Unions are not all bad

[coachk]

So what made you go into teaching then?

Looks like you got a pretty nice trophy room btw, I bet those 3 months off in the summer can be pretty nice.

I love how people think that we get 3 months off and get paid for doing nothing...haha

I got into teaching and coaching because I wanted to be a role model for kids the way many of MY teachers and coaches were to me... I grew up around sports and excelled at sports because of some of my coaches that helped me along the way...i teach Spanish because I had one of the BEST Spanish teachers who really cared about us and went above and beyond for his students, not just the smart ones but ALL... That's why I'm teaching and coaching...to hopefully have that kind of impact on the student/athletes that I come into contact with daily... I didnt do it to get rich or for the 3 months "off"

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[BrianL]

I love how people think that we get 3 months off and get paid for doing nothing...haha

I got into teaching and coaching because I wanted to be a role model for kids the way many of MY teachers and coaches were to me... I grew up around sports and excelled at sports because of some of my coaches that helped me along the way...i teach Spanish because I had one of the BEST Spanish teachers who really cared about us and went above and beyond for his students, not just the smart ones but ALL... That's why I'm teaching and coaching...to hopefully have that kind of impact on the student/athletes that I come into contact with daily... I didnt do it to get rich or for the 3 months "off"

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Coaches probably make about $2/hr for the extra hours they actually end up working. AND YOU STILL SIGNED UP FOR IT!!

[batmaninja]

My mom taught 3rd grade for something like 20+ years, at an HISD school where she was the only teacher of her race for at least a decade. I dont think they had AC for the first decade she was there. She is partially retired now and teaches preK at a church school. She was a teacher for a number of reasons but mainly because she was a single mother and getting summers off, was a big deal for her, and us.

So you went into teaching not because of the money or time off. Great. That is not what the other teacher said, he stated you need to increase pay, substantially. Thanks for echoing my point and being a coach.

I coached little league for several years, at the same league I grew up playing in. I got paid in snarky emails from the parents

[2Lazy2P]

[QUOTE=coachk;13240598]I don't agree that competition is the answer...i DO agree that we don't need tax increases to pay for these things...i believe we go back to letting teachers teach and cut all the administrative bs/education centers/excessive sports facilities and excess testing that costs millions every year...get the politicians out of the schools

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Only way school districts cut the fat will be driven by competition. Politicians and tax payers can't keep promising money. Teachers have one of the largest unions in the state, yet what good does that union provide? Pay, insurance, retirement?
Next thing you'll see is Texans for Education endorsing Mike Collier, and claiming the endorsement is for the children of Texas, even though Mike Collier is a pro gay, pro abortion, and wants to allow transgenders to use whatever restroom they please. Teachers will be sharing this crap on social media like its the gospel.
All about the kids my ***, its all about whoever promises them the most.

[Shane]

I don't agree that competition is the answer...i DO agree that we don't need tax increases to pay for these things...i believe we go back to letting teachers teach and cut all the administrative bs/education centers/excessive sports facilities and excess testing that costs millions every year...get the politicians out of the schools

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I'm also on board with getting rid of administrative waste and getting politicians out of the schools. But I think competition would actually help do that though. I don't think teachers like you are the problem at all. But if the politicians and higher level administrators had to compete instead of getting to run their own monopoly empires, they would be forced to get out of the way and let good teachers teach, or else they'd lose "customers" and "business". More direct local control and more choices and competition would make a lot of things better. Nothing would solve every single problem, of course. But more local control and more choices and competition would be better overall than the current big government controlled monopoly system, I think. I sure wish we'd give it a chance.

[2Lazy2P]

I'm also on board with getting rid of administrative waste and getting politicians out of the schools. But I think competition would actually help do that though. I don't think teachers like you are the problem at all. But if the politicians and higher level administrators had to compete instead of getting to run their own monopoly empires, they would be forced to get out of the way and let good teachers teach, or else they'd lose "customers" and "business". More direct local control and more choices and competition would make a lot of things better. Nothing would solve every single problem, of course. But more local control and more choices and competition would be better overall than the current big government controlled monopoly system, I think. I sure wish we'd give it a chance.

Yes sir I agree

[Mudslinger]

Some great comments above from some folks! The reward I get is to see one of my kids have a great week or day! That is what we strive for with our kids as do a ton of Gen Ed teachers.

[Pedernal]

Unions are not all bad; very true indeed, some unions last a lifetime while others end in divorce

[CoolHandLuke]

Why can't I get cheaper insurance, free tuition for my son, a state sponsored deer lease and a unicorn that farts rainbows?


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Hell...add free healthcare ins as well...there was a School Superintendent on TBH bragging about that recently. When they start the state sponsored leases and unicorns sign me up. My little girls favorite animal is the unicorn Pegasus.

[RdRdrFan]

This response isn’t directed specifically at teachers. It is advice I’d give to anyone in any job.

If you don’t like how much you get paid, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like your insurance, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like your benefits package, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like anything else about your job, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

But at the end of the day, for the Love of god just quit whining. If you don’t like something about your job then just go do something else.


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[texansfan]

If you don’t like how much you get paid, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like your insurance, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like your benefits package, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

If you don’t like anything else about your job, do something about it. That may include getting a different job/career. As should be the case, the market drives compensation and benefits.

But at the end of the day, for the Love of god just quit whining. If you don’t like something about your job then just go do something else.


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LoL what do you think a union does?
Same thing me and my group do when we don't like the terms in my office.
We band together and come with a list of grievances and ways that they can be rectified and we present them to the director.
The things he can handle, he does.
Those that he can't, he takes to the president.

Salaries are individual fights though.

We don't whine.
We work on weekends, holidays and around the clock (which is why I'm on TBH late at night)

We love our job, our professions and how we get to help people by using technology.
But we all want to be properly compensated and have superior working conditions (because we could all easily be working somewhere else within a week if we quit or got fired)

We whine because if we have to work on 4th of July then we want that holiday to be comped on another day of our choosing.
In previous years upper management was like pound sand it's partof the job and we pushed back like no, we're not having it and that's not right
So they relented and made it official that if we have to work on a holiday or weekend those hours can be used on other work days to make up for those lost hours.

Those are things unions fight for.

Our health insurance went up last year
Employees got together and grumbled to corporate
This year hashtag insurance actually went DOWN to compensate us for our grumbling
We whined and got what we want but we have like 20 to 25% EBIT growth every year
So we know they have the money!

[RdRdrFan]

LoL what do you think a union does?
Same thing me and my group do when we don't like the terms in my office.
We band together and come with a list of grievances and ways that they can be rectified and we present them to the director.
The things he can handle, he does.
Those that he can't, he takes to the president.

Salaries are individual fights though.

We don't whine.
We work on weekends, holidays and around the clock (which is why I'm on TBH late at night)

We love our job, our professions and how we get to help people by using technology.
But we all want to be properly compensated and have superior working conditions (because we could all easily be working somewhere else within a week if we quit or got fired)

We whine because if we have to work on 4th of July then we want that holiday to be comped on another day of our choosing.
In previous years upper management was like pound sand it's partof the job and we pushed back like no, we're not having it and that's not right
So they relented and made it official that if we have to work on a holiday or weekend those hours can be used on other work days to make up for those lost hours.

Those are things unions fight for.

Our health insurance went up last year
Employees got together and grumbled to corporate
This year hashtag insurance actually went DOWN to compensate us for our grumbling
We whined and got what we want but we have like 20 to 25% EBIT growth every year
So we know they have the money!

I’d tell you to pound sand and let you leave. You are replaceable.

[RdRdrFan]

I don’t care to quote you again but “We don’t whine.” Followed two paragraphs later by “We whine because...”

Lol. Try to get your story straight.

Unions are for those folks who can’t stand on their own two feet and get what they want. 99% of the time the reason they won’t stand on their own two feet is either because they are asking for something that isn’t within what the market would bear or because they are asking for something that they just don’t deserve.


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[texansfan]

I’d tell you to pound sand and let you leave. You are replaceable.

LoL
Everyone is.
But the time it takes to replace folks with over 10 years experience and know this subject matter in a short amount of tine is difficult.

We dont dig ditches or turn knobs in a chemical plant.
LoL

[texansfan]

I don’t care to quote you again but “We don’t whine.” Followed two paragraphs later by “We whine because...”

Lol. Try to get your story straight.

Unions are for those folks who can’t stand on their own two feet and get what they want. 99% of the time the reason they won’t stand on their own two feet is either because they are asking for something that isn’t within what the market would bear or because they are asking for something that they just don’t deserve.


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My team is underpaid and over produce
Corporate knows this
We all could easily go somewhere else and make 15 to 25% more in Houston or move to California or NYC and double our salaroes (everyone here makes 100k+)
But we don't because nobody likes all that volatility and we generally love the work we do
We simply want superior working conditions
Each one of us are qualified to work for Google (a few have) but we are all in Houston for one reason or another (I moved back to Texas after doing the California and East coast things)

Whine/complain/make demands, whatever you want to call it I had to push back on the director because he was pushing my team too hard and folks were dropping like flies (sick day usage spiked)

So I reduced the number of and expediency of deliverables to get morale back up and let everyone have a happy holiday.

Folks were foaming at the mouth to come back after new years and begin tackling problems.

We don't have a union because we're all smart enough to negotiate for ourselves and don't need to pay for that service.

But we essentially do the same thing that a union does.
We just don't pay dues.