The Burden of Negotiations

Can you believe it, here we are over half way through January without a teaching contract for those underrated unequalled Union teachers. Anyone who has ever been involved with negotiations knows that the process of sorting through all of the fertile ideas and fertilizer can become tedious, if not down right burdensome. However, six months without a contract seems a little extreme. So, what is at the root of this stand-off? Who is being unreasonable? Is there an unbiased opinion on the matter?Those who know me, know that I am not a quitter, my Cherokee name is “Beater of Dead Horses”. With that being said, maybe, just maybe it is time for the teachers to throw in the proverbial towel on this one and settle for no more, but no less than their own leader, the Superintendent, did. Let’s do a little number crunching shall we, say on a teacher’s base pay of $32,850 and see what would happen if teachers settled for their Superintendent’s onerous contractual provisions:

Base Salary: $32,850
5% guaranteed stipend Nov. 1: 1,700
14.5% Annual Annuity: 4,800
Annual Car Allowance: 4,000
Family Medical, Dental, Vision LTD:9,600 est.
7% Annual Merit Pay: 2,300
Professional Dues: 500
Paid Physical: 400
Total Compensation: $56,150 – plus a fully funded retirement.

Maybe teachers need to concede to this one, admit that the burden of negotiations has become too great and settle for what their leader did. What do you think?

As always, thanks for hearing me out,
R T