Bloomberg Versus the Non-Performing Teachers

Teacher's unions used to have a stranglehold on the state budgets in New York and New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie spent a year going head-to-head with the teacher's unions (and winning) and now Michael Bloomberg in New York City is trying to trim the dead wood to help his budget:

State lawmakers are secretly eyeing a compromise that would allow Mayor Bloomberg to fire thousands of "nonteaching teachers" without consideration of the "last in, first out" law, The Post has learned.

The plan, being discussed at the highest levels of the Legislature and with aides to Bloomberg, would grant the mayor the right to fire between 2,000 to 4,000 nonclassroom teachers -- including all those who formerly languished in the notorious "rubber room" under disciplinary charges.

The plan would also target members of the "absent teacher reserve pool" -- which includes nonworking but on-the-payroll teachers from schools that have been shut down because of poor performance -- and teachers assigned only to "administrative functions," sources said.


JEREMY GARRETT
WAKE-UP CALL: Nonteaching teachers like these, who used to snooze the day away in so-called "rubber rooms" while under disciplinary probe, might be laid off under a proposal in the Legislature.

Bloomberg warned Friday that the city might be forced to lay off as many as 20,000 teachers because of a combination of a city revenue shortfall and the severe state budget cuts to be unveiled tomorrow by Gov. Cuomo. If the plan becomes reality, about 10 to 20 percent of teachers slated for layoffs simply because they were hired last would be spared.

Bloomberg, conceding that significant teacher cuts are inevitable, has launched an aggressive campaign to overturn the state law that requires the city to fire teachers on the basis of seniority and not competence.

State lawmakers privately say Bloomberg can't win full repeal of the law because of intense union opposition and concerns over the criteria the mayor would use to justify teacher dismissals.

But the dismissal of poorly performing "nonteaching teachers" was described by a top state official as "potentially doable."

I find it amazing that dismissing poorly performing teachers is only "potentially doable". With the exception of some of the most unionized private industry, such as automakers (though they're not as private as they were before the government bailout), this kind of thing would be unheard of. Non-performance would not guarantee you a paid position without actually working the way it does with teacher's unions.

When poorly performing franchises or branch offices are shuttered the employees are laid-off, not guaranteed employment for life even if they're not working. It's insane that cities and states have ever agreed to these kinds of work rules. Until these agreements are abrogated and more reasonable measures implemented municipal governments will never be able to get their fiscal houses in order.