Comments on: Hawaii labor issues in the news (or not) http://ilind.net/2009/12/17/hawaii-labor-issues-in-the-news-or-not/ Ian Lind • Online daily from Kaaawa, Hawaii Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:47:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kolea http://ilind.net/2009/12/17/hawaii-labor-issues-in-the-news-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-10455 Kolea Fri, 18 Dec 2009 23:04:19 +0000 http://ilind.net/?p=3939#comment-10455 I'm a little stunned by Nikki's comment. "Labor union fatigue"? "You don’t think of teachers as hourly wage workers scraping for every benefit and salary concession"? Really? How well do you "know" any teachers? I have several teachers who are friends and they all work long hours, with little help from the parents and they are having trouble making their payments or finding time for their own families. Our society likes to PRETEND to respect teachers, but when "push comes to shove," we only "respect them" if they are willing to continue to sacrifice their own lives and financial security "for the sake of the children"! As soon as they say, "Excuse me, but we don't want to work more free hours without getting at least SOME pay," you turn on them and call them "selfish." Linda Smith's statements are absurd on their face, yet they are reported (and apparently read) without everyone bursting out laughing that such a person could be a governor's executive assistant? Thank you, Ken Sheffield: "Arbeit macht frei!" Exactly right! I’m a little stunned by Nikki’s comment.

“Labor union fatigue”? “You don’t think of teachers as hourly wage workers scraping for every benefit and salary concession”?

Really? How well do you “know” any teachers? I have several teachers who are friends and they all work long hours, with little help from the parents and they are having trouble making their payments or finding time for their own families.

Our society likes to PRETEND to respect teachers, but when “push comes to shove,” we only “respect them” if they are willing to continue to sacrifice their own lives and financial security “for the sake of the children”! As soon as they say, “Excuse me, but we don’t want to work more free hours without getting at least SOME pay,” you turn on them and call them “selfish.”

Linda Smith’s statements are absurd on their face, yet they are reported (and apparently read) without everyone bursting out laughing that such a person could be a governor’s executive assistant?

Thank you, Ken Sheffield: “Arbeit macht frei!”

Exactly right!

]]> By: Nikki Heat http://ilind.net/2009/12/17/hawaii-labor-issues-in-the-news-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-10381 Nikki Heat Thu, 17 Dec 2009 20:08:26 +0000 http://ilind.net/?p=3939#comment-10381 folks in our office -- only one person has a child still in our island's public schools but everyone had children go through the school system over the last fifteen years -- kinda side with Linda on this one. We can appreciate the argument about planning days providing valuable time (after all, only a third of the schools statewide applied to give up some of the planning days to reduce the furlough Fridays so that reflects the sentiment of the faculties at the other schools, and with NCLB requirements and recertification at some schools, the days are already needed). It's labor union fatigue more than any thing I guess -- you don't think of teachers as hourly wage workers scraping for every benefit and salary concession. We generally knew and know a lot of our kids' teachers and principals (and the support staff) because they are our neighbors and they coached our kids or we coached their kids and we worked on fundraisers with them and saw them in church (or not). but taking the restrictions imposed by the Governor as furloughs smacked of pure leveraging and calculated politics, and the impasse confirms it. The BOE is reviewing programs again -- let's see if they go to the legislature with proposals to eliminate or reduce any of the programs on the table because 2010 doesn't look any rosier for the State budget situation (and there likely will be no more federal money to fill the gaps for a few more years). lucky t'ing no mo' local school boards. . . yet. folks in our office — only one person has a child still in our island’s public schools but everyone had children go through the school system over the last fifteen years — kinda side with Linda on this one. We can appreciate the argument about planning days providing valuable time (after all, only a third of the schools statewide applied to give up some of the planning days to reduce the furlough Fridays so that reflects the sentiment of the faculties at the other schools, and with NCLB requirements and recertification at some schools, the days are already needed). It’s labor union fatigue more than any thing I guess — you don’t think of teachers as hourly wage workers scraping for every benefit and salary concession. We generally knew and know a lot of our kids’ teachers and principals (and the support staff) because they are our neighbors and they coached our kids or we coached their kids and we worked on fundraisers with them and saw them in church (or not). but taking the restrictions imposed by the Governor as furloughs smacked of pure leveraging and calculated politics, and the impasse confirms it. The BOE is reviewing programs again — let’s see if they go to the legislature with proposals to eliminate or reduce any of the programs on the table because 2010 doesn’t look any rosier for the State budget situation (and there likely will be no more federal money to fill the gaps for a few more years). lucky t’ing no mo’ local school boards. . . yet.

]]> By: Ken Sheffield http://ilind.net/2009/12/17/hawaii-labor-issues-in-the-news-or-not/comment-page-1/#comment-10374 Ken Sheffield Thu, 17 Dec 2009 18:28:58 +0000 http://ilind.net/?p=3939#comment-10374 arbeit macht frei! arbeit macht frei!

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