5 ms·

Hostile Takeover of L.A.’s Public Schools

11 points by hncurious 5y ago

Bostonian 5y ago
Government schools are a quasi-monopoly that only parents who can afford private school tuition can escape. A monopoly can afford to be inefficient and indulge the whims of the people working for it. Quoting the article: "under Myart-Cruz’s [the teachers' union president] stewardship, which began when she assumed office in the summer of 2020, that purview has been expanded to include a breathtaking range of far-flung progressive issues: racial justice, Medicare for all, the millionaire tax, financial support for undocumented families, rental and eviction relief—over the last 15 months, UTLA has championed them all. Many of these may be laudable aims, or at least worth debating, but they aren’t the sort of agendas normally pursued by your neighborhood teachers’ union. In what universe, after all, does UTLA’s recent boycott of Israel over the conflict with Hamas benefit the teachers—or students—of Los Angeles?"
- syops 5y ago
  A union’s job is to look out for it’s members. If the members of a teacher’s union decide to champion political issues then that is their right.
  - drekipus 5y ago
    But the members didn't decide to champion political issues. The leader did.
    - freemint 5y ago
      The leader seemed to have a history of such activism according to the article i read and there was an election for that leader.
    - syops 5y ago
      As with all sufficiently large organizations of people there are leaders of the organization. The leaders represent the members and sometimes some members disagree with the leadership. Are you suggesting that no organization of people ought to advocate for a political position unless x% of the membership specifically advocates for this? Are you opposed to corporate lobbying? It’s not as if every stock holder of Apple gets a say on how Apple lobbies and gets involved in the political process.
nradov 5y ago
President Roosevelt was right: we should have never allowed public employees to unionize. When unions negotiate with government officials there is no one to represent the interest of ordinary citizens and taxpayers. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-resolution-federation-federal-employees-against-strikes-federal-service https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-resolut...
- syops 5y ago
  The administration of the governmental organization negotiates the interest of the public. They sometimes do a great job and sometimes they don’t. My union’s contract must be approved by the state legislature. One party is actively opposed to unions and that fact alone means that negotiators from the state Department of Education must be tough. We certainly don’t get what we ask for simply because we ask for it. For years our pay has lagged behind pay increases of comparably educated private sector workers while required paperwork and busywork has increased.
  - angelzen 5y ago
    On the flip side, the union bankrolls the politicians of the other party, with a huge conflict of interest. Your answer has no room for the kids education, but plenty of room for pay and benefits of the union members. But that is old school quibble, the OP article is concerned about the expansion of UTLA purview into naked political arena: > But under Myart-Cruz’s stewardship, which began when she assumed office in the summer of 2020, that purview has been expanded to include a breathtaking range of far-flung progressive issues: racial justice, Medicare for all, the millionaire tax, financial support for undocumented families, rental and eviction relief—over the last 15 months, UTLA has championed them all.
    - syops 5y ago
      I don’t understand your response. A union’s primary purpose is for advocating for the rights, working conditions, and pay for it’s members. That teachers’ unions often times advocate for making things better for their students in the form of supporting school lunch programs, universal healthcare, increased mental health resources for kids, etc. is because members generally care about those we teach. In the end it doesn’t matter what you or I think. The members of the union have a right to advocate for what they want to advocate for. They have free speech rights too.

11 points by hncurious 5y ago

Government schools are a quasi-monopoly that only parents who can afford private school tuition can escape. A monopoly can afford to be inefficient and indulge the whims of the people working for it. Quoting the article: "under Myart-Cruz’s [the teachers' union president] stewardship, which began when she assumed office in the summer of 2020, that purview has been expanded to include a breathtaking range of far-flung progressive issues: racial justice, Medicare for all, the millionaire tax, financial support for undocumented families, rental and eviction relief—over the last 15 months, UTLA has championed them all. Many of these may be laudable aims, or at least worth debating, but they aren’t the sort of agendas normally pursued by your neighborhood teachers’ union. In what universe, after all, does UTLA’s recent boycott of Israel over the conflict with Hamas benefit the teachers—or students—of Los Angeles?"

syops 5y ago
A union’s job is to look out for it’s members. If the members of a teacher’s union decide to champion political issues then that is their right.
- drekipus 5y ago
  But the members didn't decide to champion political issues. The leader did.
  - freemint 5y ago
    The leader seemed to have a history of such activism according to the article i read and there was an election for that leader.
  - syops 5y ago
    As with all sufficiently large organizations of people there are leaders of the organization. The leaders represent the members and sometimes some members disagree with the leadership. Are you suggesting that no organization of people ought to advocate for a political position unless x% of the membership specifically advocates for this? Are you opposed to corporate lobbying? It’s not as if every stock holder of Apple gets a say on how Apple lobbies and gets involved in the political process.

nradov 5y ago

President Roosevelt was right: we should have never allowed public employees to unionize. When unions negotiate with government officials there is no one to represent the interest of ordinary citizens and taxpayers. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-resolution-federation-federal-employees-against-strikes-federal-service https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/letter-the-resolut...

syops 5y ago
The administration of the governmental organization negotiates the interest of the public. They sometimes do a great job and sometimes they don’t. My union’s contract must be approved by the state legislature. One party is actively opposed to unions and that fact alone means that negotiators from the state Department of Education must be tough. We certainly don’t get what we ask for simply because we ask for it. For years our pay has lagged behind pay increases of comparably educated private sector workers while required paperwork and busywork has increased.
- angelzen 5y ago
  On the flip side, the union bankrolls the politicians of the other party, with a huge conflict of interest. Your answer has no room for the kids education, but plenty of room for pay and benefits of the union members. But that is old school quibble, the OP article is concerned about the expansion of UTLA purview into naked political arena: > But under Myart-Cruz’s stewardship, which began when she assumed office in the summer of 2020, that purview has been expanded to include a breathtaking range of far-flung progressive issues: racial justice, Medicare for all, the millionaire tax, financial support for undocumented families, rental and eviction relief—over the last 15 months, UTLA has championed them all.
  - syops 5y ago
    I don’t understand your response. A union’s primary purpose is for advocating for the rights, working conditions, and pay for it’s members. That teachers’ unions often times advocate for making things better for their students in the form of supporting school lunch programs, universal healthcare, increased mental health resources for kids, etc. is because members generally care about those we teach. In the end it doesn’t matter what you or I think. The members of the union have a right to advocate for what they want to advocate for. They have free speech rights too.