Campaign Platform

[Bob Wells]

Not necessarily so, they all are considered to be in the bargaining unit and are represented by the Union with regards to wages, benefits and working conditions. Example of this a majority of the members where I work are members of the Union, we have a few who do not belong and pay no dues but enjoy all the benefits that are negotiated. I suspect this is also the case for the teachers. Where did you receive your understanding? From someone who is a teacher or did you read it in a magazine.
http://myflorida.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/1065/~/is-florida-a-%22right-to-work%22-state%3F
Just so you didn't think I pulled it out my A**, that is from the State Of Florida.

We also encourage new employees to join our Union when they are hired.

 

[ricky bobby]

Some of the teachers I know said that when they were hired, they were told that they became members of the union and they weren't given the opportunity to opt out. If that isn't the case perhaps they were misled when they were hired. Maybe someone who works in the school district could clarify it. My father once worked in a plant in another state and he was "given the opportunity" to join a union. He told me that a guy tried to pressure him into joining but he declined. You sound like you might be the type person that encountered my dad back then.

 

[Annie66]

I taught school for more than 20 years. I taught 4 years in Walton county and I don't recall being given a choice. I taught in Alabama for most of my teaching career but we didn't consider AEA to be a union and we weren't pressured to join.

 

[Bob Wells]

Ok Annie, did you pay dues?

 

[Bob Wells]

Some of the teachers I know said that when they were hired, they were told that they became members of the union and they weren't given the opportunity to opt out. If that isn't the case perhaps they were misled when they were hired. Maybe someone who works in the school district could clarify it. My father once worked in a plant in another state and he was "given the opportunity" to join a union. He told me that a guy tried to pressure him into joining but he declined. You sound like you might be the type person that encountered my dad back then.

Maybe I am just not explaining it right, so let me try one last time. Even if you do not sign a card or pay dues you are still considered part of the bargaining unit. By that I mean that you are negotiated for pay, benefits and working conditions by the Union that represents the bargaining unit. Maybe you were not a dues paying member but you were part of the bargaining unit and the Union represented those interest as noted above. Although I have tried to find if it is different for teachers, which I don't think it is, I have been unable to find anything that is different from any other Union in the State. As for my position, I would recruit members as they become employed and if they choose to accept the benefit they receive off the backs of those who pay dues and choose not to join that is their right.

 

[Annie66]

Ok Annie, did you pay dues?

Yes, I paid dues. After I was non renewed after 4 years I asked my union rep if they could do anything for me and I was told that the union really didn't represent non tenure teachers and I would have gotten tenure if I had been rehired. It's strange that the district hired 66 new teachers after they let me go with no explanation and I was replaced with a teacher from Washington County. I also asked why the district breached that part of the collective bargaining agreement that stated that when job openings came available, non renewed teachers with good evaluations would get first priority. No non renewed teachers were rehired. I applied for 55 positons of the 66. The board member who visits this site can confirm this but he won't. The members of the board don't answer those kind of questions because the law doesn't require them to. The real reason I was let go is they didn't want to pay a teacher with a masters and over 20 years experience when they can buy an entry level teacher for a lot less money. I wrote to the DOE about all this and I was told that school districts could do anything they wanted to with regard to personnel.

 

[Bob Wells]

Yes, I paid dues. After I was non renewed after 4 years I asked my union rep if they could do anything for me and I was told that the union really didn't represent non tenure teachers and I would have gotten tenure if I had been rehired. It's strange that the district hired 66 new teachers after they let me go with no explanation and I was replaced with a teacher from Washington County. I also asked why the district breached that part of the collective bargaining agreement that stated that when job openings came available, non renewed teachers with good evaluations would get first priority. No non renewed teachers were rehired. I applied for 55 positons of the 66. The board member who visits this site can confirm this but he won't. The members of the board don't answer those kind of questions because the law doesn't require them to. The real reason I was let go is they didn't want to pay a teacher with a masters and over 20 years experience when they can buy an entry level teacher for a lot less money. I wrote to the DOE about all this and I was told that school districts could do anything they wanted to with regard to personnel.

Sorry to hear that. Although I think that sucks both in by what you indicated was a lack of representation and the disgraceful way Walton County School District treats its employees and that might make me reconsider the members up for re election.

 

[Annie66]

I respect what unions have done for their members over the years. But I taught because I love teaching and I wasn't in it for the money. I went to school, earned my bachelors at 21 and then got my masters and have taught my entire adult life. In 2010, I was cast aside like a piece of tissue paper and notified on the last day of school that I was being non-renewed. I applied for more than 50 openings that year and more than 25 last year with no consideration. One problem is that with my 25 plus years experience and my masters, I'm not allowed to work for an entry level salary and I offered to do so. From my vantage point the main problem with public education is that the best teachers available arent' in the classroom any more. When the economy tanked, so did the tax money and the school districts were too shortsighted to adjust until it was too late. Tallahassee is part of the problem but the local district surely hasn't demonstrated that it has a solution.

 

[Danny Glidewell]

Tallahassee is a big part of the problem in education. So is Washington and the locals have a part as well. From my discussions with local educators one of the big problems is that local school districts are afraid to hire/retain those with experience or advanced degrees that do not have a renewing contract. The reason is that the new pay standards passed by Tallahassee have automatic raises for highly qualified teachers. That sounds good, but most districts cannot afford them and so they hire new teachers for open positions that they can afford. So the law discourages retaining/hiring highly qualified teachers. The local school board has the responsibility but less and less authority to make improvements.

 

[Annie66]

Aren't the individual school districts taxing authorities? In 2006 when I was hired, my property taxes were double what they are now, but property values were higher. Tax revenue pays for for running schools doesn't it? Can the legislature fix the decrease in property tax revenue? With the class size law, more teachers are hired for lower salaries which equates to less experienced teachers. My big problem is that I'm not allowed to work for a lower salary thanks to collective bargaining. Are you going to fix that if you're elected to the legislature, Mr. Glidewell?