tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post2470225327397388871..comments2024-03-07T15:25:26.971-05:00Comments on ICEUFT Blog: Pension Deal & Merit Pay Plan Breakdown: The Good, The Bad and the Utterly InsultingJeff Kaufmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11728874415155394751noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-88596821772375017092007-11-07T06:28:00.000-05:002007-11-07T06:28:00.000-05:00About the Q & A on the schoolwide bonus (mentioned...About the Q & A on the schoolwide bonus (mentioned by Anon. NOV. 3, 4:42) -- they don't contradict anything ICE has written, and they should have answered a whole lot of other questions. <BR/><BR/>"There's a kind of Cheneyesque darkness to the thing, not only for the secrecy and precipitous unveiling of this plan, but for the unsettling feeling that we're being asked to sacrifice a bit of our professional ethics to something quite foreign to us: venality. ......" <BR/>Full article at www.underassault.blogspot.com/2007/11/q-on-q.htmlUnder Assaulthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18222267229529062957noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-28304453381311092112007-11-05T21:56:00.000-05:002007-11-05T21:56:00.000-05:00Funnier.Funnier.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-13741189220358838402007-11-05T19:03:00.000-05:002007-11-05T19:03:00.000-05:00Will this be as funny as Edz Up?Will this be as funny as Edz Up?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-69324334289604891332007-11-05T08:32:00.000-05:002007-11-05T08:32:00.000-05:00Reminder to Unity Hacks:You now have your very spe...Reminder to Unity Hacks:<BR/>You now have your very special blog we set up for you at: http://unityhacks.blogspot.com/<BR/><BR/>And your stuff is so fabulous, you should post it at Unity hack blog central - edwizeed notes onlinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15018047869059226777noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-2618364833987159752007-11-04T20:42:00.000-05:002007-11-04T20:42:00.000-05:00That should say doesn't have any facts. Sorry for...That should say doesn't have any facts. Sorry for the word spelled wrong.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-82671210540405157202007-11-04T20:41:00.000-05:002007-11-04T20:41:00.000-05:00Unity guy still doesen't have any facts but what a...Unity guy still doesen't have any facts but what a sense of humor. If the Hollywood writers go on strike, maybe you can be a scab.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-16917654014073954112007-11-04T20:25:00.000-05:002007-11-04T20:25:00.000-05:00SCENE 3: A bathroom in the Waldorf during Teacher...SCENE 3: A bathroom in the Waldorf during Teacher Union Day. All of the ICEsickles are sitting in adjacent stalls...<BR/><BR/>Petey "Bowtie" Lamphere - "Waaaahhhhh, it's not fair, we should be getting the awards."<BR/><BR/>Jeff "Andy" Kaufman - "It makes me sad to see you cry Petey. Someday soon you will surely win the Cogen Award. By the way, could you pass the toilet paper, it's been nearly a month and I finally took a dump."<BR/><BR/>Un-Norm-al - "I don't like the toilet paper here, I like the soft fluffy stuff. I bet you Randi gave us this rough stuff on purpose."<BR/><BR/>"Salad" the Barber - "You know guys, me and the boys can go in there and make sure we all get awards. We'll make them Unity Hacks an offer they can't refuse. Aren't I cool?"<BR/><BR/>James "E. Turtle" - "I should get an award. I give one on one pension consultations to all of the teachers in my school. Funny thing is, I don't know what a pension really is."<BR/><BR/>Kip Winger - "Woodhag, why are you using the men's room? I can't go with you in here."<BR/><BR/>Woodhag - "I'm just one of the ICE guys, we spit on boundaries."<BR/><BR/>Petey "Bowtie" Lamphere - "I admire you for that. You should have won an award. I'll make you one tonight using popsickle sticks and macaroni."<BR/><BR/>Un-Norm-al - "This rough stuff is really causing my 'roids to flare. It hurts. We should make a movie about this, it's a conspiracy"<BR/><BR/>Jeff "Andy" Kaufman - "Can we go to the pub yet? I don't think the people here appreciate my tuxedo t-shirt."<BR/><BR/>James "E. Turtle" - "Seriously guys, what's a pension?"<BR/><BR/>Coming soon, Part 4, continuing the bumbling antics of those loveable laughable ICEsickles!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-27795218144790410962007-11-03T16:42:00.000-04:002007-11-03T16:42:00.000-04:00I just read the UFT' Q & A on the 55/25, 55/27 and...I just read the UFT' Q & A on the 55/25, 55/27 and the school wide bonus. None of the information there contradicts anything said on this blog by ICE. It's just a nicer spin tha UFT puts on it. I guess this is why the Unity people had to resort to personal attacks; they cannot argue facts.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-70731244697727918502007-11-03T16:29:00.000-04:002007-11-03T16:29:00.000-04:00Colleagues:With Chicago facing merit pay too, it w...Colleagues:<BR/><BR/>With Chicago facing merit pay too, it would be good if someone were focusing <BR/>on this mindless (and mind numbing) faith in "markets" to solve any and every <BR/>problem. The only thing that markets really do is assing "value" based on <BR/>profit margins (or stock price capital gains returns), which, as every close look <BR/>at history (economic and other) has shown, immediately lead to massive highest <BR/>level corruption (Texas, Harken Oil; Baghdad, Coalition Provisional <BR/>Authority; Chile, charter schools, to name a few examples from the past 40 years). This <BR/>takes place inevitably and is literally built into the "market" model of <BR/>social good. It is not (as the market fanatics, including Alan Greenspan, claim) a <BR/>"distortion." <BR/><BR/>I've just finished reading "The Shock Doctrine" (by Naomi Klein, who writes re<BR/>gularly for The Nation) and highly recommend it. Trouble for many of us is, <BR/>as long as the leaders of the teachers' unions go along with "market" theory <BR/>and all of its insanities (plural), we're facing uphill battles. Klein shows <BR/>just how bad it can become.<BR/><BR/>The Ayn Rand nut cases, at all the right wing think tanks -- from the <BR/>University of Chicago to the Heritage Foundation to the World Bank -- have had a <BR/>field day since the end of Soviet Style Communism to prove how badly their <BR/>theories fail human socieities. These market theories especially fail in meeting the <BR/>needs of human children and aged adults (the two most vulnerable general <BR/>populations in any society). Trouble is, they've always had their apologists within <BR/>the "House of Labor" (at least in the USA), where ideological corruption has <BR/>been greatest and the actual representation of the working class the least <BR/>(and least effective). <BR/><BR/>George N. Schmidt<BR/>Editor, SubstanceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-34728314837846736442007-11-03T16:26:00.000-04:002007-11-03T16:26:00.000-04:00This is exactly what Eli Broad was counting on. Me...This is exactly what Eli Broad was counting on. Merit pay bonuses are<BR/>designed to cause disharmony in the schools. Their objective is to<BR/>divide and weaken the liberal teacher unions. Eli Broad could not give<BR/>a rats ass about student achievement. This is part of the vast right<BR/>wing conspiracy to destroy teacher unions.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-84238378702119734852007-10-30T20:55:00.000-04:002007-10-30T20:55:00.000-04:00Tier V is a great idea. Now more teachers can wor...Tier V is a great idea. Now more teachers can work in NYC for a year or two and leave for LI. Randi is from the suburbs and she's great for the suburbs.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-1986172242204300362007-10-29T22:51:00.000-04:002007-10-29T22:51:00.000-04:00Thanks for Tier 5, Randi. F you!Thanks for Tier 5, Randi. F you!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-53352601155929230582007-10-27T16:26:00.000-04:002007-10-27T16:26:00.000-04:00"I see this as an individual plan with an addition..."I see this as an individual plan with an additional step - first, the school must meet benchmarks, and second, teachers can be differentially rewarded. Unless the committee of four announces upfront that bonuses will be distributed equally (can someone weigh in here about whether a distribution plan will be ratified upfront?), teachers are going to operate under the assumption that there will be unequal shares based on their students' test scores. Even if we see equal bonuses this year, the door is wide open and I see Mike and Joel on the horizon in a performance pay Mack truck."<BR/><BR/>Read it all at:<BR/><BR/>http://www.eduwonkette.com/2007/10/thoughts-on-nycs-performance-pay-plan.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-28179848845015490332007-10-27T16:22:00.000-04:002007-10-27T16:22:00.000-04:00Aha. So the real issue is screwing new teachers of...Aha. So the real issue is screwing new teachers of the future! Pathetic. I think this administration loves to pit groups against each other using the power of money. It is not all that different from the way taxi cab drivers have been treated! The mayor defuses striking power by imposing monetary incentives for taxi cab drivers willing to be scabs and causes the public to be angry at striking cab drivers because "they have to pay so much more for a ride". The scabbers just love the profit! The "strike" has the effectiveness of a grand joke! There are probably some teachers who are in teaching for the short hall who completely look forward to a $3,000 paycheck and ignore what it will do for future teachers! Those near retirement who just want to get the hell out and won't have to contribute the extra percentage for too long, will probably also vote for short term money based on their own interests. Meanwhile, the threat of school closings tied to acceptance of merit pay and its possible repercussions will loom overhead to further create a climate of paranoia... YIPES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When does all this stop?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-41326758268584735162007-10-27T16:16:00.000-04:002007-10-27T16:16:00.000-04:00From Eduwonkette: “Physicians I talked to in prepa...From Eduwonkette: <BR/><BR/>“Physicians I talked to in preparing this post laughed at me when I asked if their performance bonuses were based on patient outcomes. The most common response was that those outcomes were largely out of their control, so their hospitals rewarded them based on their inputs - i.e. hours, procedures, and revenues.”<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Of course, outcomes are even more out of the control of teachers, unless they devote all their time to test prep or resort to cheating – neither of which would be considered desirable.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-60298832551555184962007-10-27T14:55:00.000-04:002007-10-27T14:55:00.000-04:00Let them fight over the chump change.Let's be real...Let them fight over the chump change.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Let's be realistic: Why would anyone even want to work for a goal that is essentially<BR/>out of one's control?<BR/><BR/><BR/>Education is not piece work. It's not even linear. With some kids even if<BR/>they tried "harder" they still don't "get it" for one reason or another.<BR/>Perhaps the cognitive abilities haven't developed enough yet. How many adults<BR/>still have trouble with reading comprehension, and / or writing, and / or mathematics, etc.<BR/><BR/><BR/>Besides development factors. No one is even factoring in IQ in whether a given child is ever going to be capable of a given skill set. We all know about the host of environmental and social factors.<BR/><BR/><BR/>But what happens if everyone works, say, longer hours than they already do and then it turns out the scores aren't high enough. So no bonus. No one has mentioned that yet.<BR/><BR/><BR/>If it comes up at my school, I'll vote no, and let it be known that I am not interested in the bonus.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-34600722574337378902007-10-27T14:52:00.000-04:002007-10-27T14:52:00.000-04:00Hello All,I heard Diane ravitch speak at 52 B'way ...Hello All,<BR/><BR/>I heard Diane ravitch speak at 52 B'way on Tuesday, at a meeting of the Governance Committee to which she was invited, and was impressed by the conciseness of her responses to questions. However, in this piece she misses an important point that fundamentally weakens her argument about the UFT getting over in this deal: she underestimates the degree to which test scores are likely to be the basis of the merit pay - yes, I insist on calling it merit pay - benchmarks. We all know that,.UFT rhetoric aside, test scores will be the basis for these benchmarks, and that constitutes a victory for the mayor. This deal institutionalizes test scores as the basis for judging school success, and officially brings the nation's largest teacher union local on board with that. And while it may not explicitly pit teachers against each other, except possibly when it's time to divvy up the blood money, it certainly pits schools against one another, with ELL's, special ed students and others left out in the cold. <BR/><BR/>Given the strong possibility that private and foundation money may become less available for this type of thing in the coming months and years - Eli Broad and another of his ilk had to provide an emergency injection of a BILLION DOLLARS into a Goldman Sachs hedge fund not long ago, and the city's ability to continue to fund this in a climate of investment banker layoffs and declining tax receipts based on rising real estate values- I think it's quite possible the whole thing may die on the vine. <BR/><BR/>However, the fact that the UFT would participate in something so antithetical to basic trade union values, and so destructive to the fabric of public education, is reprehensible.<BR/><BR/>Best,<BR/><BR/>Michael FiorilloAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-37907197197507229962007-10-27T14:38:00.000-04:002007-10-27T14:38:00.000-04:00Good analysis Sean. Nothing new from our leaders....Good analysis Sean. Nothing new from our leaders.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-68725849690203830272007-10-25T21:35:00.000-04:002007-10-25T21:35:00.000-04:00The city will save millions in pension contributi...The city will save millions in pension contributions because members are paying more. This is a bad tradeoff, not a gain. <BR/><BR/>You don't have to be against 55/25 but you could say more explicitly that this particular bill should be rejected by the legislature because of the way it is being funded. <BR/><BR/>Our colleagues who will scream bloody murder at anyone seeming to block their exit are concerned with their own individual escape from an increasingly hellish work environment and not with a collective approach to low median salaries, poor working and learning conditions. The "no gainers" and "loosers" you refer to in your very informative blog piece have more reason to scream bloody murder than the much smaller number of "winners".<BR/><BR/>The 55/25/Merit Pay is a hand out to the city masked as a gain for the membership. It is not a gain for the membership as a whole, only a minority , at the expense of the majority. There is no cause here for special treatment of this minority. It is a measure that rights no wrong. It is a Ponzi scheme for the members, courtesy of Unity Inc., that leaves us feeding on ourselves. Each successive generation under Unity's leadership is expected to sellout the unborn. It's like paying for a raise by lowering the starting salary.<BR/><BR/>Unity Inc is fronting for the city and relying on the senior members to bite, and bite hard. Divide and conquer is Unity's modus operandi. What is the alternative? Easy for me to say since I am not among the "winners" as you defined them in your blogpiece. I don't blame those 'winners' , our colleagues, for jumping at the bait. Solidarity? Never heard of it in the UFT. They are just not part of the solution to the problems that the rest of us face. I think an opposition worthy of the name should say that it is not in the best interests of a union to trade in this way. It is in fact the opposite of what Unions were formed to do. <BR/><BR/>Unity is pedaling this version of 25/55 like they did the longevity increases for thirty years. A carrot for the few at the expense of the many. I understand that some of our colleagues would opt in if given the opportunity, but 25/55 for the minority and a Tier V for the future is not progress by any stretch of the imagination and for that reason this bill should be opposed.<BR/><BR/><BR/><BR/>SeanSean Ahernhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00877836854515957722noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-28420637272114194202007-10-25T17:37:00.000-04:002007-10-25T17:37:00.000-04:00I like Diane Ravitch's views a lot, but I think sh...I like Diane Ravitch's views a lot, but I think she's missed it when it <BR/>come to this "Committee" thing, for shares in any school "Bonus. <BR/>Principals who are crazed, and who intimidate their staff, will forfeit <BR/>the "Bonus" rather than vote to have teachers who they don't like, <BR/>share in the Bonus. What's more likely is that this kind of principal <BR/>will intimidate the two teacher members of the committee into voting <BR/>shares to teachers that are in the principal's own network, in the <BR/>school. So much for merit. Just another tool for crazed principal <BR/>academy grads to wield even more powAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-13651375321117210942007-10-25T17:22:00.000-04:002007-10-25T17:22:00.000-04:00Still nothing from any Unity people on where anyth...Still nothing from any Unity people on where anything Jeff or James wrote about this deal was wrong. Why should anyone care if your chapter leader gives out pension advice?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-9431238081621402672007-10-25T01:15:00.000-04:002007-10-25T01:15:00.000-04:00Kudos to both sides. LOLKudos to both sides. LOLAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-54025287096271894402007-10-24T23:35:00.000-04:002007-10-24T23:35:00.000-04:00Reading your TJC's friend's lit and hearing from m...Reading your TJC's friend's lit and hearing from my chapter leader that it is going against the AFT, our national affiliate, here is what they have to say:<BR/><BR/>http://aft.org/presscenter/releases/2007/101807.htm<BR/><BR/>The United Federation of Teachers and Mayor Bloomberg have worked together to develop a locally negotiated, voluntary, schoolwide initiative that rewards and promotes the collaborative work environment favored by educators. Such initiatives have long been advocated by the AFT. The agreement also provides pension equity for all current and prospective teachers and paraprofessionals. We know that changes in compensation systems work only if, as in this system, they have been developed with—and have the buy-in —of teachers directly affected by the changes.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-29649979931873615872007-10-24T23:33:00.000-04:002007-10-24T23:33:00.000-04:00Two can play at your game, you unity hacks:Blandi ...Two can play at your game, you unity hacks:<BR/><BR/>Blandi Whinegarter "Take my picture with the mayor!"<BR/><BR/>Michael Mental "All I do is yell at the opposition and kiss Blandi's @ss."<BR/><BR/>Quiff Zahler "It's a victory to surrender all of our rights."<BR/><BR/>Fleao Casey "I delete your Edwize posts."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15921757.post-70898901629894549732007-10-24T23:24:00.000-04:002007-10-24T23:24:00.000-04:00The 2 of you that put in the last 7 posts are miss...The 2 of you that put in the last 7 posts are missing that my Chapter Leader is taking your lead and is giving out one-on-one pension "consultations" if you want to call it that. My question is how many individual member's futures will you ruin to make your politcal claim that everything the UFT leadership does is bad?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com