MCEA and Jennifer Martin act like a bunch of lunatics at Council yesterday

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like we're headed toward 5.7% increase, which is not close to the 10% Elrich and MCPS were insisting were the bare minimum: https://moco360.media/2023/05/16/funding-countys-high-priority-budget-items-would-require-5-7-cent-property-tax-hike/

Also, there will definitely have to be some hard choices made, as the Council is not writing a blank check for even all of the high-priority items:

“Now we have to look at that long list, try to pare it down and try to meet somewhere in the middle—which is probably where we’re going to land,” Albornoz said. “Not all of [the high priority items] are going to make it through.”

This all-or-nothing strategy that MCPS, the BoE and the MCEA took seems to be a big miss.

There goes the virtual academy and anything else remaining that was only stood up because of ESSER funds.

Reports of the VA's death have been greatly exaggerated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like the council settled on a 4.7% property tax increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

If truck drivers and freight workers decided to strike- the whole country as we know it would grind to a screeching halt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

If truck drivers and freight workers decided to strike- the whole country as we know it would grind to a screeching halt.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like the council settled on a 4.7% property tax increase.

Yikes. Even worse than the 5.7 hike they were being forced to settle for.

I really don't get McKnight, Silvestre and Martin's strategy here, unless their goal was always to overshoot with the hopes of ending up somewhere with half of what they asked for. If so, then kudos. It worked.

But if they weren't bluffing and they were in fact serious about the 10 percent property tax hike or else, this really blew up in their faces.

[Anonymous]

Laura Stewart's thread gives the blow-by-blow of the decision:

[Anonymous]

Stewart and Jawando voted against it because they thought 4.7 was too low.

Friedsen voted against it because he thought it was too high.

Everyone gets their talking points for reelection, but ultimately the county just upped property taxes 5% despite assessments going through the roof. And there is still a structural deficit for NEXT YEAR, so we'll be right back here.

[Anonymous]

MCPS management and its unions have been feuding for years, but they called a (possibly temporary) truce to team up and go for full funding of their budget. However, most of the council does not believe that MCPS needs every penny of its request and a staff analysis by former MCPS senior executive Essie McGuire backed them up. The council is poised to give the school system roughly 70% of its increase because they believe that that is enough to fund MCPS’s new collective bargaining agreements. If MCPS tries to go back on those agreements, they will face condemnation by both the council and the unions.

And what of the Montgomery County Education Association (MCEA), which staged a sit-in at a council meeting last week? I asked some of my council building sources for one word to describe their opinion of what happened. Their responses included distasteful, petulant, bullying, unproductive, destructive and sad. One source commented, “I have many more words that are not fit to print.” Another source said this about the union and the school board’s op-ed playing the race and sex cards against the council.

It was more aggressive than it should have been. That plus the MCEA madness was a bad, bad combo. MCEA and MCPS really did not understand how to operate in this environment. Neither showed any willingness to play ball until it was too late. Very unproductive.

Source: https://montgomeryperspective.com/2023/05/17/what-will-happen-on-the-budget/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

If truck drivers and freight workers decided to strike- the whole country as we know it would grind to a screeching halt.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

It literally is not.

Now, if you're arguing that work in the public sector is more important than most work in the private sector - one contributes to society, the other primarily contributes to the shareholders' bottom line - I'll agree with you. All the more reason to prioritize working conditions for public-sector jobs. We need good people in those jobs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The Council's proclamation was hypocritical lip-service. "Y'all are great. Here's less money than you need."

MCEA can't strike. This was a reasonable balance.

(I'm not part of MCEA.)

I agree. The USA is very anti-union, and this is why workers are treated so poorly. Being legally barred from striking goes against every working person's rights. Since they suffer under this ridiculous and unjust restriction that severely limits their power, MCEA and others are reduced to displays that make them look silly, when it reality it's the law that needs to change, not them. This is like the Jim Crow era, when Blacks were "free" in theory, but second-rate citizens in reality. This is the same situation for workers.

I am not a teacher or union member, but it's very sad to see how many Americans are just clueless about what unions gave them across the decades. Thanks to unions, you have weekends. Support your fellow worker and push for stronger unions. If you do, you might end up with longer parental leave, longer vacations, more affordable healthcare, more retirement.

Oh my goodness, are you mad? It is one thing for workers at a factory to strike. The company loses money and consumers can't get their goods. Oh well.

When public sector workers strike, especially at the local level, it causes widespread issues that impact entire communities. You might as well allow them to put guns to people's heads to demand salary increases.

Public sector unions are very different from private sector unions.

Sure, that's why everybody just shrugged and said "oh well" when the freight railroad unions were about to strike.

yeah, that was very problematic, wasn't it? It would be even worse with local public sector unions which already have undue influence because they basically choose the elected officials that govern their agencies.

Being problematic is the whole point of a strike, whether it's a private sector union or a public sector union. There is no point to a strike where nobody notices or cares that you're striking.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

If truck drivers and freight workers decided to strike- the whole country as we know it would grind to a screeching halt.

What happens if police and firefighters strike? People die. What happens if teachers strike? Kids don't get an education and at risk for a whole host of negative outcomes, including child neglect and abuse. That's fundamentally different than impacting shareholders' bottom line. The freight workers strike is a good example of a private sector strike that did have widespread impacts. How often do they strike? How much political power do those workers have? Not often, and not a lot. With public sector unions they are both powerful and strikes are deeply impactful. It literally is like holding a gun to people's heads.

It literally is not.

Now, if you're arguing that work in the public sector is more important than most work in the private sector - one contributes to society, the other primarily contributes to the shareholders' bottom line - I'll agree with you. All the more reason to prioritize working conditions for public-sector jobs. We need good people in those jobs.

I'm a public sector worker and I vehemently disagree with the notion that public sector work is fundamentally more important. That's not what I argued and to suggest truck drivers and rail workers are doing unimportant or less important work is frankly offensive. I made a distinction between the political power of different types of workers, a distinction you conveniently ignored.