Marty Daly is in the Journal News today talking with old pal Aman Ali about the story we broke two days ago: New Rochelle Employees Union Announces Tentative Contract with New Rochelle School District; 2-2.5% Pay Increase.
The pull quote from the article is Daly’s admission that the union wanted a shorter than normal contract so it could go back to the bargaining table in 18 months:
“We’re hoping that by the time this contract expires, the economy will be in a much more robust position,” Daly said. “We didn’t want to commit to three years of below-average salary increases. Once the economy gets much stronger we can negotiate for more competitive raises in the future.”
Competitive? With what? People across the country are experiencing massive jobs cuts, pay cuts and reduced hours. Just having a job with no pay cut would be “competitive” in the current market.
Daly told Ali the raises were fair because they “keep pace with the cost of living.”
Really? On what planet? The cost of living is measured by the Consumer Price Index which has been in decline ever since the economic crisis took hold in the early fall of last year.
More misinformation from Aman Ali, he wrote:
“The union, which represents teachers and school employees who aren’t administrators and supervisors, has been negotiating with the district since February; the current contract ends June 30.”
– Superintendent Richard Organisciak told the school board that union negotiations began in November 2008 not February 2009.
– The contract with administrators and supervisors is based on the F.U.S.E. deal so while technically true as a practical matter this is misleading.
– Ali failed to question or challenge or even note that Daly’s claim about the raise being inline with cost of living increases; we are experiencing deflation not inflation.
– No mention of steps which gives employees an even bigger increase every three years so this year one in three will get an additional increase.
The best part of the article is the Mighty Quinn and Richard “Big Fat Liar” Organisciak changing course and NOT talking about the union negotiations this time:
Several district officials, including Superintendent Richard Organisciak, declined to comment on the deal, saying it was still in its tentative stage.
The magic of Aman Ali or How does he keep his job?
It’s all clear to me now. If you google Aman Ali you’ll see he’s actually a comedian. So, you see, his reporting is really his comedy “schtick”. Personally, I don’t find it funny. As a reporter, you CAN ask a question once in a while, or check a fact. Maybe he should quit his day job.
Power of the Union
If you ever doubted the enormous power of school districts and educational based unions, you might want to look closely at the latest piece of form over substance AG Cuomo is trying out on the gullible voter. He is advocating giving taxpayers the power to strip away layers of government and has a considerable amount of support from the usual opportunits and airheads in state and local governments who count on its apparent emotional appeal to beleaguered taxpayers. What the taxpayer who is gotten used to running his or her life by soundbites doesn’t know, it will likely do exactly the opposite.
In Sundays’s Journal News (May 31) there were a few Letters to the Editor stating support for this idea and extolling its virtues. Both letters mentioned the efficiencies that could be realized in consolidaing school districts, etc…..
Do you think that FUSE or any teachers uniion or, for that matter, districts, would support such a notion. Of course not! And not surprisingly,
School Districts are EXEMPT from this proposal and they were from the recent payroll tax on businesses to fund the MTA increases. But other non-profits, cancer care, animal shelters, hospices, etc. WERE NOT
A very bright lady, ex Mayor Feld of Larchmont, correctly labeled the latest Cuomo move as “showmanship” — after all, this is a man who does little more than grab for the headlines. But that is a story for another day.
Do not, repeat do not, support a proposed mesure that exempts the consolidation of school districts. That is where the real savings are and that is how your taxes can be significantly reduced.
Oh, by the way, Cuomo also would exempt State educational mandates and state and county governments from his proposal so as to ensure he gets backing at vital political levels.
This is not a good guy to say the least, but neither is politics a decent way of life.
But, the purpose of this blog is to demonstrate the power of the districts and unions and the enormous hurdle of trying to effect change and cut costs.
warren gross
fuse ethics
a retiring fuse negotiator put her papers in and then negotiated a retirement incentive which will include her. I think they call that double dipping. net to her? about na additional $10,000 at the tax payers expense. not bad for an ALMS union rep.
I don’t quite follow
Unions typically try to expand, to broaden their power base, resulting in more strength at the bargaining table. Given their greed, why wouldn’t they want to double the rank and file? The gutless jellyfish of the NR BoE would be helpless to try to get any concession. Rye is working without a contract for over a year, I think, because they have the will to do so. NR bends over when Daly says so and he picks our pockets clean. Why give them more power? And the savings that may be realized are predicated on the notion that the boards act responsibly to the taxpayer. Haven’t seen that in NR ,have we?
Listen I agree with your thoughts, but for all this to work, everyone has to work within some type of moral compass. Not likely in NR. Each person who voted for this contract has willingly stolen from us at a time when we can least afford it. Thanks Warren for everything you post !
daly is really good at what
daly is really good at what he does. should be superintendent and go against whoever becomes FUSE delegate. I suppose we can expect the usual rationalizations from new rochelle district and many blog readers about the deserving teachers, overworked administrators,etc….
come on really! what else is there to know? The journal news guy is a poor excuse for a journalist. he is certainly not in the league of a dwight worley.
all the information is there for rational and reasonable people to look at.
warren gross