There is actually two systems on the go in New Orleans - The New Orleans Recovery School District - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_School_District

And the New Orleans Parrish School Board - http://www.nops.k12.la.us/

Recent news articles - in the Washington Post - Is the divided New Orleans school district system fair to African American kids?  http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/is-the-divided-new-orleans-school-district-system-fair-to-african-american-kids/2014/05/29/fdd818f0-e749-11e3-8f90-73e071f3d637_story.html

John White: New Orleans charter civil rights complaint ‘a joke’ - http://www.nola.com/education/index.ssf/2014/05/john_white_new_orleans_charter.html

The lawsuit launched by the teachers’ union is a real joke, since the New Orleans Parish School Board is not named in the complaint.

And in Wikipedia - further info on the New Orleans pubic schools - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Orleans_Public_Schools

From what I can gather, is that the teachers’ unions in New Orleans and Louisiana are losing their political power over what will be or not be for the operations of schools. No wonder the teachers’ unions are against charter schools, except when the charter schools increases their political power of what will be or not be in the schools.

http://m.dailykos.com/story/2014/05/30/1303139/-The-privatization-of-New-Orleans-schools-is-almost-complete

One of the more interesting observations I heard recently about the classic union-non-union conflict/tension related to the ArcelorMittal company which acquired Hamilton based steel maker Dofasco.

Dofasco lived as an “open-non-union” shop across from Stelco-union shop for decades. Over time, Dofasco surpassed or kept up with all the pay/pension/perks of Stelco while fostering a collaborative management-labour style. 

The commenter happened to be a 30 year plus Dofasco coal-face employee. The fascinating comment went something like..“the new Acelor mgmt’s biggest issue was the strangeness of “not:” having the ongoing union-managment bureaucratic relationship.. The “union labour management style team” was having great difficulty adapting to deal with a collaborative non-union labour force.

The Acelor mgmt team dearly would like to have a unionized work force so their management style and methods can be comfortably applied. Instead, they have been forced to figure out how to deal with a pro-active work force rather than a collective, reactive rump.

Though somewhat off topic, it speaks to the challenges of change.  The complacency and passivity of the bulk of the union cohort is directly in relationship to its incarcerated control and management structure. There is never a middle ground. It is always a black hat; white hat scenario with the monetary negotiating table as the sole point of interaction.

Not hard to understand, how principle(s) get buried fast when the only conversation happening is “how much will I get or how much will it cost me” Compare this simplistic conversation to the task at hand “education”. 

What real value does the unionized environment deliver to the clients of the system which could not be had in a non union system ?  If the answer is not much, then it is only a matter of time before the hostages find a gateway out of the gulag.

If you don’t believe that unions are very popular with teachers you are really not veryclose to the situation.

Love my union . As do the police, the firefighters, and the healthcare workers.  Happily we are educated and organized.  And then there is that issue of numbers…  numbers are key in a democracy…......the malcontents are a minority…..unionized professionals, 
justifiably,  continue to be a political force for progress.

You want to effect change?  I do too.  But crushing unions amounts to a toddler’s terrible two’s tantrum.  We need something more than a meltdown over the candy in the check out line.

Your union is good for you, but it’s very harmful to children whom you’re supposed to care about, and taxpayers who are paying for benefits and salaries that they can only dream of.  Why, if you’re so well-organized and strong don’t you tell your union to stop demanding so much from taxpayers?  Why not tell your union that you don’t want the curricula dumbed down, but improved?  You’re the union.  Why are you behaving this way?

Nonsense Bev where unions are strong scores are high where they are weak scores are low.

All world leading nations heavily unionized. USA union states high non union low.

Doug, three papers that should keep you busy. It will help you to moved beyond the 5 second sound bite.

1.A Harvard paper - “The Impact of Teachers Unions on Teachers’ Well-being
under Different Legal Environments:
Evidence from Districts and Teachers Matched Data
http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~ehan/Job_market_paper_EuniceHan.pdf

2. From the Heritage Foundation -  Assessing the Compensation of Public-School Teachers
http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2011/10/assessing-the-compensation-of-public-school-teachers

The third one is not really a paper, but the push globally by the teachers’ unions of high salaries, and golden pensions. http://www.campaignforeducation.org/en/campaigns/teachers
As noted there is oodles of papers at the global level pushing the agendas of the teachers’ unions, that has filtrated into Asia, African and even China for high salaries, less accountability and golden pensions. All being done on the hype that teachers’ unions paves the way to prosperity for all workers. Slowly the evidence of the research, is revealing there is economic trade-offs that may in fact show, that strong teachers’ unions that have political clout of what will be or not for education of children, may not be the best interests of the non-education workers and their children’s education.

HERITAGE really Nancy? Right Wing extremists.

You are against raising the wages of teachers in Chad?

Even American teachers terribly underpaid.

Bev I am going to try this again, as I cannot help myself - I am a teacher.

You write: Your union is good for you but its harmful to children you are supposed to care about.

  My response:  Proof please.  I know what I do daily for the children in my care and what my peers do.  I hold my head up high, and am met with enormous affection and respect each and every morning.

You write: ....and taxpayers who are paying for benefits and salaries that they can only dream off.

My response:  Teachers are taxpayers and they contribute from their salaries to their benefits.  I suspect that a two teacher family pays more into the the tax rolls than does yours.  I am certain that my family pays at least 4X taxes than does yours.
Bev,  why   *dream*  of fair wages and generous benefits when you can still in Canada be under the umbrella of a strong union ... and be part of this reality - no need to dream .... 

You write: tell your union to stop commanding so much from taxpayers.

I respond:  I tell my union plenty.  I am not allowed to call my local president when his blood pressure is up as I have the potential to trigger a massive coronary.  I pay for my union with hard earned funds and they hear from me often and my message is they work for me.  The hard truth for all of us is that the tax money - yours and mine are distributed by the political party in power.  Who elects these folks - everyone - not just the unions—that is you Bev, and the good folks on this blog.  Many here rejoiced during the Harris years , many held their breath and vowed to do better.  WE ALL get to decide the game plan - not just the unions.  Do not hate or dismiss unions or teachers because they are better at organizing.  Reading the posts on this blog in terms of education - it is a marvel that you clever folks are not running Ontario - as you do have it all sorted out.

Bev you state: Why not tell your union that you do not want the curricula dumb ed down but improved

I respond:  I have tried to get the union involved in curriculum reform repeatedly over many years.  That turkey does not fly.  Curriculum is in the hands of the ministry and the feudal archaic school boards.
That is the political reality in this epoch.  The decline began with Mike Harris and once he opened the gates for a self serving shortsighted gimmick the education system joined Alice down that rabbit hole.

Bev I am going to try this again, as I cannot help myself - I am a teacher.

You write: Your union is good for you but its harmful to children you are supposed to care about.

  My response:  Proof please.  I know what I do daily for the children in my care and what my peers do.  I hold my head up high, and am met with enormous affection and respect each and every morning.

You write: ....and taxpayers who are paying for benefits and salaries that they can only dream off.

My response:  Teachers *are*  taxpayers and they contribute from *their* salaries to their benefits.  I suspect that a two teacher family pays more into the the tax rolls than does yours.  I am certain that my family pays at least 4X taxes than does yours.
Bev,  why   *dream*  of fair wages and generous benefits when you can still in Canada be under the umbrella of a strong union ... and be part of this reality - no need to dream ....

You write: tell your union to stop commanding so much from taxpayers.

I respond:  I tell my union plenty.  I am not allowed to call my local president when his blood pressure is up as I have the potential to trigger a massive coronary.  I pay for my union with hard earned funds and they hear from me often.  The hard truth for all of us is that the tax money - yours and mine are distributed by the political party in power.  Who elects these folks - everyone - not just the unions—that is you Bev, and the good folks on this blog.  Many here rejoiced during the Harris years , many held their breath and vowed to do better.  WE ALL get to decide the game plan - not just the unions.  Do not hate or dismiss unions or teachers because they are better at organizing.  Reading the posts on this blog in terms of education - it is a marvel that you* clever* folks are not running Ontario - as you do have it all sorted out.

Bev you state: Why not tell your union that you do not want the curricula dumb ed down but improved

I respond:  I have tried to get the union involved in curriculum reform repeatedly over many years.  That turkey does not fly.  Curriculum is in the hands of the ministry and the feudal archaic school boards.
That is the political reality in this epoch.  The decline began with Mike Harris and once he opened the gates for a self serving shortsighted gimmick the education system joined Alice down that rabbit hole.

http://m.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/economy/economy-lab/teacher-pay-canada-near-the-top-of-the-oecd-class/article4541629/?service=mobile

1.05 of similarly educated people. Big deal. 5 countries pay more than Canada. There is nothing out of line in teacher compensation.

Teachers are in fact seriously underpaid in USA

Mirka, please don’t assume anything about me and my family.  This is not how a blog discussion should go;  besides if you had read other blogs, you’d realize that your assumptions are wrong. 

Also, in a nutshell, I’m sorry to say that you and other educators use personal anecdotes of your own successes to support claims and many flaunt their educational background.  None of this supports any evidence, and all of you pick on Nancy!  (Nancy, obviously you threaten educators ).
 
In the real world, Mirka, when someone shops for a product, the customers look only at the quality of the product; not the educational background of the person who produced the same, nor how well-respected they are at work.  In other words:  no one cares.  Customers only care about the end result…

When an educator flaunts their background, or tells Nancy off, or worse advises one of us,  my thoughts always return to the quality of the product because that’s what I care about.  Here’s what I see:  children are passed who are illiterate; the math curricula is an abortion; you (who are the union) want to eliminate standardized testing.  In other words, our educational system/product is dismal, and is robbing our children of their futures—especially the poor ones—while the educators are living better than they could ever dream of living if they were employed in the private sector.
 
Recently, there was a newspaper article about how tough it will be for public sector workers who may lose their jobs to integrate into the private sector, and also that many employers would not even consider hiring someone who has only worked in the public sector…  Of course this is only an opinion, but how true is it?

Another thing, educators:  please don’t correct us.  we don’t correct your errors.  I suspect that your underlying reason for doing this (as usual) to appear educated.  Fine, but it’s not working.  Again, you’re going in the wrong direction, because what we’re looking for are results, results and results, and so far we’re getting nothing.

Bev,

You argue the* my* team *your*  team (us and them).  Many here know better.  Parents and teachers are natural allies.

As for ‘product’ your reference to young educated people leaving the school system—- the quality of the teacher in the room is key.

There is a spate of empirical evidence to support this.  The quality of the teacher in the classroom is the biggest indicator/predictor of student’s success.

The sky cannot always be falling- there are good things happening each and every day in classrooms across this province.  To dismiss this good work does not serve a progressive agenda of reform.

IMO,

Being rude to teachers Bev is ridiculous and shouldn`t be allowed.
You`re angry,frustrated,that`s why we are here,to advise and support change.
I don`t agree with vitriolic attacks on front liners.
If you want respect for your views,give them respect for theirs.
I thought this was an organization that sought change at the legislative level and supported their views with research to back it up.
I`ve always seen Doretta and Malkin that way,they don`t do “personal”.
Doug is representing the Union perspective,we all vehemently oppose him because kids don`t come first and the SQE work is in direct opposition to their agenda.

Jo-anne, I,m being rude?

Furthermore, Joe-Anne, I have never attacked anyone personally:. Instead, I have stated strong opinions; however you have viciously attacked me.

The idea that the union interest is opposed to the students interest is a tired trope.

Everywhere in the world, the stronger the unions the better the results.

You know this by now. It has been proven over and over.

Twice I’ve misspelt your name, Jo-Anne.  I apologize.  A combination of my small tablet (that ‘corrects’ me) plus not having my glasses…

It’s rather amusing that Doug Little dismisses the Heritage Foundation as “right-wing”.  So that’s that—we don’t have to worry about anything they say.  In his political universe, anyone who doesn’t agree with him is simply beyond the pale.  Not that unions don’t have a political bias, heavens no.

I have nothing against unions in principle.  In the 1960s I was proud to belong to the UAW, and when I later was employed by Ford as a foreman, I had excellent relations with our union reps.  They understood the basic principle of collective bargaining—benefits and wage increases had to be paid for, and they worked with management as partners to ensure high productivity.  I also belonged to a construction union when I worked as a roofer—like most unions at that time, the explicit bargain with management is that they guaranteed labor discipline. 

Alas, public sector unions don’t have the same ethic.  I now belong to a British teaching union—despite disagreeing with their stance on most issues.  They are hopeless at protecting their members’ interests, but they ferociously guard the holy tenets of ‘progressive’ education.  They have the cheek to pose as protectors of the oppressed—oblivious to the evidence that their ideology locks the oppressed in their ghettos.  They have the cheek to pretend that they are liberals crusading for justice, when in fact they are reactionaries bent on protecting their own privileges and monopolies.

The trade unions have a long and (mostly) honorable tradition, and public sector unions have made a mockery of it.