Collective Bargaining & The Tax Cap

Clearly the public is demanding change; however, I am not sure if this is the way to go about implementing positive change or reform. The first article addresses: "with the efficiency of a bulldozer, similar bills are now being proposed or enacted in nearly a dozen states. In Oklahoma, a State Senate committee has approved a bill to remove the collective-bargaining rights for workers in the state’s 13 largest cities. In Florida, where collective bargaining is protected by the State Constitution, lawmakers are pushing through bills that would limit unions’ ability to collect dues and make political contributions." In the fall 2011 edition of neatoday, the Ohio Education Association members answered the call when they helped collect more than 1.3 million signatures on petitions delivered to the Ohio statehouse in an effort to overturn Senate Bill 5. The public must understand that police and fire officials are members of unions who serve and protect the public. “It may turn out that the best way to revive the ailing labor movement is by trying to chop it down.” I am a bit upset with this statement because, union bashing and strikes benefit no one. The term "collective bargaining" is a process by which wages, hours, rules, and working conditions are negotiated and agreed upon by a union with an employer for all the employees collectively whom it represents (LFT Contract). Regional collective bargaining? Professionally speaking, when adults sit down and rationally exchange ideas and discuss “best practices,” a great deal can get accomplished. I do not have a solution to this dilemma; however, we must put our biases aside. As educators, we must do what is best for children.www.neatoday The second article addressed not only the tax cap, but how personnel costs are skyrocketing.  As stated in the article, “Outside New York City, the cost of pensions, health insurance and others benefits for workers has been increasing about 10 percent a year since 1998, according to the State Department of Education. The Legislature over the years has sweetened benefit packages as a way of rewarding teachers or other workers. Mr. Cuomo should push for regional collective bargaining instead of district by district. The goal should be pensions and health care systems for government workers that are more like those in the private sector.” One might think regional collective bargaining may work; however it can also be problematic for the individual schools districts. Nicole addressed consolidating school districts with shared resources.  I am all for it, but may be a challenging sell to the community.  I definitely want to look into this more. Recently, I realized that in our district, we will not even discuss a waiver for the 2% Tax Cap.  We will need to do more with less.