May God Bless New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. A virtual unknown a year ago, Christie has set an example for states across the country by standing up to public employee unions – including the sacrosanct teachers’ union! Now the head of New Jersey Education Association – NJ’s teachers’ union – whines that teachers could do better in the private sector.
"If there's an invasion of Israel by the Netherlands, he will find a way to blame the NJEA for that," responds the union's executive director, Vincent Giordano.
In a Fox News interview in the union's building down the street from the statehouse, Giordano rejected Christie's attacks, saying they "aren't warranted."
He says teachers make an average of about $65,000 a year, and "when you put it all together, teacher salaries in New Jersey are still well below the average salary of the private sector. When you include all of the ingredients...I don't think they are too high or too rich."
GIVE IT A TRY! See how life is when you CAN be fired for not doing your job. See how it is when you are compensated for PERFORMANCE rather than just showing up for work more years that someone who actually does a better job. Enjoy a job where you are grateful if your employer picks up HALF the cost of your healthcare benefits and where you get NO health benefits in retirement.
Christie is right on target! Americans are finally learning that public employees are actually earning more than their private sector counterparts. When you throw in benefits and job security, the gap is HUGE!
from Delmarva Dealings
53 comments:
ABOUT TIME Somebody standing up to these Unions!
well none of you wanted a goverment job when times were good now all of a sudden the people who took the job for job security and pensions are being faulted. What a crook sorry you choose the path you did don't complain because us the goverment employee took our career path.
Maybe Gov Christie can come down here and give Marylanders a lesson. MSTA is running Maryland with O'Malley working for them.
I must admit that there is a jealousy among the private sector towards public workers due to job security, low stress levels, and getting paid more to do less work. But we in a private sector wake up every now and then and realize that we take pride in contributing to the betterment of society, knowing that our sweat has a value, and lastly we don't cost the taxpayers a dime.
Dear Republicans, Please keep attacking teachers. Thanks, The Democratic Party.
You guys are idiots.
11:06
It's not about the career , it's about doing your job , i.e. = taking that extra step , being graded on performance , it's about teaching the students to LEARN. It's about the free interprise system.
Teachers are the as close to socialism as you can get , no I'm wrong , sosialist would ensure you would teach your students , and they would learn.
I hope they come to Maryland with the same attitude.
The permancy that comes with a government job is worth at least 10% a private sector comparable job. It is very difficult to get a government job, as most are advertised within and usually end up with relatives or friends getting the job.
Under the FOIA, it is now probabaly a good idea for requests to be made to all levels of government to disclose current salaries and benefits.
What an inspiration! Although I have to say the Worcester teachers I've dealt truly want to see the students do well. It's the out of control spending by the BOE that's got me fired up.
Craig Theobald
Ironshire
FYI: I am a candidate for the Worcester BOE, District 4
11:06
If your not doing the job, you should have no job security. You should be put out on the street. That's the way it is in the private sector.
unions are the downfall of America.
Unions were formed to protect the young people from being overworked with little pay. We pay the teachers salary , I would think they should thank us for allowing them to do nothing but give the students a book and pass them. Private schools are the thing if you want your kids to learn. Home schooling is an excellent way to learn. Public schools just suck!
just about every teacher i know would not stand a chance in the private sector.
It appears that many of the posters on this blog entry paid very little attention to their English and/or American History teachers. The apparent limited grasp of basic grammar, spelling and historical fact is startling.
No wonder they hold the opinions that they do.
Amazing lack of understanding of spelling, grammar, and basic American History here... Lets hope your kids pay better attention in school than you all do....
In order to make it in the private sector , you have to work , or perform at a productive level. Teachers , there should be a bounty on them.( like mice or rats)
I thought of something else , they are parasites as are most government employees.
11:53 keep sucking the life out of the country until it is a third world nation . Thanks concerned citizen .
12:52
That's public school for you! I ain't learned to spel yet. i got me money in tha bank dont ya kno.
mad my millon years back , caus i
i had to help me familiy. went to collage at umes got my dagerree.
now i em a teacher. pereiod , end
Most teachers would not do well in the private sector. Teachers who become administrators wouldn't be able to run a small grocery store let alone a $100,000,000 educational system.
It is so easy being a teacher, right? Then why don't you go get the degree and teach? What's stopping you?
1:46 quit your bitchin ! There are enough kids with computers why can they learn online it would cut down on school size and the number of teachers needed .And the distractions of outside BS .
I agree 1:46. Everyone could have been a teacher if they wanted to. Its not my fault that I bettered myself and family by becoming a teacher. I love teaching and wouldnt do anything else. To all the people who want to slam teachers, become one yourself then, since youre so jealous.
I am a retired teacher.
As I began teaching, my mentor was in his last year before retirement. He had a hypothesis that the College Prep. students that all of the teachers loved to teach generally either left the community after graduating from college or returned as teachers. The remaining students, who were mediocre or worse and often caused disciipline problems, remained in the community. They would become parents who had little respect for education and wages too low to fund education easily.
My mentor was right.
So tired of teachers always complaining. Like with any profession, if you don't like your job go find another one. There are people getting education degrees everyday who would LOVE your job. And I don't know anyone who would scoff at $65K for working less than 9 months out of the year!!!
I can say that I have worked both in a school and outside doing manual labor. I would honestly rather be working on a roof in 100 degree heat then in school with the children some of YOU ALL HAVE RAISED. Most children have absolutely no respect for authority any more what so ever they do as they please. Now the conservatives want every body to get a medal, no spanking, and now its the teachers fault their kids dont know how to act. This is the lifestyle you conservatives wanted now it is here and it is out of control. Teachers all over deserved to be paid more no matter where they are teaching they are the key to our future success as a country.
Christie is doing great things for Jersey. After decades of Democrats ruining the Garden State, the voters finally stepped up and voted in THE RIGHT MAN FOR THE JOB.
Annon 12:25 In my opinion not sure any school could help you!
I'm not a teacher but I certainly don't fault those who are. Most occupations are easy when you are not working in them. Hell, if it pays so well and is so easy to be a teacher why don't you crybabies start teaching?
Perhaps because you would have had to finish the 11th grade ...
And get a college education ...
And give up your shovel in the "private sector" ...
I don't think that it can be considered "attacking teachers" when you are merely asking them to do their job and stop demanding more for less.
I respect teachers. I come from a family of them. I just can't stand greed. The whole union thing - especially with teachers - just bothers me. Teachers who will go on strike - stop working...and "teaching" - because they don't think their health plan (that is 10x's better than mine) is good enough.... or their pay (which is also not awful) isn't good enough. That's wrong. I know that people have to make a living, but they don't have to make a killing!
I wish we had Christie in this state. We need his help!
12:54
Teachers are paid to teach , if they are teaching then students learn. If your students aren't paying attention , then you are not doing your job!
I guess you are one the many that don't give a $hit!
It's for the children , no child left behind , that's all BS. You know it and I know it. The minority children don't learn because they don't want to , and know one forces them. The parents are so screwed up they don't care. , but it's for the children.
They get out of high school and can't even read , good grief , just look at Shanie Shields. She dumb as a brick!
2:15 Nice grammar. I sure hope you don't teach English.
Anonymous 2:30...
The conservatives want to give everyone a medal and a pat on the back...no spankings?
I'm sorry, but that simply is not true. It was the liberals that started pushing the whole "no one is better than anyone else" and "don't spank your children because it will hurt their self esteem" crap.
I was always pushed to do better - to be better - and was spanked as often as necessary by my very conservative parents. I'm 21 now, so it wasn't that long ago. My friends - who also had conservative parents - were most often treated the same way.
It was my friends with liberal parents who most often behaved atrociously because their parents were trying to be politically correct.
Now, I know that "conservative" does not always equal well-behaved and "liberal" does not always equal poorly behaved; however, your statement that this type of politically correct attitude originated with conservatives is false.
How dar you cretcize my frend Shanie , she can read pretty good and she got 2 years colege , lik meself.she a litle slow but dat ani't her falt , dady droped on da head. she likes brown candie and food. she was a sunday scoll teacher an don real good.
THINK about this for parents who have children in school.
Before you got in school, what did you pay for daycare? My guess is about $400 a week, and that may be low. $400/40 hours, which I truly doubt you put your kid in there that long, is $10/hour. So lets look at this....Say your child's teacher makes $60K a year. If there were no takes the teacher would make $333 a day considering the kids have to go to school for 180 days a year. So if you child has 29 other classmates, that roughly $11 a day you would be paying. now divide that by the 7 hours they are in school and we get $1.58 an hour per student. I would say that's a bargain to teach your child how to read and write. Oh let us not forget that the teachers usually supply your child with paper and pencils because you forgot to buy them for them. If you don't think teachers are better for your child, keep them home and home-school them and see how you enjoy the profession!
I don't think it is totally the teacher's fault if their students are doing poorly in school. A lot of students have bad home situations and are satisfied to barely pass because they are not encouraged by parents/caregivers to do better. And the kids with decent home situations spend all their time with the TV, video games or sports and not books. The parents have to take some of the responsibility too. It's not fair to fire the teacher if the parents are not doing their part.
Sturg
you one sick individual , I'll keep my chillins home and teach em myself , you one lazy SOB. excuses,
you gotta go man. child care in my neighborhood is free you dummy. food is free you dummy , and my rent is 50 bucks a month you dummy.
we got it made in da shade , you gotta be a cracker. Obama is the man , if he can't do it nobody can.
we got chilren on the way and that's free too/. everythin is free .
When the teachers are getting golden parachute at the tax payers expense I have say and I say you don't deserve it !
Unions are nothing more than organized crime.
The demand money by force, you have to be connected to get in, when they loose in the courts or in the public debate they become violent, and lastly they protect the most incompetent useless, P.O.S. people as long as they are paying dues.
If you are proud to be in a union, you are just plain stupid or scared to say otherwise.
Funny. Before the recession, everyone joked about how low teacher pay was. People looked down on the profession because we all knew you could never get rich off being a teacher. Now you say you look down because they are paid too much?I guess the whole world has changed since Obama arrived.
First of all, I'm not a teacher. GA, what is your fascination with bashing teachers all of the time? In the past, you have taken many shots at the local system. Since the locals have learned that you were having Joe Hollaway get your information for you while claiming he was using it for legitimate County Council business, you have now had to go after the teachers in another state.
Most teachers would do just fine in the private sector. This is an imbecilic post. The private sector is not an overwhelming obsticle. Anyone who can manage a 20 student classroom can certaily manage a business.
I have taught and worked in the private sector. Teaching is much tougher than anyone can imagine. Oh, and there is absolutely 12 months-plus of work packed into the 9 months that school is in session. Blame the administrators for not weeding out the ineffective teachers before they get tenure. Good teachers work very hard to do the job they do everyday.
If the teachers in this county are doing their jobs please explain why this county was recently ranked so poorly?
Joe, have you spent time in a public school classroom recently - not counting the school your grandson attends? I teach in a Salisbury city middle school. I would love for you to spend ONE WEEK in my school as a teacher... or even just following one. Then let us all see if you sing a different song about teachers. Everybody can judge, but nobody can really understand until they can say "Been there, done that..."
anonymous 9:35, I did not write this Post.
9:26pm
Teachers are one third of the equation when it comes to a student's educational success. The other thirds are the parents and the student themselves. Think about all the crime, gangs, and drugs in this area that we complain about on this blog. The people committing the cimes, doing the drugs, and joining the gangs are the parents and students in Wicomico County. The schools are a reflection of the many problems in this community. Just as there are good and bad teachers, there are good and bad parents and students.
I have been a substitute teacher for a little while now and let me tell all of you that have no clue what happens in the class room, its not nearly as easy as you might think. When the kids misbehave it can be very mentally draining. Plus I've noticed that most of the kids that have so called "issues" the problem begins at home, where nobody gives a crap how the child is doing in school. There are a lot of kids that really want to learn but can't because of other students in the class room that continuously disrupt the class. Since the BOE and parents have made it harder to discipline the children they just keep getting in trouble knowing no real consequence will happen. If you really want to help students and the teachers to make the schools better, than give the schools and teachers more power like they used to have to actually control the kids.
Joe, I know you did not write this post. It is obvious from previous posts and previous comments you have made about educators that you feel the same as (or similar to)many of the comments you have posted on this article.
@6:27 - You have NO say dipstick, other than whining on a blog or crying to your mammy. But don't feel bad, none of us have a say either ... we are the voiceless minions ... although I'm not sure you know what a "golden parachute" is. You should probably google terms before you write them.
BTW, I hate teachers & firemen & doctors & police ...
I see a lot of ignorant posts from greedy teachers on here are these the kind of people we want teaching our children ?
@ 9:26
To answer your questions. The students DO NOT want to become educated. Those students pull the scores down for the rest of the students who want to be successful in life.
Greedy Teachers!?!? WTF!
Since when did teachers start making good money? Your just pissed because shore stop cut your hours. I'm willing to bet my bucket of wing dings that each & every person complaining about teachers making too much money do not have a college education.
Go for it, people. Go to college, get the degree, and teach in a public school. It is so easy and you get so rich doing it! What is holding you back?
Isn't it funny how everyone on here who has posted and explained that they work/worked in the school system either "private" or "public" sectors has said how tough the job is. But its the others who have no experience in a classroom who say that the teachers should take what they are given and that there benefits are so great. No one was saying this at all before the recession hit, as a matter of fact it was a national pun how poorly teachers are paid. You send your kids to school for 9 out of 12 months a year, it is up to you as a parent to make sure that your children are getting the education they need. I dont actually mean teach them facts, but you teach them the way to pay attention and to be respectful. You can blame all the problems of the school systems on the teachers or you can look within and ask yourself, "Did I raise my kids the right way ?" That would solve most of the problems.
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