NWLehigh teachers union laments "good old days"

TEACHERS UNION COMPLAINS ABOUT BOARD, DISTRICT, SUPERINTENDENT

FEELS UNAPPRECIATED BECAUSE CONTRACT DEMANDS HAVE NOT BEEN ACCEPTED

 

Northwestern Lehigh Education association members showed up in mass at the March 16 board meeting. Incorporating the usual union play book, they brought along supporters who read from prepared speeches how great they are with the children and how they are not appreciated enough by the board and superintendent because their demands for more pay and keeping their Cadillac health care plans have not yet been accepted. The board offered them a very generous increase of 3.4% per year for 3 years, they claim they deserve more. This is far more than what has been accepted by most teachers unions in the area. Has anyone asked their neighbors if they have received comparable raises in the last 8 years?  Seniors have averaged less than 2% increases in the last 7 years and have not had any increase in 3 of those years. It seems that the whole basis of their demands is ENVY of what some other districts pay their teachers. While this is relevant to some extent, keep in mind that many districts have an industrial base, that this rural district does not have. Also look at the statistics of assaults against teachers in some other districts, many of those teachers are earning hazardous duty pay.

The board has asked them to accept health care plans that mirror what has become the standard in most of the  private sector, but they either don't want to compromise to save the district any money or want the money saved by the school district reimbursed to the teachers. Looks like a one way street.

 

Some of the specific complaints were that they remember the old days when the board was very affable and there was that warm feeling. This translates to 4% increases every year and raise taxes every year to support the increases.  That the board has now hired a lawyer to negotiate for them, but failed to mention that the union has hired a lawyer to negotiate for them for decades. We all long for the years when incomes were increasing, but the teachers neighbors income have been down or flat for the last 8 years. This is very provable by the earned income receipts by the school district, maybe a good idea is to tie the income increase to the increases in the earned income tax receipts. This would be a fair representation of the economic health of the district. Does anyone in the union ever take into consideration that the district contribution to the teachers pension fund has risen 528% in the last 8 years and is now at 30.03% of salaries? Is this irrelevant to their employment package?  

 

When was the last evaluation done on the fact that enrollment has decreased by near 200 students in the last 8 years, but has there been a comparable decrease in staff? I believe Northwestern has the largest staff per student population in the Lehigh Valley. While many districts have cut staff in these difficult economic times, Northwestern has not.

While teachers lament that they are underpaid and overworked, the fact is that compared to the taxpayers who pay their wages and benefits, they are compensated much better than most of the people in the district and work far fewer hours. While no one would argue that they don't do a good job with the care and education of the children there are economic realities that no one is immune to.