase in cost.
I've done the math many times over: in the first two years of the city's proposed contract, I lose money, break even in the third, and begin to see a modest raise in the fourth. The mayor's 13% raise over four years when combined with benefit shifting amounts to a 3% pay cut for me. It's worse for my colleagues on family health plans.
The mayor likes to point to other city unions that have accepted his 13% raise to offset the doubling of benefits contributions. Please do not forget that those workers have ample opportunities to earn overtime - something teachers do all the time, but never get compensated for. We have no inventives or opportunties to mitigate the benefit shift, like some other city employees do.
He also keeps referring to us as "the best paid teachers on the South Shore." How he can say this when state statistics are readily available (and disprove him) is beyond me.
And notice the 17% raise he got last year alone is never mentioned, nor is his salary of $95,000 - not counting his $4800 travel allowance.
And let's not overlook the new Quincy High School project, now $48 million overbudget because of his tardiness in filing state papers, while districts all around us build new schools and repair exisiting ones at state expense, not local taxpayer expense.
I don't know about you, but an extra $48 million would be nice to have lying around.
In my ranting I do not intend you to make you take my side. Just simply look at the whole story and consider the limited information the press is giving.
The Patriot Ledger ran an unfair and biased editorial this weekend. They gave us "an F" for failing Quincy's students by going on strike. I'll say only this in response: over the last ten years, Ledger management has absolutely crushed the unions in its employ, so its overt anti-union stance in that editorial makes sense. Also, the term "outsourcing" could be applied to the Ledger's employment patterns - another indication of its feelings about workers.
I canceled my home delivery Saturday afternoon.
As for the strike itself, it's been great for two reasons - during our morning picketing I walk 4 miles (according to a digital pedometer), which can't be bad for my overall health. And I've never felt so united and close to my co-workers as I do right now. We are a team, not separated by departments, seniority, or supervisory status. We're in this together, and that togetherness is palpable every minute when we picket, carpool to South Boston to sit through union meetings, or storm city hall. Unfortunately it takes this kind of thing to have that kind of effect.
So tomorrow promises another 6-9am picket, 4 miles of exercise, a quick bite to eat, a two-hour membership meeting in a packed and stuffy union hall, and some variation of the "storm city hall" routine in the afternoon. I should be giving my period two class its final exam and preparing book orders for my department. But the former scenario is what I'm stuck with - perhaps by choice, but then again, not really. This situation could have been averted months ago, even a year ago, if the city of Quincy had the kind of leadership it deserves.
Sunday, June 3, 2007
London Calling
So the Patriot Ledger replied that my reply to Mr. Olsen ran too long for them to print. I tried as much as I could to cut it down but I couldn't do it and still convey all the points I wanted to. But my response did make the rounds through North Quincy High School, which is preaching to the choir, but it was sort of therapeutic I suppose to put it on paper. The coming week will be "big," for lack of a better term. Our D-Day is Friday, June 8th. We have a very long, perhaps deep into the night, meeting scheduled for Thursday at 3:30. The union membership will vote to accept the city's last best offer or to strike the next day. It's hard to get a read on how people in other buildings feel, but my sense is that we don't have the simple majority required to vote for a strike. And I'm not sure the last best offer is going to be something we really want. So as far as I can tell, we lose no matter how this turns out. I just want to go down swinging.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, is graduation. It is customary for department chairs to sit on the platform with city administrators, city councilors, school committee members, and the mayor. After a very dramatic battle, we (the department chairs) have voted to not sit on the platform, much the same way the teachers will not be sitting in their reserved on-field section. The department chairs were split over whether or not we are contractually obligated to be up there. The consensus was that we're not. Things are bit more complicated in that one of us has a child in the graduating class and that person would have liked to have been on the platform so he can come down and hand his child his diploma. We think he can still do that by coming down from the stands at the appropriate time. My vote was against sitting on the platform and I offered two reasons. First, we would be the only representatives of the teachers' union on the platform and the union would prefer we not be up there. Second, sitting up there would place us with the very people we are negotiating with and I think it's not right to send a message of unity with them when the truth is we are very much opposed. Anyway, we voted and the vote was against sitting up there, so we are not. The day after our vote, we learned that the prior principals and Quincy clergy, all of whom traditionally sit on the platform, have also decided to not sit on the platform. This will leave only elected officials, the superintendent, and his appointees on the platform. Plus a very empty on-field teachers' section.
I escaped all of that drama for a few days last week by heading to London's West End. I managed to see some new things and hit a museum I had somehow never been to before.
Lord of the Rings is not the best thing you'll ever see, but you can certainly tell where your money goes. The effects are incredible. A forgettable score with nary a tune to remember. But very fun to watch.
The Lady from Dubuque is a typical Albee play - loaded with symbolism and metaphor and requiring far too much brain power to follow. Alas, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf excepted, Albee is not one of my favorites. But this play featured Maggie Smith - and it's always worth it to see her.
A third return to Billy Elliott. Obviously I like this one a lot. I think it's message is great and it has some excellent staging. Three times seen, and three different Billys. The first two were originals and both great. This one was apparently the first of the replacements and was good - not as good as the first two, but still good.
Equus is a dark and twisted psychological drama. Leaves you with much to think about. And draws on all the psych 101 and Freudian analysis you studied in college. The selling point for this production is of course Daniel Radcliffe. A grown up Harry Potter certainly has something to do with why every seat was full at this show. He's good, but then again, in terms of acting, he doesn't have to do much but react, especially to the doctor. He does indeed strip down to nothing and spend about 10 minutes with all of it out there for everyone to see. And there's no attempt to tone it down with dark lighting, standing in profile, or blocking by other characters. It's all there to see. So I give him credit for the courage to do that eight times a week in front of full houses. The doctor was played by Harry's uncle Vernon, Richard Griffiths. In History Boys, Griffiths owned the role of Hector and turned in one of the best peformances I've ever seen on stage. In Equus, he is good, but I had a hard time fully accepting him as the character. Maybe it was physical, maybe it was age. I don't know.
Tomorrow, weather permitting, is graduation. It is customary for department chairs to sit on the platform with city administrators, city councilors, school committee members, and the mayor. After a very dramatic battle, we (the department chairs) have voted to not sit on the platform, much the same way the teachers will not be sitting in their reserved on-field section. The department chairs were split over whether or not we are contractually obligated to be up there. The consensus was that we're not. Things are bit more complicated in that one of us has a child in the graduating class and that person would have liked to have been on the platform so he can come down and hand his child his diploma. We think he can still do that by coming down from the stands at the appropriate time. My vote was against sitting on the platform and I offered two reasons. First, we would be the only representatives of the teachers' union on the platform and the union would prefer we not be up there. Second, sitting up there would place us with the very people we are negotiating with and I think it's not right to send a message of unity with them when the truth is we are very much opposed. Anyway, we voted and the vote was against sitting up there, so we are not. The day after our vote, we learned that the prior principals and Quincy clergy, all of whom traditionally sit on the platform, have also decided to not sit on the platform. This will leave only elected officials, the superintendent, and his appointees on the platform. Plus a very empty on-field teachers' section.
I escaped all of that drama for a few days last week by heading to London's West End. I managed to see some new things and hit a museum I had somehow never been to before.
Lord of the Rings is not the best thing you'll ever see, but you can certainly tell where your money goes. The effects are incredible. A forgettable score with nary a tune to remember. But very fun to watch.
The Lady from Dubuque is a typical Albee play - loaded with symbolism and metaphor and requiring far too much brain power to follow. Alas, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf excepted, Albee is not one of my favorites. But this play featured Maggie Smith - and it's always worth it to see her.
A third return to Billy Elliott. Obviously I like this one a lot. I think it's message is great and it has some excellent staging. Three times seen, and three different Billys. The first two were originals and both great. This one was apparently the first of the replacements and was good - not as good as the first two, but still good.
Equus is a dark and twisted psychological drama. Leaves you with much to think about. And draws on all the psych 101 and Freudian analysis you studied in college. The selling point for this production is of course Daniel Radcliffe. A grown up Harry Potter certainly has something to do with why every seat was full at this show. He's good, but then again, in terms of acting, he doesn't have to do much but react, especially to the doctor. He does indeed strip down to nothing and spend about 10 minutes with all of it out there for everyone to see. And there's no attempt to tone it down with dark lighting, standing in profile, or blocking by other characters. It's all there to see. So I give him credit for the courage to do that eight times a week in front of full houses. The doctor was played by Harry's uncle Vernon, Richard Griffiths. In History Boys, Griffiths owned the role of Hector and turned in one of the best peformances I've ever seen on stage. In Equus, he is good, but I had a hard time fully accepting him as the character. Maybe it was physical, maybe it was age. I don't know.
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