AEA representatives distributed flyers to teachers on Monday with the following text:
Please join us at the Robertsdale Park Pavilion to pay tribute to our recently dismissed coworkers and the vital work they performed.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at 4:30 PM
All employees are encouraged to wear black to school on this day to show our sense of loss at their departure.
US Holocaust Memorial Museum inscription:
“First they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a socialist. Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out - because I was not a trade unionist. Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out - because I was not a Jew. Then they came for me - and there was no one left to speak for me.”
Protestant Pastor Martin Niemoller
What does the current financial crisis have to do with the Holocaust? According to this comparison, who would be the Nazis in this case? Speak out or they’re coming for you next.
12 comments ↓
Chuck, there is quite a bit of silliness going around these days. Most of the cities in our area of faced the economic downturn admirably. They have made cuts and have stated they will do the absolute best with the budgets they have. The school system appears bitter, as does AEA for the failure of the increased sales tax.
By all means please go support those teachers who have lost a job, but as you said, the parallel between nazism and todays budget shortfall is a poor one. Especially with who they are calling Nazi’s. I wonder what they call someone who is against the fair dismissal act?
I’ve been wearing black since I found out I was being fired. Instruction Support has 11 supervisors, an administrative intern, someone at Week’s bay and 19 freaking secretaries. Look at their website. Why do you need more secretaries than supervisors? Why do need an intern? Why do you need someone at week’s bay? The AEA is the only ones looking out for teachers.
What the public is unaware of our the unfair way the layoffs have occurred over the last two years. You are not looked at by performance and it is not the best person stays. It is the ones with least or no experience that can keep a job or get hired for an opening. Teachers and support personnel with three years in or working on three years are being let go and not rehired so they won’t tenure. They think the good ones will come back the following year and start over with 0 days towards tenure to be done the same way in 3 years???? Watch the good teachers go look for fair/ethical districts to work for. I learned growing up if they get you once it’s not your fault but if you go back and let them get you again it is…….
Dress in black to protest? Why can’t you dress in white or purple or pink to protest this stuff? The Nazi’s are coming for you racist bastards next and there ain’t gonna be no one left to speak out.
#3, I was of the impression that a teacher that has been laid off may return the following year and complete the tenure cycle. Should that teacher be out of the system for more than 1 year, then the cycle begins anew.
First off, it was not AEA that wrote this card. It was some teachers from the Roberstdale school area. Second, it is BCEA who is supporting these teachers in their right to complain about losing their jobs and helped to distruibute the cards. Yes it is hard economic times and we don’t want people to lose jobs but everyone has a right to protest and that is exactly what this is.
It is unfortunate that there is so much misinformation out there. No one wants to see jobs taken away. Baldwin County is the 5th largest school system in the state. There are many federal, state, and local demands placed upon it.
It is easy to sit back and point at someone in another position, without full knowledge of what they do, and say they have this or they have that.
Until you see first hand all the paperwork that goes into running such a large organization, one should not be so quick to say anything about other jobs that have been retained.
The school board employs top notch individuals in a variety of jobs, not just teachers. Are mechanics less important? My child rides a school bus every day. Are secretaries less important? My child benefits form accurate record keeping, I know when they are in school or not, I realize that they perform a lot of tasks that I as a parent don’t see.
The bottom line is we get what we pay for. Low taxes mean fewer services. In schools that is larger classrooms, and less customer service.
I think AEA us getting bashed here. We as citizens have decide if education is import to us or not. AEA is standing up for education, although I don’t always agree with their methods.
I have fought for this country so that people have the right to speak out!
Stand up to be seen!
Speak out to be heard!
Shut up to be appreciated!
Our teachers need our support, and they certainly do not deserve to be demonized for exercising their right of free speech. I right I have defended
AEA continues to get bashed as a result of incidents where teachers who are confirmed drunk while on campus continue to recieve payment while appealing termination. By all means a teacher’s union should fight for the rights of good teachers. The line is crossed when that same union supports sub-par teachers or unethical teachers.
The education system is not a support system for individuals who have made poor choices. Nor is it a social endeavor. It’s explicit goal is to educate young minds. Those who choose to remain ignorant will not be enlightened simple because you wish it to be so. Teaching is a noble profession, but in the same arguement that unqualified teachers will now be teaching as a result of layoffs the same detraction must be made of AEA and the fair dismissal Act.
I don’t care if you are a teacher or a student, an AEA supporter or hater, black or white, jewish or not…that’s ridiculous to equate standing up for your job when there’s no money to pay you to the suffering of Jews during the Holocaust. This sounds like a play right out of the NEA’s book.
I’m very supportive of the teachers who are losing their jobs, it’s a tough thing to face for anyone. I have a child that just started kindergarten in Baldwin County this year and I’m extremely disappointed at the prospect of this affecting his current and future education and not getting off to the best start of his educational life. He won’t get a second chance at this if it’s not done right now. However I’d like to remind the school employees that are losing their jobs that they’re not the only ones. Education is not the only sector that’s making cuts right now… in case you haven’t noticed there’s a worldwide economic crisis taking place right now. There’s probably a significant percentage of the parents of school children that have lost either one or both jobs or may very shortly. Everyone is suffering right now and my husband and I aren’t certain how much longer we will have jobs. I want to support public education and think it should be a top priority but please don’t start talking about placing another tax on top of people who are also losing their jobs. All our money is going to bailout billionaire criminals and wasted on other unnecessary expenditures like being in Pipelinestan for the next 100 years. We as a country need to get our priorities straight and wake our asses the f*** up. I’ll gladly pay more to fund education and pay teachers higher salaries but only if these other tax burdens are removed first. Find some other county money being wasted, cut it, and put that into education.
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