Union Position Speaks Volumes

To the Editor:

Dear fellow citizens of Newtown: It is time that we stood up to the powerful Board of Education and teachers’ union. The vote last week by the teachers’ union to refuse to open negotiations concerning wage freezes speaks volumes about what is important to the teachers in this town.

This is a time of hardship for many people in Newtown as well as in the rest of the country. People are losing their jobs, their homes, are seeing their retirement investments drastically reduced due to the financial crisis gripping the world. The teachers claim that if they don’t have a salary increase then that will negatively impact the income for their families. This very thing is happening to families all over the country. The teachers should be grateful that they have a position. Which brings me back to the teachers’ union decision. By their decision, they will cause several more teachers to lose their positions in the Newtown school system. How much compassion do these senior teachers have for their fellow teachers who have less seniority?

For a long time, the Board of Education, the PTA and the teachers’ union have used fear as a method of soliciting more money for the school budget every year. More money doesn’t necessarily mean better teaching. By many, teachers are considered role models for our children. What does this vote show our children and the community at large? That it is better to look after number one than to sacrifice a little for the good of all? I think that the teachers should be embarrassed by their behavior, and I hope that there is some way that concessions can be made by the union so that there won’t have to be firing of personnel. This very firing of personnel will have a significant effect on the students and the quality of their education. Isn’t this the cry that we hear annually from the Board of Education and the teachers themselves? Perhaps it is time for them to look into their own hearts and see what their real motivations are.

Sincerely,

Tamara Sturner

57 Walnut Tree Hill Road, Sandy Hook                    March 26, 2009