State employees and employees of state institutions of higher education
· Abolishes the collective bargaining rights of employees of the state, of any agency, authority, commission, or board of the state, and of any state institution of higher education.
· Prohibits the state, agencies, authorities, commissions, and boards of the state, and a state institution of higher education from collectively bargaining with its employees.
· Abolishes the Office of Collective Bargaining.
Police and fire department supervisors
· Removes a limitation on the definition of "supervisor" with respect to members of police and fire departments, potentially making more people supervisors and ineligible to collectively bargain.
Contract employees and employees of regional councils of government
· Excludes persons working pursuant to a contract between a public employer and private employer and over whom the National Labor Relations Board has declined jurisdiction from those persons eligible for collective bargaining.
· Excludes employees of a regional council of government from those persons eligible for collective bargaining.
Rights of public employees
· Removes continuation, modification, or deletion of an existing collective bargaining agreement from the subject of collective bargaining.
· Removes a provision granting specific authority to public school employees to collectively bargain for health care benefits.
· Authorizes public employees to refuse any representation by an exclusive representative or an employee organization.
Open shops
· Makes any agreement that purports to require that employees join any exclusive representation void and unenforceable.
Subjects for collective bargaining
· Makes the following inappropriate subjects for collective bargaining: (1) employer-paid contributions to any of the five public employee retirement systems and (2) health care benefits for which the employer is required to pay more than 80% of the cost.
· Permits public employers to not bargain on any subject reserved to the management and direction of the governmental unit, even if the subject affects wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment.
Collective bargaining agreement provisions and approval
· Prohibits a collective bargaining agreement from prohibiting a public employer that is in a state of fiscal emergency from serving a written notice to terminate, modify, or negotiate the agreement.
· Prohibits a public employer from agreeing to a provision in a collective bargaining agreement that requires the public employer, when a reduction in force is necessary, to use employee length of service as the only factor when making layoffs.
· Prohibits a public employer from agreeing to a provision in a collective bargaining agreement that requires the employer to pay more than 80% of the cost paid for benefits.
Conflicting provisions of agreements
· Makes laws pertaining to the provision of health care benefits to public employees prevail over conflicting collective bargaining agreements.
School districts, educational service centers, community schools, and STEM schools
· Prohibits a public employer that is a school district, educational service center, community school, or STEM school from entering into a collective bargaining agreement that does specified things, such as establishing a maximum number of students who may be assigned to a classroom or teacher.
· Requires collective bargaining agreements between such an education-related public employer and public employees to comply with all applicable state or local laws or ordinances regarding wages, hours, and terms and conditions of employment, unless the conflicting provision establishes benefits that are less than provided in the law or ordinance.
· Requires the parties to consider, during negotiations, the financial status of the public employer at the time period surrounding the negotiations for purposes of determining the ability of the employer to pay for any agreed terms.
· Prohibits the parties from basing the ability of the employer to pay for terms of the agreement on potential future increases in the employer's income that would only be possible by the employer obtaining funding from an outside source, including the passage of a levy or a bond issue.
Dispute resolution procedures, strikes, and unfair labor practices
· Requires the employer and the State Employment Relations Board to post in a conspicuous location on the web site maintained by the board and the employer the terms of the last collective bargaining agreements offered by the employer and the exclusive representative at specific times.
· Revises the factors that a person or group administering an alternate dispute resolution procedure must take into account.
· If either party rejects a fact finding panel's recommendations, permits the public employer to implement, in whole or in part, any of those recommendations that have been approved by the appropriate legislative authority.
· Removes the mandatory final offer settlement conciliation procedure for public employees who do not have the right to strike.
· Requires a public employer to report certain information about compensation paid to public employees under a collective bargaining agreement.
· Specifies that expressions of views, opinions, and arguments are not unfair labor practices, and cannot be used as evidence of such, without a threat.
· Repeals the provision requiring the Public Employee Collective Bargaining Law to be liberally construed.
· Allows public employers to set aside any provision in an existing collective bargaining agreement in the event of a fiscal emergency.
Public employee pay
· Requires merit-based pay for most public employees, including teachers and nonteaching school employees and board and commission members, and makes other, related changes.
· Generally eliminates statutory salary schedules and steps.
Public employee benefits
· Abolishes the School Employees Health Care Board, the School Employees Health Care Fund, and the Public Schools Health Care Advisory Committee, and allows the board of education of any school district to govern employee health care benefits in the same way as the governing board of any public institution of higher education.
· Limits public employer contributions toward health insurance premiums to 80%.
· Requires boards of education to adopt policies to provide leave with pay for school employees and abolishes statutorily provided leave for those employees.
· Abolishes continuing contracts for teachers, except for those continuing contracts in existence prior to the effective date of the bill.
· Prohibits a public employer from paying employee contributions to certain retirement systems.
Reduction in the public sector work force
· Removes consideration of seniority and of length of service, by itself, from decisions regarding a reduction in work force of certain public employees.
· Makes changes to retention point provisions, including changes concerning the calculation of retention points and the layoff procedures when retention points for two employees are the same.
Quote: It is nearly impossible to pay teachers based on performance of the kids.
you are correct. it is not impossible however, to pay teachers based on their own performance.
Sometimes, as a project manager, I get a good job that is loaded with profit and all I have to do is not screw it up and we'll make good money, for that I can be rewarded.. sometimes I get a crappy job that is probably going to lose money but maybe we took it as a business opportunity to work with a new client and get more work down the road.. if I manage it well and don't lose a lot of money and keep this new prospective client happy, I can be rewarded for that... doing business development is part of my job, I have to do proposals and go on shortlist interviews, sometimes we are successful and sometimes we are not.. If I do good work then I can be rewarded even if we are not successful at winning the job. See, my bosses are allowed to use their discretion when it comes to my performance based on what I started with and how successful I was realistically expected to be.. why can't vice-principals and principals and administrators do the same thing with teachers? Some teachers work with gifted kids, others work with problem kids and slow learners.. there is no reason if they both do a good job they shouldn't be paid the same but if one does a good job and the other sucks they should not be paid the same and it should have nothing to do with some pass/fail rate or some standardized test scores. It should have to do with their supervisors evaluating them based on what it takes to do a good job based on what they were given to work with.
Interesting thing is. Almost any company you goto you could probably ask the employees who the hard workers and the slackers are and it would mostly always be the same lists. Even the employees know who earns their pay and who doesn't.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
Here's the problem with the whole "state cuts always target unions!!!" argument .......... States employ union members in HUGE percentages. With the exception of a relatively few administrative positions, the bulk of a State's payroll is made up of people belonging to one union or another.
I do believe that cuts should go across the board, with all departments and levels of bureaucracy sharing in sacrificing for the sake of the State and taxpayers, when a particular entity has pay and/or benefits well out of the norm, they should be one of the first targetted.
The unions in Wisconsin negotiated some really sweet benefits for their members. So sweet, in fact, that the taxpayers can't afford to pay for them. What the State appears to be asking for is a minimal increase in the contribution level. The rest is still open to debate, and I can't see any unions giving up their right to bargain collectively ...... but I have to wonder why we need collective bargaining in State positions. The only purpose is to drive costs upward. That's it. State positions should have some sort of scale that works within the tax structure. It should be "what the taxpayers can afford" as opposed to "what the unions force the taxpayers to pay".
Here in Youngstown, the city is locked (and I mean, has locked themselves) into binding arbitration every time a contract comes up. Gee, wonder why we pay one of the highest city tax rates in the State of Ohio? Wonder why, when businesses are willing to locate or relocate to the general Youngstown area, they avoid the city proper like the plague?
We really need to get the whole "Tax, spend, spend more, spend more, broke, tax more, spend more, spend some more, where is my tax increase?" mentality out of the government. It pervades every level of government, right up to the President, who submitted a JOKE of a budget ...... that even had Democrats shaking their heads.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Is it legal for union members to call in sick so that they can go protest instead of doing their jobs ...... shutting down entire school districts ..... state services ... and so on?
Is it legal for State Legislators to run away to another state in order to avoid a vote? Are they required to do their job ...... or are they allowed to take the job and then abandon their state?
If these things are legal ..... then WHY? These people, every one of them, are stealing from the taxpayers. They are taking money to NOT go to work. Man, if I tried that, I'd lose my job.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I'm curious on how you think we should balance the Ohio budget? Remember it is in the billions, and has to happen every year.
Pd...this is not about balancing budgets...this is about an overall Tea Party/GOP strategy to bust unions across the country, but mainly in the NORTHERN STATES.
The Tea Party/GOP are feeling their power and itching for a fight, so it's no surprise that this is happening in several NORTHERN STATES, but not one state in the deep SOUTH...hmmm???
Like I said earlier, not to be outdone the National GOP/Tea Party had to get in on the fun by trying to defund the NLRB during the same week that NORTHERN STATE GOP Governors launched their attacks on public employee unions.
...but a funny thing happened after the GOP/Tea Party Reps in Washington DC saw the response from middle class workers in Wisconsin and Ohio...NORTHER GOP/Tea Party Reps got cold feet and 60 House GOP/Tea Party Reps joined with every Dem Rep to defeat the anti-union amendment that would have defunded the National Labor Relations Board.
...the amendment that was introduced by Tea Party darling, GOP Rep (Ga.) Tom Price.
It is obvious that the GOP/Tea Party is launching an assault on unions and attempting to balance budgets on the back of middle class Americans, exclusively.
Further ..... evidently, what the Democrats are doing is illegal under Wisconsin law.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I'm curious on how you think we should balance the Ohio budget? Remember it is in the billions, and has to happen every year.
Pd...this is not about balancing budgets...this is about an overall Tea Party/GOP strategy to bust unions across the country, but mainly in the NORTHERN STATES.
The Tea Party/GOP are feeling their power and itching for a fight, so it's no surprise that this is happening in several NORTHERN STATES, but not one state in the deep SOUTH...hmmm???
Only in mac's world is Georgia not considered the "deep south"
How is this not about balancing budgets? If a state is willing to go to these measures, they better make sure it helps balance their budget or they are going to get voted out next term so handily that they may as well not even bother to run.
Republican Governor Deliberately Spent Wisconsin Surplus To Pick Fight With Unions
February 18th, 2011
It's important that people understand this: This is a fight Gov. Walker picked for the specific purpose of breaking the unions. Wisconsin had a surplus, and as soon as he was sworn in, Walker gave it away to special interests in order to put the state into deficit. Is it a coincidence that every Republican governor is suddenly going after the unions and the pensions? Is it simply bubbling up from the ground for no special reason? Hell, no.
Wisconsin's new Republican governor has framed his assault on public worker's collective bargaining rights as a needed measure of fiscal austerity during tough times.
The reality is radically different. Unlike true austerity measures -- service rollbacks, furloughs, and other temporary measures that cause pain but save money -- rolling back worker's bargaining rights by itself saves almost nothing on its own. But Walker's doing it anyhow, to knock down a barrier and allow him to cut state employee benefits immediately.
Furthermore, this broadside comes less than a month after the state's fiscal bureau -- the Wisconsin equivalent of the Congressional Budget Office -- concluded that Wisconsin isn't even in need of austerity measures, and could conclude the fiscal year with a surplus. In fact, they say that the current budget shortfall is a direct result of tax cut policies Walker enacted in his first days in office.
"Walker was not forced into a budget repair bill by circumstances beyond he control," says Jack Norman, research director at the Institute for Wisconsin Future -- a public interest think tank. "He wanted a budget repair bill and forced it by pushing through tax cuts... so he could rush through these other changes."
"The state of Wisconsin has not reached the point at which austerity measures are needed," Norman adds.
Quote: Is it legal for union members to call in sick so that they can go protest instead of doing their jobs ...... shutting down entire school districts ..... state services ... and so on?
I don't know but evidently it is legal for them to have their students leave school to support them in their protests, which they did. I heard several interviews with high school kids at the protests who were told by their teachers to show up and in some cases were bussed in... the kids were asked why they were there and what the fight was about, none of them knew and when it came right down to it, they just wanted to skip a day of school.. but it made the protest look bigger.
Get moved between 3rd and 2nd shifts a total of 4 times, get moved from one plant to another, have your wages cut by $3.15 per hour while having to pay into your benefits which wasn't the case the first 4 years and be laid off a total of 3 times.
I find it sad that I and my fellow co-workers had no one to speak up for us and had to bend over and take it - because hey, we were just lucky to be working.
Unions probably aren't perfect, in fact they're clearly not, but I've worked at a non-union company in the best and worst of times and it sure would have been nice to have at least had the thought that someone could fight for you.
"If it weren't for my horse, I wouldn't have spent that year in college" GO ROCKETS
Tell you what Mac, I'm going to say you are right. However, Ohio does have a huge deficit. What the governor is doing will cut out a lot of it. How would you do to balance the budget?
Check with NY and see how that worked out for them.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Madison Metro driver highest paid city employee DEAN MOSIMAN Sunday, February 7, 2010 3:00 pm
Madison's highest paid city government employee last year wasn't the mayor. It wasn't the police chief. It wasn't even the head of Metro Transit.
It was bus driver John E. Nelson.
Nelson earned $159,258 in 2009, including $109,892 in overtime and other pay.
He and his colleague, driver Greg Tatman, who earned $125,598, were among the city's top 20 earners for 2009, city records show.
They're among the seven bus drivers who made more than $100,000 last year thanks to a union contract that lets the most senior drivers who have the highest base salaries get first crack at overtime.
And there was a lot of overtime - $1.94 million last year, $467,200 more than the bus system budgeted for and the most ever for the system - as employees exhausted sick leave and took advantage of unpaid leave through the federal Family Medical Leave Act, officials said.
"That's the (drivers') contract," said Transit and Parking Commission Chairman Gary Poulson. "(But) I think we want more information to the TPC and a discussion of all the facts."
The high salaries for Metro bus drivers come as Metro's ridership continues to grow and the system ranks high among peers according to a 2009 state audit. Metro, which increased fares last year, carried 13.58 million riders in 2009, the second highest total in 40 years.
Metro general manager Chuck Kamp, who earned $118,690 last year, defended the employees.
"These are very good employees who follow the rules that have been negotiated with the Teamsters," Kamp said, adding that Nelson and Tatman "are senior drivers with excellent safety and customer service records."
But he said Metro is looking at ways to limit overtime, including tighter follow up on workman's compensation claims and exploring how to control the growth of Family Medical Leave Act time off by employees.
Nelson, Tatman and Gene Gowey, business manager for the bus drivers union, Teamster Local 695, could not be reached Friday.
In the past, drivers have defended the pay, saying they earn it by working long hours that can create hardships on families. Also, the job requires navigating an oversized vehicle through city streets and dealing with sometimes uncivil riders and other challenges, they have said.
The bus drivers' contact, which calls for pay up to $26.02 an hour, expired at the end of December and the sides are now in negotiations.
Many make more than the mayor
Over all, Madison paid at least 20 employees more than $125,000 in 2009, according to city records.
After Nelson, the top paid employees in 2009 were City Comptroller Dean Brasser, who earned $151,551, and Police Chief Noble Wray, who made $143,585.
Mayor Dave Cieslewicz was paid $112,880. He wasn't among the top 20.
Concern about bus drivers being among the city's highest earners isn't new. The issue surfaced after Metro changed from a Downtown hub to a transfer station system in 1998.
In 1997, before the change, no driver made more than $70,000. But two years later, as Metro struggled to fill vacancies, two drivers topped $100,000 and seven more made more than $70,000.
A high base salary and other benefits for drivers were largely set in the 1970s and 1980s, when the city took over the bus company.
Also, the union contract limits part-timers to 15 percent of the number full-time drivers, and part-timers can only drive morning and afternoon school routes. Those rules create opportunities for overtime and other special pay for full-time workers.
The city negotiated more flexibility for using part timers in 2002-03, but a state audit last year recommended Metro seek even more flexibility and noted that some pay premiums, such as those for evening and Sunday shifts, are uncommon in the industry.
Busting overtime budgets
In the past three years, Metro has been below budget for regular salaries, mainly due to vacancies, but exceeded budget for overtime, Metro data shows. In 2009, Metro was $290,000 under budget for salaries, spending $22.8 million, but $467,200 over budget for overtime, spending $1.94 million, the most ever.
Overtime is high for several reasons, Kamp said.
Metro employees are exhausting sick leave time, taking advantage of the federal Family Medical Leave Act and have high rate of absenteeism without pay, Kamp said.
For example, use of the medical leave act by Metro employees jumped 44 percent to 28,340 hours from 2008 to 2009, Kamp said, calling it "the driving factor" for overtime last year.
A city hiring freeze last year blocked Metro from replacing drivers for a time, Kamp said. Cieslewicz later authorized Metro to fill vacancies after learning it was cheaper than paying overtime.
Also, Metro undertook a safety program that took drivers off their jobs and increased overtime, Kamp said. But the training helped cut preventable accidents 17 percent last year, he said.
Metro is working with the Teamsters to control vacancies and absenteeism, including a progressive discipline system for absence without pay, Kamp said.
Already, Metro has cut worker's compensation costs 27 percent to $632,600 between 2007 and 2009, he said.
Despite challenges with overtime, Metro's cost per rider rose just 5 percent to $3.07 between 2006 and the third quarter of 2009, Kamp said.
"There are a number of things we're trying to do to create efficiencies," he said.
In November, New York elected Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat as governor.
Andrew Cuomo is threatening to lay off about 10,000 public sector employees if they do not agree to wage restrictions and paying for their own benefits.
And to think that so many Democrats (and a good number of elitist Republicans) talk of Sarah Palin 'quitting' the governorship in Alaska.
The Democrats in Texas did this too and it didn't work well for them then either. It's amazing to think that they believe that running off to another state would work in their favor.
Wis. (AP) - The Rev. Jesse Jackson has urged thousands of protesters in the Wisconsin Capitol to continue their stand against a sweeping anti-union bill that state Republicans are pushing.
Jackson made an unannounced appearance at the protests Friday afternoon. Protesters rushed to shake his hand or high-five him, and many shouted, "Thank you, Jesse."
Jackson told the protesters they were fighting for a just cause. He told them to hold strong to their principles and continue fighting to kill the bill. Then he led the masses in a rendition of "We Shall Overcome."
Gov. Scott Walker's bill would cut costs in part by eliminating collective-bargaining rights.
Jackson likened the protest to anti-government fights in Egypt and Tunisia. He says Wisconsin workers should be allowed at the table to help find a solution.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Quote: Jackson likened the protest to anti-government fights in Egypt and Tunisia. He says Wisconsin workers should be allowed at the table to help find a solution.
The problem with his analogy is that unlike those countries that have essentially been ruled by dictatorships for decades, the fine people of Wisconsin had a fair and square election just a few months ago and this guy ran on a platform to do pretty much what he is doing... so they had their chance at the table, it was called an election.... the democrats that they did elect to fight for them have left the state...... but out of curiosity, was Jesse advocating a seat at the table for the Tea Party members? Was he advocating that Obama listen to the people on healthcare? No.. this guy is a freaking idiot.
I completely 100% agree with the workers. Same thing with the Democratic members who refuse to show up to vote because if even one shows up that allows the Teabaggers to force a vote. I hope that all the unions in the state take a stand with their fellow workes. Even if it means shutting down the entire state.
Quote: I completely 100% agree with the workers. Same thing with the Democratic members who refuse to show up to vote because if even one shows up that allows the Teabaggers to force a vote. I hope that all the unions in the state take a stand with their fellow workes. Even if it means shutting down the entire state.
That would be great. If you don't have to pay them anything you no longer have to worry about a budget deficit.
Quote: I completely 100% agree with the workers. Same thing with the Democratic members who refuse to show up to vote because if even one shows up that allows the Teabaggers to force a vote. I hope that all the unions in the state take a stand with their fellow workes. Even if it means shutting down the entire state.
No surprise there, Charlie. You pretty much toe the Democrat line just as much as Mac. And where are the Democrats who complain about the Republicans who hold up bills when these Democrats are doing the same? I guess things don't work both ways here. When Republicans hold up and stall bills like this, they are evil, evil Republicans. When Democrats do it, they are peachy keen.
Personally, I'm not keen on dissolving their collective bargaining, but their benefits and wages need to be slashed majorly. States simply cannot afford it. They can cry all they want about being underpaid, but I will repeat what people tell other people in low paying jobs to do, GO GET ANOTHER JOB THEN. But then again, that doesn't work now does it? They took these careers knowing they weren't super high paying and want to cry a river that they need more money over and over again. That's how they got their pay raises and benefit hikes year in and year out.
What's your solution to solving these budget deficits? Raise taxes? That's what Democrats have been shouting on these issues. Tax hikes are not solving the problem. California tried it and a couple months later, we found out that didn't even put a single dent in the problem, and in reality we were in a bigger hole than when they passed the tax hikes. Problem? They didn't want to cut anything especially in regards to the public sector workers.
At least Jerry Brown is actually talking about making cuts, though he still plans on extending our temporary tax hikes for another 5 years by using a public vote and is planning on using the teacher union as a tool to get them passed. You know why? They control the state and put tons of money into election cycles. He's threatening them with cuts if the tax hike extension doesn't pass. Make the cuts first and then talk about taxes, because the tax hikes didn't work in the first place, and still won't.
You can only raise taxes so much, especially at the state level. If you raise taxes at the state level, you are only forcing tax payers out of the state to look for lower tax levels. Do you know who's more likely to move? The richer taxpayers who have the money to make that sort of move. You know who that leaves? Poorer tax "payers" who probably don't even pay much in taxes but use more of the taxpayer's money.
There is no easy solution to these problems. Cuts need to be made, and the public sector workers need to start sacrificing, just as many in the private sector have already.
If you think Wisconsin is bad, wait until things hit the fan in California. June is supposed to be the election for the tax hike extension, if it fails, California will have to start cutting more ala Wisconsin. Even if it passes, these cuts will be forced into occurring. They are not going to work. Jerry Brown is using fuzzy math. We have a $28 Billion deficit and he is cutting $14 billion and is claiming that the tax hike extension will cover the remaining $14 billion. The problem? We have a $28 Billion deficit WITH these tax hikes already in place.
Wait until things go from bad to worse in California.
"Don't be burdened by regrets or make your failures an obsession or become embittered or possessed by ruined hopes"
Quote: I made an empty post by referencing a disallowed site.
Whoops.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
So much for that whole idea about "crosshairs" being a bad thing ......
Wonder if the White House will weigh in on this .....
Yeah .... sure .....
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: So much for that whole idea about "crosshairs" being a bad thing ......
Wonder if the White House will weigh in on this .....
Yeah .... sure .....
Forget Obama, I want to here what mac has to copy and paste about the crosshair picture.
But I love how some people are comparing this to Egypt. If it were like Egypt, the politicians would be the protesters. People will don't have any clue on how much power these public unions have over politics. In CA, they run the state. If they endorse something, it wins because they outspend everyone else out there. They spent $26 million to get Jerry Brown elected.
"Don't be burdened by regrets or make your failures an obsession or become embittered or possessed by ruined hopes"
If the Republicans would take the House, Senate, and Congress as the Democrats had for the better part of the first 2 years of the Obama administration ..... and the Republicans brought forth legislation that the Democrats don't like (as the Democrats did during most of the time they were in charge) ..... will the Democrats leave the country to "slow the process down"?
This is idiotic and childish. It is showboating. I hated it when Texas lawmakers did it in 2003, and I think that it is equally childish and irresponsible today. Do your damn jobs. Show up for work, fight for what you believe in, but in the end, accept that you are a servant of the voters, and have a responsibility to show up and do your damn job.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: I completely 100% agree with the workers. Same thing with the Democratic members who refuse to show up to vote because if even one shows up that allows the Teabaggers to force a vote. I hope that all the unions in the state take a stand with their fellow workes. Even if it means shutting down the entire state.
As someone that admittedly chooses to "live a meager lifestyle" working a few days a month, you agree with everything that comes down the pike that requires the government to fund it.....and you are completely ignorant of the fact that the government can't afford it. No sweat off your non-taxpaying back. Doesn't it bother you in the least that the money must come from those of us that have to work for a living? There's going to be a time in the near future when the freebie well will dry up. Good gosh, what will you do?
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
Until then he'll collect his government benefits, collect his EITC "refund" when he does his taxes, and continue to sponge off of those who work 60-80 hours/week to support him.
Must make him feel really good.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
Quote: It is nearly impossible to pay teachers based on performance of the kids. Not all kids are equal as well as classrooms. Our kids are both in honors classes. How can you rate their teachers compared to remedial classes?
Even if you could come up with some criteria to even it out when it comes to something like test score you still have a big problem. When you look at the kids at the bottom end of students you have kids who aren't willing to try and parents who don't seem to care. You also have kids that are extreme discipline problems who underacheive because of not being in the classroom.
.
That is not entirely true. It is possible to rate teachers without a) comparing them to other teachers b) taking into account socio-economic issues c) taking into account lil' jack and lil' jill who just don't want to learn.
It is impossible only because they hear they words score teacher's performance and throw everything out and claim it's unfair and unjust.
You should look into A Value-added system that only takes into consideration where the kids in a particular class is expected to be at. ie. if they are constantly B students, you should expect them to be B students. Now if they all become D students with a particular teacher, then you can easily see that they are a bad teacher and perhaps needs more training.
Though, no way is completely going to take a look at the whole picture and nor is anything ever perfect, but having some sort of evaluation is a way to look and see where the problem is, so that you can fix it.
If the Republicans would take the House, Senate, and Congress as the Democrats had for the better part of the first 2 years of the Obama administration ..... and the Republicans brought forth legislation that the Democrats don't like (as the Democrats did during most of the time they were in charge) ..... will the Democrats leave the country to "slow the process down"?
This is idiotic and childish. It is showboating.
YT...there is a very famous, US President from the past, who did just what the Dems in Wisc. are doing...can you guess which one it was?
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