WTU/DCPS reach agreement

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we said that before November, and then it still blew up. I'll believe it when my kids walk through the doors.

This. DCPS always had the authority to assign teachers back to work, but they chose not to use it. This agreement gave the union some extra terms they wanted including the right for some teachers to not return to work, but didn't give DCPS anything they didn’t already have. WTU already has a no strike clause so they couldn’t strike/ refuse to return to work. That’s why the teachers who went on strike on November 2nd were so careful to frame it as not a strike, but a sick day.

Then DCPS allowed each school to come up with their own reopening plan, which was a horrible shirking of duties. Some schools have plans that include no in person learning for some grades.

I’ll believe that schools are reopening after I’ve dropped my kids off.

I am never in the camp of defending DCPS and I am aware that with mayoral control Bowser always had the authority to order teachers to return to work, but in spite of the no strike clause the WTU was likely entertaining the idea (maybe they still are.) Of course doing so would bankrupt the union for sure and teachers would immediately lose benefits but I wouldn't be so sure that threat of strike wasn't something that was, at the very least, alluded to, during the negotiations. After the Silverman bill was withdrawn the only thing left the union has is threatening a strike, they know they lost so they signed the MOA.Honestly, teachers were better off with return to work options before the PERB lawsuit.

I am optimistic for Term 3, not all kids are going back to school. Mine probably aren't, they are middle schoolers, but having some portion of students going back into the school to learn is moving forward. I supposed I would also be skeptical if I were only thinking about my kids.

Teachers (and parents!) were talking about striking when the chancellor was ignoring what teachers wanted a few months ago. And sustained pressure from teachers and parents got the chancellor to back down.

rephrase: teachers and parents fulfilled their long-desired dream of ganging up on special needs kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we said that before November, and then it still blew up. I'll believe it when my kids walk through the doors.

This. DCPS always had the authority to assign teachers back to work, but they chose not to use it. This agreement gave the union some extra terms they wanted including the right for some teachers to not return to work, but didn't give DCPS anything they didn’t already have. WTU already has a no strike clause so they couldn’t strike/ refuse to return to work. That’s why the teachers who went on strike on November 2nd were so careful to frame it as not a strike, but a sick day.

Then DCPS allowed each school to come up with their own reopening plan, which was a horrible shirking of duties. Some schools have plans that include no in person learning for some grades.

I’ll believe that schools are reopening after I’ve dropped my kids off.

it was a strike, obviously. DCPS showed restraint in not pursuing that violation.

It obviously was a strike because the CB agreement says anything that resembles a strike, work stoppage etc. That day, teachers were instructed to "be available so as to not look like they were abandoning students." Seems to me that a legal argument could have been made in favor of DCPS. The agreement also says the union president has a responsibility to tell teachers to stop, in that case WTU president encouraged it.


....the WTU’s agents shall, upon notification of such activity by the Chancellor, immediately and
publicly declare as illegal all such activity and shall order Teachers to terminate such
activity. Failure of the WTU’s agents to do so shall constitute a violation of this
Agreement.

[Anonymous]

Ya'll are funny. Agreement or not there is still no plan to reopen - no date; no plan on how it will work; etc.

BTW I'm struggling but was big in the no go back camp. But now with the vaccine role out I will feel good if we do if all teachers are vaccinated.

Also as DC is a unique city - the Hill will begin vaccinating staff which makes me feel better to getting more people vaccinated quicker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are moving to MD or NoVa and going to public schools over this? Where teachers and leadership have the same problems and no one is back to school. Makes sense.

Some of what’s going on in this thread is conservatives who are mainly interested in their ideological agenda— breaking unions, harming public schools. (This is a big part of conservative ideology because local govts collect a lot of tax dollars and spend it on schools. So anti-tax/anti-society conservative are also anti-school.)

No, this is the narrative you're pushing to get what you want. In DC, it's liberals who want the schools open, and liberals who want the schools closed. And some liberals (like me) have now reconsidered blind support for teacher's unions. That's a lose for unions in the long term.

yep. - pro voucher liberal who sees that the teachers care only for themselves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’ll believe it when my kid is actually in school. So mad. I want vouchers!!

You and Betsy DeVos both want vouchers!

It’s clear whose side you’re on— the side of the oligarchs who want to destroy public education.

Meanwhile I’m on the side of the teachers— of the union. Which came to an agreement today as was clear they would.

oh ffs. if this sorry episode has taught us anything, it’s that the unions are not on the side of the kids. the liberal orthodoxy is shattered - charters, vouchers, all on the table.

Unions have never been on the side of the kids. Are you just now figuring that out? For the record, I don’t think the mayor or the chancellor + his elite DCPS staff care about the kids either. It is what it is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are moving to MD or NoVa and going to public schools over this? Where teachers and leadership have the same problems and no one is back to school. Makes sense.

Some of what’s going on in this thread is conservatives who are mainly interested in their ideological agenda— breaking unions, harming public schools. (This is a big part of conservative ideology because local govts collect a lot of tax dollars and spend it on schools. So anti-tax/anti-society conservative are also anti-school.)

No, this is the narrative you're pushing to get what you want. In DC, it's liberals who want the schools open, and liberals who want the schools closed. And some liberals (like me) have now reconsidered blind support for teacher's unions. That's a lose for unions in the long term.

yep. - pro voucher liberal who sees that the teachers care only for themselves.

Teachers already get paid crap. Now you are saying they should put kids first and take the risk of coming down with Covid for the greater good. C’mon- just listen to yourself. Teachers have always been treated badly in the US and now we are paying the price. I’m a parent not a teacher but this is obvious stuff that you should not need explained

[Anonymous]

I love hearing all of you say you’re moving to NoVA and MoCo. Their schools are still closed too, and NoVA doesn’t even have teachers unions. Bye!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I love hearing all of you say you’re moving to NoVA and MoCo. Their schools are still closed too, and NoVA doesn’t even have teachers unions. Bye!

But if this drives house prices down, I'm all for them moving

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are moving to MD or NoVa and going to public schools over this? Where teachers and leadership have the same problems and no one is back to school. Makes sense.

Some of what’s going on in this thread is conservatives who are mainly interested in their ideological agenda— breaking unions, harming public schools. (This is a big part of conservative ideology because local govts collect a lot of tax dollars and spend it on schools. So anti-tax/anti-society conservative are also anti-school.)

No, this is the narrative you're pushing to get what you want. In DC, it's liberals who want the schools open, and liberals who want the schools closed. And some liberals (like me) have now reconsidered blind support for teacher's unions. That's a lose for unions in the long term.

yep. - pro voucher liberal who sees that the teachers care only for themselves.

Teachers already get paid crap. Now you are saying they should put kids first and take the risk of coming down with Covid for the greater good. C’mon- just listen to yourself. Teachers have always been treated badly in the US and now we are paying the price. I’m a parent not a teacher but this is obvious stuff that you should not need explained

DC teachers are some of the highest paid in the country. Most are parking between 60 and 100k

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are moving to MD or NoVa and going to public schools over this? Where teachers and leadership have the same problems and no one is back to school. Makes sense.

Some of what’s going on in this thread is conservatives who are mainly interested in their ideological agenda— breaking unions, harming public schools. (This is a big part of conservative ideology because local govts collect a lot of tax dollars and spend it on schools. So anti-tax/anti-society conservative are also anti-school.)

No, this is the narrative you're pushing to get what you want. In DC, it's liberals who want the schools open, and liberals who want the schools closed. And some liberals (like me) have now reconsidered blind support for teacher's unions. That's a lose for unions in the long term.

yep. - pro voucher liberal who sees that the teachers care only for themselves.

Teachers already get paid crap. Now you are saying they should put kids first and take the risk of coming down with Covid for the greater good. C’mon- just listen to yourself. Teachers have always been treated badly in the US and now we are paying the price. I’m a parent not a teacher but this is obvious stuff that you should not need explained

DC teachers are some of the highest paid in the country. Most are parking between 60 and 100k

That is not enough to support a family or live in the city. Also the comp to other industries that have less stress is no where near the same.

[Anonymous]

Here is the things DCUM family, if the CARES act is renewed on the federal level, DCPS isn't opening with more than a skeletal crew.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we said that before November, and then it still blew up. I'll believe it when my kids walk through the doors.

This. DCPS always had the authority to assign teachers back to work, but they chose not to use it. This agreement gave the union some extra terms they wanted including the right for some teachers to not return to work, but didn't give DCPS anything they didn’t already have. WTU already has a no strike clause so they couldn’t strike/ refuse to return to work. That’s why the teachers who went on strike on November 2nd were so careful to frame it as not a strike, but a sick day.

Then DCPS allowed each school to come up with their own reopening plan, which was a horrible shirking of duties. Some schools have plans that include no in person learning for some grades.

I’ll believe that schools are reopening after I’ve dropped my kids off.

I am never in the camp of defending DCPS and I am aware that with mayoral control Bowser always had the authority to order teachers to return to work, but in spite of the no strike clause the WTU was likely entertaining the idea (maybe they still are.) Of course doing so would bankrupt the union for sure and teachers would immediately lose benefits but I wouldn't be so sure that threat of strike wasn't something that was, at the very least, alluded to, during the negotiations. After the Silverman bill was withdrawn the only thing left the union has is threatening a strike, they know they lost so they signed the MOA.Honestly, teachers were better off with return to work options before the PERB lawsuit.

I am optimistic for Term 3, not all kids are going back to school. Mine probably aren't, they are middle schoolers, but having some portion of students going back into the school to learn is moving forward. I supposed I would also be skeptical if I were only thinking about my kids.

Teachers (and parents!) were talking about striking when the chancellor was ignoring what teachers wanted a few months ago. And sustained pressure from teachers and parents got the chancellor to back down.

rephrase: teachers and parents fulfilled their long-desired dream of ganging up on special needs kids.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we said that before November, and then it still blew up. I'll believe it when my kids walk through the doors.

This. DCPS always had the authority to assign teachers back to work, but they chose not to use it. This agreement gave the union some extra terms they wanted including the right for some teachers to not return to work, but didn't give DCPS anything they didn’t already have. WTU already has a no strike clause so they couldn’t strike/ refuse to return to work. That’s why the teachers who went on strike on November 2nd were so careful to frame it as not a strike, but a sick day.

Then DCPS allowed each school to come up with their own reopening plan, which was a horrible shirking of duties. Some schools have plans that include no in person learning for some grades.

I’ll believe that schools are reopening after I’ve dropped my kids off.

it was a strike, obviously. DCPS showed restraint in not pursuing that violation.

Agree, it was obviously a strike. However, DCPS would have a hard time proving it for each individual teacher because they're entitled to use sick leave of under 3 consecutive days without medical documentation. It would be extremely difficult to prove that each individual teacher couldn't have been feeling sick. WTU knew that and violated their contract with the knowledge that discipline of individual teachers would have been nearly impossible to uphold.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I feel like we said that before November, and then it still blew up. I'll believe it when my kids walk through the doors.

This. DCPS always had the authority to assign teachers back to work, but they chose not to use it. This agreement gave the union some extra terms they wanted including the right for some teachers to not return to work, but didn't give DCPS anything they didn’t already have. WTU already has a no strike clause so they couldn’t strike/ refuse to return to work. That’s why the teachers who went on strike on November 2nd were so careful to frame it as not a strike, but a sick day.

Then DCPS allowed each school to come up with their own reopening plan, which was a horrible shirking of duties. Some schools have plans that include no in person learning for some grades.

I’ll believe that schools are reopening after I’ve dropped my kids off.

it was a strike, obviously. DCPS showed restraint in not pursuing that violation.

Agree, it was obviously a strike. However, DCPS would have a hard time proving it for each individual teacher because they're entitled to use sick leave of under 3 consecutive days without medical documentation. It would be extremely difficult to prove that each individual teacher couldn't have been feeling sick. WTU knew that and violated their contract with the knowledge that discipline of individual teachers would have been nearly impossible to uphold.

Nah. Someone posted WTU communications about it. It was obviously a concerted action supported/directed by the union.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You all are moving to MD or NoVa and going to public schools over this? Where teachers and leadership have the same problems and no one is back to school. Makes sense.

Some of what’s going on in this thread is conservatives who are mainly interested in their ideological agenda— breaking unions, harming public schools. (This is a big part of conservative ideology because local govts collect a lot of tax dollars and spend it on schools. So anti-tax/anti-society conservative are also anti-school.)

No, this is the narrative you're pushing to get what you want. In DC, it's liberals who want the schools open, and liberals who want the schools closed. And some liberals (like me) have now reconsidered blind support for teacher's unions. That's a lose for unions in the long term.

yep. - pro voucher liberal who sees that the teachers care only for themselves.

Teachers already get paid crap. Now you are saying they should put kids first and take the risk of coming down with Covid for the greater good. C’mon- just listen to yourself. Teachers have always been treated badly in the US and now we are paying the price. I’m a parent not a teacher but this is obvious stuff that you should not need explained

Teachers in DCPS do NOT get paid like crap. My kid's PK4 teacher and K teacher both make very low six figures.