Loyal readers of my blog know that the local teachers have been threatening to strike if they don't get all their demands met. Loyal readers of my blog also know that I think the teachers have marshmallows where their brains should be for turning down the offers the school board has been giving them. But I may be biased. I pay their salary through my real estate tax. Our great State of Illinois doesn't pay their mandated portion, so we trustworthy citizens pay more.
The negotiations between the teacher union representatives and the school board went on all weekend. They kept reporting that they were making progress and agreeing on items. They promised the parents in the school district an answer on the strike no later than Sunday at 6 pm.
Now, Sunday at 6 pm is way too late in my opinion. If I'm trying to plan Monday and won't know until Sunday night if my kids have school or not, how do I arrange to work and child care? Its not like there will be a foot of snow on the ground and everything will be grinding to a halt. Business will go on. What about the single-parent families that have even fewer options? Not everyone has a grandparent right around the corner who is happy to babysit at a moment's notice. Most people can't call into work Monday morning and say sorry I won't be in. I'd have decided on Friday when the strike threat was made that my children weren't going on Monday regardless of what the union decided.
I need to be careful here. I almost typed "what the teachers decided". What the teachers decided weeks ago was to turn their power over to the union officials and let them make the strike call. The teachers were brainwashed into thinking the school board would cave and they'd get all the union reps' demands. Marshmallows for brains.
Where was I? Oh yes, 6 pm Sunday night. An announcement was sent out. We're still negotiating we will let you know, no later than 9pm. Okay. By then it is too late to call the sitter, and Grandpa fell asleep on the couch hours earlier. The boss won't want to hear from you then. And the littlest kiddos will be going to bed not knowing if they'll have school or not and have no hope of there being good packing snow for a fort and a snowman. (Hey, we live in the Midwest, we're used to school being called off at the last minute for snow, not for marshmallows.)
9 pm arrives. No decision has been made. They say they will decide no later than 5:30 am, the standard time for snow days. So teachers are now the equivalent of Mother Nature?
According to the newspaper's website the decision was made about 3:15 am. Teachers were told to contact their picket captains. You cannot convince me it wasn't planned all along. The reps had every intention to strike.
There would be no school that day in Whoville. They say they will let parents know by 6pm tonight if Whoville Elementary will be open tomorrow. Uh huh, we've heard that story before. Yet the marshmallows will buy it.
I don't know who's watching the children today. But I'm glad mine is accounted for, here in attendance at Freakville Homeschool.
2 comments:
The thing is, that it becomes a ripple effect. All the things you stated in your post.
Mom 'A' is single and all her kiddies are in school, so she does not have to look into any type of sitter.
She has no family and they work as well so she cannot call on them to watch the children. Remember, many a grandparents are having to work these days.
Also, all of her children are so young that she is unable to use even thee oldest one to help her out.
She is just a cog in the lovely system we have working for us. So now she is stuck hone with lets say 3 children. She has lost a day at work and there is another day gone down the drain.
I'm so glad we homeschool!
Now, here's an interesting thing I learned about strikes from a couple of people who've been there. Whilst on strike, those teacher's may not be getting their salary at all. The guys I know got paid out of the union strike fund at 75% of their salary and then it dropped to 50% and then it went away.
Marshmallows indeed.
Post a Comment