David Mielke, the venerable President of the Teachers Union, told the School Board last evening that he came bearing two messages as contract-negotiating season began in earnest:
“The partnership we are trying to put together, between the unions and management, that is really moving forward beautifully.”
He spoke of the opening scene the partners participated in last week in their tour of District schools.
“A core group of us – the superintendent (Dave LaRose), Leslie Lockhart Assistant Super/director of Human Resources), Nancy Goldberg (School; Board member), Audrey Stephens (director of the Office of Child Development, the Management Assn. President and me – went to La Ballona (elementary school) staff meeting last week to share what this is all about.
“It was quite interesting because, here was what everybody was saying –‘Who could be opposed to that? But,’ they asked, ‘is anybody paying attention to what is going on over here? We are demoralized.’
‘What About Us?’
“We shared with them,” Mr. Mielke said, “the document we put together of our guiding principles. One lady said, ‘Isn’t this nice, but it says all students will get all or most of the resources they need? Is this just talk? Our classes are big.’
“Others said there was disconnect between Special Ed and the District, and Special Ed at the sites. I don’t know exactly what the disconnect is.
“It was like talking to the people at the (war) fronts. Generals show up, and the people say ‘Thank you, but do you have any idea of what we are going through?’”
Mr. Mielke said he could not identify the cause of the low morale at La Ballona.
“I can’t put my finger on it, but it probably is a combination,” he said. “The union president in me says the classes are probably larger. The last raise they had was 1 percent in 2007. Health and benefits costs go up every year. So their standard of living is decreasing.
Working Harder for Less?
“There is a general sense that we are being asked to do more and more all of the time. What that means at the elementary level may be different from what it means at middle and at secondary.
“For me, it’s just that my classes are so much larger.
“Specifically, though, I don’t know the reasons. One teacher who has been there a long time and whom I respect told us, ‘I feel like I am out here by myself and no one is throwing me a lifeline.’
“As we left, that was what was ringing in our ears.
“Next week, our core group goes to Farragut. And who knows? Different schools may have different issues?
“This attitude is not new, not different from what we have encountered in the past.
“Forever,” Mr. Mielke said, “I have been trying to tell the School Board and management that people are demoralized. At some point you need to give them something, some recognition, some acknowledgement. The job is very hard.”
(To be continued)
