Wednesday, April 26, 2017

FEDERAL COURT AFFIRMS UNION SPEECH IS PROTECTED

My friend Mike Schirtzer sent this article from the NY Post to me last night. A federal appeals court has ruled that union speech is still protected to a fairly wide degree. I can't find anything negative about that.

Here is a large excerpt from the Post piece.
Calling your boss a “nasty motherf–ker” is totally cool — as long as you’re trying to form a union.

A worker at a Chelsea Piers catering hall has won a Manhattan federal court ruling that said he had a legal right to drop an F-bomb on his supervisor in an angry Facebook rant because he and fellow employees were in the middle of a union battle.

Hernan Perez, who had worked at the waterfront venue Pier Sixty for 13 years, had filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board saying he’d been wrongly fired in 2011 for the social-media post.

He wrote the missive on Oct. 27 of that year, after a hard day’s work in which he furiously butted heads with his boss, Robert “Bob” McSweeney, according to court records.

“Bob is such a NASTY MOTHER F–KER don’t know how to talk to people!!!!!!” Perez wrote on Facebook during a break.

“F–k his mother and his entire f–king family!!!! What a LOSER!!!! Vote YES for the UNION!!!!!!!”

Pier Sixty caught wind of the post and fired Perez less than two weeks later.

He had tried calming the waters by deleting the post altogether, to no avail.

At the time, Perez and his co-workers were neck-deep in a unionization campaign, so he claimed in court that his Facebook rant had been specifically aimed at them in an attempt to form a union.

After an administrative law judge upheld Perez’s NLRB complaint, Pier Sixty appealed the ruling to the federal Second Circuit Court of Appeals.

On Friday, it upheld the lower court’s ruling. The Second Circuit Court said the comments involved union activity protected by the National Labor Relations Act, which covers all union-related speech that is not deemed too “opprobrious,” or scornful.

“Perez’s conduct sits at the outer‐bounds of protected, union‐-related comments,” the court wrote in its ruling.

I am not a lawyer nor a labor law expert but the moral here would appear to be to make sure you are engaged in union activities when speaking out at work. Please note, however, that I am not advocating calling your principal anything like the words used in this case. Be careful. Teachers can be charged with conduct unbecoming of a teacher. We are supposed to be role models for our students even though many do not give us any of the respect a role model deserves. We still need to use restraint.

65 comments:

  1. Unfortunately, I am much more inclined to use to aforementioned words toward our union leaders.
    What laws protect us from their incompetence?

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  2. Remember, when these kids, or these types curse and threaten you today, they are really good kids, just be nice to them, speak very politely, they are really there to learn and graduate.
    Six people have been arrested for the savage beatdown of a boy on Coney Island that was posted to Facebook on Easter Sunday, officials say.

    Maleek Meyars, 16, and Jahcorei Lewis, 17, were arrested and charged with gang assault, menacing and harassment.

    Cops say the other four children will be tried as juveniles in Family Court for the same charges.

    The victim knew and had interactions with many of his attackers prior to the assault caught on the graphic, 19-second video, which cops say helped track them down.

    Police say they are still searching for four other kids believed to be involved in the attack.

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    1. Another great post. We all know the students ( yeah right they are students) who are the problems. The progressives like to blame white oppression for the behavior but we all know the truth. 2 more yrs until retirement! Stay safe.

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  3. We knew this comment was coming. At least it is somewhat on topic for a change.

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  4. And we think students like that will listen when you tell them put their phones away, take hat off, do the work, do the do now, get here on time...

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  5. It's the teachers fault don't u know. They sense we are racists! What crap educated people say. Stay Safe My Friends. Only 43 more days until we are free from hearing my nig, suck my d.... You know the rest.

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  6. Replies
    1. 42 more days until we are free from my nig, suck my d and all the rest. Have a great rest of the school year and stay safe my friend. Enjoy your vino tonight

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    2. @ 1:34 pm...please watch your language

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  7. My violin plays when I hear black males make up 46 percent of the jail population and 13 percent of the general population, as if they dont belong there because of crimes they commit.

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    1. More violins now the birds are singing. You are a frustrated mess @10:20. Lol

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    2. More violins now the birds are singing. You are a frustrated mess @10:20. Lol

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  8. Why are you so obsessed with black people? You are racist as all get-out, man. Stop posting, you are giving all of us teachers a bad name. We know you hate black people. So, get out of the 'hood. Everyone has a choice.

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  9. No hate just reality. God Bless

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    1. Poor thing @ 7:12am
      You wake up like this!!???

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    2. And the kids are still walking the halls getting fake grades smelling like week and calling each other the most vial things. Don't forget it's the fault of white oppression and privlege. Enjoy the vino and God Bless.

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  10. Im obsessed with not being tortured and being safe a my workplace...What causes those problems? Ive never been arrested, cant be me...

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    1. Insanity doing the same thing and expecting different results...@9:56. Quit today so you can be happier tomorrow lol. You are hilarious

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  11. But you say these programs are liberal giveaways. You are part of the problem because you are making a living off of those students you hate.If we built huge jails for them, you would be out of a job. A job you should quit since you don't believe these kids can learn.

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  12. Stats say they havent or cant learn, this is widespread, they go there to anything but learn and follow directions and be respectful...

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    Replies
    1. 😡 can't learn/haven't learned? And why do we need you again @ 12:31 level lol

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  13. If you had a little integrity, you would resign rather than work with people who you know cannot learn. You are the equal of a welfare queen living on the government.

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  14. waiting for support are you black? do you have children?

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  15. I was wondering if you are, would you allow your children to say nigga every other word?

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  16. Would you allow your children to say nigga every other word?

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  17. Thats what you seem to condone when we complain about it.

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  18. Is there a distinction in meaning between "nigger" and "nigga"?

    Teacher Explains the Word "Nigga"

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  19. Is there a distinction in meaning between "nigger" and "nigga"?

    Teacher Explains the Word "Nigga":

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uvJzr0zZvk

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  20. Prefect example of a double standard, students use it every second, but are so offended when somebody else uses it. The teacher should get fired? The students should get thrown out in that case too. The teacher is right when he said it should be banned, but who would enforce that? Just the like DOE, no discipline code. Yeah, its a case by case basis, its ok for some to say it, thats the case...Its such an offensive word, but we have to listen to students say it thousands of times daily...

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  21. The students have little sense of perception if any at all. They sense teachers are racists is the biggest crock of crap I have every heard. Many of our students have serve behavioral problems and it's just getting worse. As the students behavioral problems increase our enforcement of behavioral norms has decreased. The argument is the norms have been created by non minorities and should be modified to include the cultural differences in our society. What crap. When I first started teaching in 1996 I was told by severalAfrican American teachers in my department that black kids ( not my words) are different and need to be held to a different behavioral and a academic standards. I guess it's coming to fruition. I've alesys tried to treat everyone exactly the same and to modify (lower) my behavioral and academic expectations of my students based on ethnicity would be the true definition of racism. I refused to lower my standards for my african American students and worked harder to instill the same norms to them. I was called a racists numerous times by so called educated teachers who thought I was racists for "picking" on the "black kids". How foolish people can be. God Bless an enjoy your weekend. 41 more days!

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    1. Don't you remember they can't / won't learn... It's hopeless remember. You're good, they're bad. You're smart and they are dumb. You're law abiding and they aren't... Yada yada yada yada Got it. I see the light oh yeah God bless

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    2. Quack quack...if it looks like a duck oh you know the rest

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    3. Thank you and God Bless

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  22. Student Trash is student trash

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    Replies
    1. Yes..trash is trash. For example
      Ignorant Racist = trash

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  23. Then do the honorable thing and resign rather than taking taxpayer money for a job you concede you cannot do because you call kids trash.

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  24. Nobody cab do the job, look at the stats. Virtually every school is failing.

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  25. Agreed with above, going by students progress and learning, we are all not teaching.

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  26. Just because the students nearly refuse to learn I should resign? Are you f-in serious? I try and try everyday to instill the importance and necessity of a good quality education but the main stream culture is working against us. Add to it the politicians and the cell phone issue, add to it the doe with this observation and getting rid of exoerienced teachers to save money. Add to it the apprehension to suspend a student or even tell a student to sit down you might be called a racists or brought up on verbal abuse charges. No one has your back a kid or admin can make up stuff and the next thing you know your sitting in a room staring out the window. You can't say anything to a student. Even good morning or how are you feeling can be misinterpreted as singling them out and they feel embarrassed. Not stop you know where. I should resign? No my friend I will not resign. I began my career to teach an at the end earn a nice pension. If I want to exercise my right to free speech it's your choice to read it or not. Thanks

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  27. You forgot to mention the disintegration of the family, drug abuse, criminality increases as other factors that cause the problems in the education system.

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    1. And the historical practice of institutionalized racism don't leave that out oh wait, that was in the past oops what am I thinking

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    2. Your forgiven for the mistake. Enjoy your weekend without hearing my nig and suck my d. You earned it

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    3. Oh yes and the opioid epidemic in the suburbs...destruction of civilization as we know it. I believe there was an opioid epidemic in Harlem in the 60s 70s but those folks were criminalized. Anywho,continue ranting I mean chanting I mean venting

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  28. Even God rested on the 7th day. Enjoy your weekend

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  29. He is the only one who should judge... when we leave it up to Man...well we have seen the horrors

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