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.
