Nationwide, educators in public schools are facing an unprecedented attack on their salaries, collective bargaining rights and in many cases, their jobs. Behind the euphemisms of "flexibility" and "working together to balance the budget" lay much more sinister motives — power-grabbing, union-busting and an effort on the part of the Republican party to build up public servants as straw men for the economic crisis. The most repugnant cases have thus far occurred in Wisconsin, New Jersey and our own state.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Scott Walker laid out a fiscal plan that would force government workers to increase the amount of money they pay into their pensions by nearly 5 percent and increase how much they pay towards their health care by 6 percent. Although these euphemized pay cuts would surely aggravate the economic stress that all of middle-class America is already feeling, in a move towards compromise, the leaders of Wisconsin unions agreed to these measures. The only request from the unions was to retain collective bargaining rights and to continue to receive cost-of-living wage increases. The unions' offer was flatly rejected.
In New Jersey, we see a similar story. Gov. Chris Christie, notorious for his anti-union rhetoric, has gone after teachers with particular zeal. His proposed reforms could cost many New Jersey teachers at least $12,000 a year, effectively cutting their salary by 20 to 28 percent. Bear in mind, this is coming from a man whose net worth was estimated at $3.8 million in 2007.
Finally we make it up north to Providence where, in jaw-dropping fashion, policymakers issued termination notices to every teacher in the city. In the name of flexibility, 1,926 people were thrown under the bus by the city to which many of them have given 15, 20 or even 30 years of their lives. Repeated assurances from Superintendent Tom Brady and Mayor Angel Taveras that not everyone will lose their jobs are little consolation for the nearly 2,000 people now facing the prospect of unemployment in an economic climate where every cent counts.
In trying to understand what is at stake for these teachers, it is important to define the difference between a "termination" and a "layoff." While a layoff implies that there is either no position available or that there is no money in the budget to pay a worker's salary, it allows for future employment if circumstances change. Moreover, a layoff allows teachers to be rehired based on seniority, a privilege specifically written into their union contract.
On the other hand, termination completely removes teachers from the education system. If they want to reapply for a job in the Providence school system, they will have to do so without seniority privileges, completely erasing the decades of their lives given to the city. Termination also serves as a black mark on a teachers' records, making it extremely hard for them to be hired again in another city. As it states explicitly in teachers' contracts that some sort of misconduct or inadequacy is required for termination, future employers have no choice but to assume the worst.
As a final slap in the face, many teachers at the recent meeting with the Providence Board of Education brought up during public comment that they found out about their termination on the 10 p.m. news, their frightened children sitting beside them. This behavior on the part of the policy makers in Rhode Island is nothing short of audacious, dehumanizing and disgusting.
In all three states, although the circumstances and demands are different, there is a common theme. Rather than enter into a level-footed discussion about balancing budgets, policy makers have gone over the top and launched a full-fledged attack on teachers and other government workers.
The glaringly obvious conclusion is that this attack is not really about balancing budgets, but rather a move from the top down to consolidate power and break apart workers unions. Even more nefarious is the ideological war being raised against public servants, propping up and crucifying them in the media as greedy leeches trying to extort money from the helpless, debt-ridden government.
This ideological warfare is a double-edged sword. It turns middle class workers against each other, and in doing so takes bloated administrative salaries and tax cuts for the rich out of the spotlight. Nearly 10,000 Rhode Island state employees make $30,000 to $60,000 a year, while 620 make $100,000 or more. After looking at a list of some of the higher-end salaries, it is not a surprise to learn that the overwhelming majority are given to mayors, treasurers and other high-level government employees.
This is truly and completely revolting. Rhode Island, New Jersey and Wisconsin's millionaires and highly paid politicians are sitting atop their stacks of money, sneakily passing the burden along to the struggling middle class, all the while inciting arguments and scapegoating teachers to make completely sure their tightly guarded pockets remain full to the brim.
While they are doing this, they are using the economic hysteria to their advantage and attempting to break apart state workers unions to consolidate the power into their own hands. If they think they are fooling anyone with their euphemisms and "our backs are against the wall" arguments, they are sincerely mistaken. I stand in solidarity with our city's teachers and hope that Brown students, regardless of their economic background, will make a concerted effort to do the same.
Chris Norris-LeBlanc '13 is from Rhode Island. He can be contacted at chris.norris.leblanc(at)gmail.com.
