Looks like a good deal. AFPE was a great alternative for over 25 years. $10 per month for 10 months and no politics! In addition to the insurance- which in reality is not needed as there are so many exclusions, they funded hundreds of teacher grants for graduate classes and professional development. A good portion of the union dues go to national and international the case of FEA the state affiliate.

Anonymous wrote:I asked my State Farm agent about liability insurance. He told me to stick with the union.

Check out these guys: https://virginiaeducators.org/

They are similar to the old AFPE. Much less expensive than the national unions. Their main concern is the liability insurance. They don't do politics.

Anonymous wrote:I asked my State Farm agent about liability insurance. He told me to stick with the union.

Why?

I asked my State Farm agent about liability insurance. He told me to stick with the union.

Anonymous wrote:Well said!

In addition, some programs for the most vulnerable have been eliminated. The silence from the union bigwigs is deafening.

Being destaffed is not at all pleasant, especially if you’re not told until August where you will be going and what you will be teaching. To hear “well you still have a job” is a slap in the face.

Teachers are not pawns on a chessboard. They are professionals and should be treated as such. It was apparent very early on that the full “ask” would not be funded. Regarding insurance, a personal liability policy would be far cheaper than the very hefty union dues. And the financial situation looks even worse for next year to fund a 3% raise plus step!

In a right to work state there is really no advantage to join a union unless they’re actually going to look out for your well-being, much more than just your pocketbook.

Well said.

6% is way more than they usually give us. Even if we have bigger classes (which sucks), I'm ok with it for the money.

Well said!

In addition, some programs for the most vulnerable have been eliminated. The silence from the union bigwigs is deafening.

Being destaffed is not at all pleasant, especially if you’re not told until August where you will be going and what you will be teaching. To hear “well you still have a job” is a slap in the face.

Teachers are not pawns on a chessboard. They are professionals and should be treated as such. It was apparent very early on that the full “ask” would not be funded. Regarding insurance, a personal liability policy would be far cheaper than the very hefty union dues. And the financial situation looks even worse for next year to fund a 3% raise plus step!

In a right to work state there is really no advantage to join a union unless they’re actually going to look out for your well-being, much more than just your pocketbook.

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our so called union is a big fail for teachers. Our Superintendent owns the union and she tells them what to do.

It's telling that union leadership won't call out the School Board or Superintendent in any of this. They shift the blame solely to the Board of Supervisors and state. There is plenty of blame to go around right now, but leaders within FCPS could have made hard decisions to preserve teaching positions. Union leaders seem to believe that backing off the raise an additional percent would have been perceived as weakness, so the position losses are either acceptable collateral damage in exchange for getting closer to the raises negotiated in the CBA or just the fault of the state of BoS. Someone did the math and discovered that reducing the raise just by just one more percent would have saved these positions. Depending on how long you've been in the county, that is probably around $1000/year. So far, it seems that it may only be destaffs, but I worry that actual RIFs may be on the horizon, if not this year, then next.

I will be considering liability insurance instead of union membership for next year since it seems that the union is not willing to fight for teacher's jobs and services for students. All of these lost positions will impact students in some way. If the union won't publicly stand up to the SB and Reid, I'm not sure if I can support them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’m so mad I’ve been paying dues for 15 years. They are so unhelpful and I’m not sure the people who even answer calls knows anything about FCPS.

They are completely useless. I stopped paying dues many years ago when they couldn't help me with even the most simple thing, the first time I actually needed them.

I taught for 7 years in FCPS and never even bothered to join them. I saw right through their bs!

Anonymous wrote:I’m so mad I’ve been paying dues for 15 years. They are so unhelpful and I’m not sure the people who even answer calls knows anything about FCPS.

They are completely useless. I stopped paying dues many years ago when they couldn't help me with even the most simple thing, the first time I actually needed them.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There is no union

Rather amazing how stupid you are, PP.

There are 2 unions for teachers in FCPS: AFT and FEA.

+1
They call themselves "associations" but a "rose by any other name.....""

Anonymous wrote:There is no union

Rather amazing how stupid you are, PP.

There are 2 unions for teachers in FCPS: AFT and FEA.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our so called union is a big fail for teachers. Our Superintendent owns the union and she tells them what to do.

Hilarious. They got everything they asked for in their first contract, with the exception of 1% of the salary increase. You’re a clown

This came at a price. There are currently hundreds of school-based instructional positions being cut to balance the budget. Destaff letters are still being sent out. Not sure I would call this a win.

+1. I'm being destaffed. Even though I'm arguably a better teacher than others in my dept (based on test scores and student opinions), I'm getting cut because I have only 9 years in the county vs over 15 for the other teachers. They care about seniority rather than effectiveness. Unions are selfish entities that haven't been relevant since the 1950s.

Forgive my ignorance, is this the same as being laid off?

Asking because I keep hearing about a severe shortage?

Destaffed teachers are usually placed at another school.

Placed at another school in another position or teaching assignment. There’s no mother option this late in the year but to take these unwanted assignment or resign from the district. Horrible to be making these types of cuts at this point in the year.

Is this a resignation with prejudice?

Not if you do it before June 15.

Our public schools have become some of the worst in the world.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Looks like our so called union is a big fail for teachers. Our Superintendent owns the union and she tells them what to do.

Hilarious. They got everything they asked for in their first contract, with the exception of 1% of the salary increase. You’re a clown

This came at a price. There are currently hundreds of school-based instructional positions being cut to balance the budget. Destaff letters are still being sent out. Not sure I would call this a win.

+1. I'm being destaffed. Even though I'm arguably a better teacher than others in my dept (based on test scores and student opinions), I'm getting cut because I have only 9 years in the county vs over 15 for the other teachers. They care about seniority rather than effectiveness. Unions are selfish entities that haven't been relevant since the 1950s.

Forgive my ignorance, is this the same as being laid off?

Asking because I keep hearing about a severe shortage?

Destaffed teachers are usually placed at another school.

Placed at another school in another position or teaching assignment. There’s no mother option this late in the year but to take these unwanted assignment or resign from the district. Horrible to be making these types of cuts at this point in the year.

Is this a resignation with prejudice?