Sunday, December 06, 2009

Throwing Teachers Out Of Their Homes And Onto The Streets?

One Southern California school district is looking at 10% teacher pay cuts, retroactive to last July, to help balance its books. Let's hear from the union president:

Vicki Soderberg, president of the Capistrano Unified Education Assn., which represents some 2,200 teachers, said the proposed salary decrease would be dire.

"Asking for a 10% pay cut would throw a lot of our teachers out of their homes and onto the streets," she said.

Teachers would consider furloughs, Soderberg said.


Can anyone explain to me how a pay cut due to furloughs won't "throw a lot of our teachers out of their homes and onto the streets," but a pay cut without the lost days would?

Of course I'm sympathetic to the teachers here. If I'm going to get a pay cut, I'd want to work less, too. My issue here is with the stupidity and lack of logic in Ms. Soderberg's statement. And she's the one those union members chose to represent them....

Update: I just received the following in an email. Whether it's true or apocryphal, it's funny and applicable:
She makes about as much sense as the old Yogi Berra line. When asked if he would like the pizza he just ordered cut into 6 or 8 pieces, Yogi said, "8... I'm really hungry."

3 comments:

Fritz J. said...

Actually Yogi made some sense. Narrower pieces can be jammed in your mouth faster and thereby assuage your hunger quicker. Soderberg makes no sense.

Ellen K said...

I can see the writing on the wall. Budgets were slashed this year. Larger classes and probably fewer trips for some programs. The most obvious sign of the times is that personal business days, which used to be routinely approved, are now held up to scrutiny worthy of a TSA agent with a hangover.

PeggyU said...

Meh. My husband took a 10% pay cut to keep his job, but still works full hours. We're all in the same boat. The woman's whining doesn't elicit much sympathy.