pillbinge t1_j8lcd75 wrote on February 15, 2023 at 3:37 AM

Reply to comment by ShawshankExemption in There’s a push to give teachers (and other public employees) the right to strike in Mass. What to know. by bostondotcom

You'll get down-voted (not loaded) because it's a dumb opinion. You haven't provided any way for teachers to advocate for their interests in ways that matter. If teachers were paid what they needed already, and supported in the classroom, and not given bullshit work, they wouldn't need to strike in the first place. Nearly all strikes can be avoided.

Trying to use children as human shields in a negotiation is gross.

>If government is going to change the law to permit teachers to strike, it should only be during the summer or other, ‘non-teaching’ working days (e.g. professional development).

Then it isn't a strike. Teachers are already free to gather and complain during the summer. There's no point.

>Most importantly, the government should change the laws to force school districts and local governments to come to the table during negotiations in good faith.

That is already legally required.

>I’m not saying it’s the teachers fault, but allowing strikes could further weaken people’s faith in their reliability.

Then your comment would be more popular.

ShawshankExemption t1_j8ml4wo wrote on February 15, 2023 at 12:37 PM

A solid portion of teachers work in the summer in mass, be it summer school, PD, prepping for the upcoming year, that’s all labor they can withhold then that’s critical to the district. Idk where you’re from that teachers don’t work during the summer. I meant “non-teaching” as not with the whole student body in front of them.

Once teachers and districts let things get to a point where students don’t have class because of the dispute, the kids already involved. Idk how you can’t see that.

I quite literally proposed an alternative way to bring about contract agreement.

pillbinge t1_j8odcri wrote on February 15, 2023 at 8:05 PM

Summer school isn't required. You can't get fired for not working summer school. A district could be unreasonable and not renew a teacher without tenure/professional status for not doing it, but right now, they're in no such position.

PD isn't required. Prepping isn't required. And when the first day of school hits, teachers are judged on their ability to teach. Protesting in the summer to an audience of no one and calling bad lessons later on the summer's protest makes no sense.

>I quite literally proposed an alternative way to bring about contract agreement.

So did I. Tell districts to be proactive. If not, teachers can be "retroactive" and protest after a long period without changes. Seems to work. Make it so this kind of protest can't work and you'll be in good shape. No one wants to have to protest, but we don't live in that kind of world.