Ravenwood - 03/02/05 06:30 AM
Berkeley (CA) area teachers are refusing to give out homework or work extra hours, and it's all Arnold Schwarzenegger's fault. The AP reports that the local teachers union has instructed teachers not to put in more hours than they are contractually obliged to work. Teachers claim they have worked more than two years without a raise.
"It's hard," said Judith Bodenhauser, a high school math teacher. "I have stacks of papers I haven't graded. Parents want to talk to me; I don't call them back."Considering California has one of the highest unemployment rates in the country, perhaps the Governator should just fire them all and hire new workers. If the economy is really so bad as they say, he should have no trouble finding suitable replacements.
I don't know how it is in California, but when I worked for Metro Gov't in Nashville, the claim that teachers did not get raises was very misleading.
The way that pay plans are typically set up in gov't is on a step system. You are hired into the pay grade based on your experience (ex. you are hired at step 3 for 3 years of experience). Each year you advance one step (regardless of performance) until you reach the top of the range. I believe that our pay plans topped out at step 15 (15 years).
The raise they refer to is an increase in the amount for each step. For example, lets say that step 1 in a particular pay range is $10.00/hour. A 4% increase would raise Step 1 to $10.40/hour. The way it worked in Nashville was that you received the Step increase (ex. moving from Step 3 to Step 4) on your anniversary date and you also received the cost of living adjustment (ex. Step 4 increasing by 4%) each July. When they claim that teachers or government workers haven't received an increase for X years, it is the cost of living adjustment that they are referring to. Workers will still receive their step increase until they reach the top of the range.
This does affect your long term employees, but it is misleading to the general public. Most of the time both increases equal about a 7-8% increase, much higher than the private sector. I also don't know of many companies who give Cost of Living increases anymore.
Salary ranges are also looked at annually and are adjusted if they are not competitive with the market.
Posted by: Big Sis at March 2, 2005 3:43 PMBIG SIS:
You are wrong on this one. I am a public school teacher. Under our state law (Michigan) when bargaining reaches an impasse the district's last best offer is applied under law. Our new contract did not allow an increase in step.
I don't know the situation in California, do you?
Posted by: kjo at March 2, 2005 5:17 PMKen,
I think Big Sis may be right on this one. The Daily Californian reports:
Employees will receive a mandated pay raise after reaching certain levels of seniority, but no raises beyond that set amount.
To me it sounds like they are still moving up the ladder as their seniority increases, but the ladder itself isn't moving up. Meaning the starting salary for someone with zero seniority is the same as it was 2 years ago.
Posted by: Ravenwood at March 2, 2005 7:08 PM(c) Ravenwood and Associates, 1990 - 2014
