https://socialistaction.org/2019/01/22/hartford-teachers-union-fights-school-boards-assault/
Hartford teachers union fights school board’s assault
/ 2 days ago
feb. 2019 hartford (vanessa de la torre:wnpr)
Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and Hartford school board present
plan to close a number of schools to the community in January 2018.
(Vanessa de la Torre / WNPR)
By ERNIE GOTTA
Across the country, teachers in their thousands are fighting back
against poor working conditions, low wages, overflowing classrooms, and
unusable health care. Following teachers in Arizona, Oklahoma, Kentucky,
and West Virginia, Los Angeles teachers erupted in a strike last month.
They are 34,000 teachers strong and ready to take a stand against
austerity in the country’s second largest school district.
From L.A. to Hartford, Conn., urban areas are being hit hard with
austerity. Hartford itself has a lot of contradictions. It is one of the
poorest cities in the country, yet it is in one of the wealthiest states
and surrounded by affluent suburbs. The needs of a city rich with
Latino, Afro-Caribbean, and African-American culture is routinely
ignored by the state government while at the same time it regularly
squeezes more and more out of its residents.
Today, the city’s mayor, Luke Bronin, through his appointed officials on
the school board along with Superintendent Leslie Torres-Rodriguez, is
attempting to weaken the Hartford Federation of Teachers by demanding
greater and greater givebacks. In their last contract, teachers agreed
to take a pay freeze to help out the struggling city. The
superintendents newly proposed contract seeks to cut even more, and
teachers don’t want another lousy contract.
Below is an interview with Joshua Blanchfield, one of the 1900
rank-and-file members of the Hartford Federation of Teachers who has
been active in the contract fight. He discusses the issues and ways in
which teachers in Hartford are fighting back.
Ernie Gotta: I’ve been following your tweets about the developing
situation with Hartford teachers. What would you say is the root cause
of the Superintendent’s attack on the Hartford Federation of Teachers?
Joshua Blanchfield: The proposal from the Superintendent and the
Hartford Board of Education is unfortunately in line with other
anti-union, anti-teacher contracts that have been pushed across the
country, especially in urban districts. Hartford, like many urban school
districts, operates under the inherently undemocratic system of mayoral
control of educational governance. This component of the city charter
enables the mayor to stack the Hartford Board of Education with
political appointees and sycophants. They comprise the majority of the
board and simply act as a rubber stamp for the superintendent.
When you have a power structure like this, anti-union policies, and in
this case contracts, become the norm, and this has played out across the
country.
EG: What are biggest issues that Hartford teachers feel need to be
addressed?
JB: The financial crisis of the municipality of Hartford has been
front-page news for many years now, worsening each year. In a good faith
effort, the Hartford Federation of Teachers has proven time and again
that we love our city and our students. In the previous contract
negotiations two years ago, as a tangible example of our commitment, we
agreed to a wage freeze. It hurt, but we wanted to help our city in a
very real way.
Keep in mind, no other organ of Hartford Public Schools did this:
principals kept getting raises, and most grotesquely, the
Superintendent’s shameful salary continued to balloon. It now is a
quarter of a million dollars. In this latest fight, the Superintendent
demanded another two years of wage freezes, while at the same time
forcing every teacher into a high deductible ($4000) health savings
account, with deductions from wages increasing. This would represent
four years of frozen wages and higher health-care costs, so all of it is
massive wage cuts for every teacher.
But really, that’s the tip of the iceberg in this contract fight:
cutting all prep time, cutting the sick time bank in order to terminate
sick workers more easily, ending standardized documentation of student
discipline, and cutting lines in the salary schedule to punish highly
educated workers.
Finally, the most boldfaced attack on our union was to force the HFT to
have only one detached duty officer, down from three. These three
teachers, the president and our two vice presidents, coordinate over
1900 teachers. And even now they are overworked. To cut it to one would
effectively kill the union.
EG: How are teachers responding to the current situation, considering
that in the last contract they agreed to a pay freeze?
JB: Basically, by using all the tools in the tool box. Everything from
social media to directly confronting the Superintendent at nonpublic
“executive session” board of education meetings has been employed. The
pressure from all these angles did effectively shame the Superintendent
back to the negotiating table even after pushing the whole process to
arbitration.
EG: Are teachers linking their fight and needs to the needs of the
broader Hartford community? If so how are those connections beginning to
unfold?
JB: We have always operated by the maxim that the working conditions of
the teachers become the learning conditions for our students. When you
devalue teachers, you devalue students. Families and students are the
best ones to vocalize this—and they have. At the most recent board of
education meeting, the public comments hammered the Superintendent and
Board for this action. It is amazing how powerful a force it is when the
students, families, and teachers are galvanized and have total solidarity.
EG: Do you find a connection between the insurgent teachers’ struggles
that have emerged across the country and the attacks on theJB: Ever
since the election of Karen Lewis and Jesse Sharkey as the leaders of
the Chicago Teachers Union, we have been more in touch with the
struggles of teachers nationwide. The CTU reinvigorated our struggle, as
well as the fight to defend public education, and we owe them a great
debt. This teacher militancy and urgency to defend public education has
now spread everywhere.
Like never before though, Hartford teachers have begun discussions of
labor unrest, especially within the punitive Connecticut system, which
explicitly outlaws teachers from striking. I will just say we’re
discussing all options.
EG: Do you see this situation being resolved with a favorable outcome
for the teachers?
JB: Because of Connecticut’s binding arbitration laws, we will at this
point be handed a contract and have no vote on it, nor will the Hartford
Board of Education members. Discussions involving both sides have
progressed before the three-member arbitration panel, and it seems
because of pressure on the Superintendent, there has been movement away
from such a punishing, antagonistic contract.
EG: Anything else you’d like to add?
JB: The larger goal of teacher militancy and worker control needs to
extend beyond the contract fight. That is where the real work lies.
Share this:
Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
20Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)20
Click to share on Google+ (Opens in new window)
January 22, 2019 in Education & Schools, Labor.
Related posts
Chicago Teachers Union sets Oct. 11 strike date
Justice for Connecticut police victims!
Schools activists protest Common Core
Post navigation
← Mobilizing against the far right
Get Involved!
Donate to help support our work
Get email updates
Join Socialist Action
Newspaper Archives
Newspaper Archives Select Month January 2019 (13) December 2018 (12)
November 2018 (15) October 2018 (10) September 2018 (8) August 2018
(12) July 2018 (13) June 2018 (11) May 2018 (19) April 2018 (15)
March 2018 (17) February 2018 (14) January 2018 (13) December 2017
(13) November 2017 (13) October 2017 (16) September 2017 (15) August
2017 (16) July 2017 (17) June 2017 (16) May 2017 (17) April 2017
(14) March 2017 (13) February 2017 (19) January 2017 (13) December
2016 (12) November 2016 (19) October 2016 (12) September 2016 (10)
August 2016 (10) July 2016 (14) June 2016 (14) May 2016 (9) April
2016 (12) March 2016 (14) February 2016 (8) January 2016 (11)
December 2015 (11) November 2015 (9) October 2015 (8) September 2015
(10) August 2015 (7) July 2015 (13) June 2015 (9) May 2015 (10)
April 2015 (12) March 2015 (9) February 2015 (11) January 2015 (10)
December 2014 (12) November 2014 (11) October 2014 (9) September
2014 (6) August 2014 (10) July 2014 (11) June 2014 (10) May 2014
(11) April 2014 (10) March 2014 (9) February 2014 (11) January 2014
(11) December 2013 (10) November 2013 (11) October 2013 (17)
September 2013 (13) August 2013 (10) July 2013 (11) June 2013 (15)
May 2013 (14) April 2013 (14) March 2013 (12) February 2013 (10)
January 2013 (17) December 2012 (7) November 2012 (8) October 2012
(19) September 2012 (2) August 2012 (27) July 2012 (18) June 2012
(3) May 2012 (19) April 2012 (14) March 2012 (17) February 2012 (19)
January 2012 (17) December 2011 (3) November 2011 (33) October 2011
(14) September 2011 (13) August 2011 (34) July 2011 (24) June 2011
(19) May 2011 (19) April 2011 (15) March 2011 (15) February 2011
(15) January 2011 (15) December 2010 (17) November 2010 (1) October
2010 (6) September 2010 (3) August 2010 (8) July 2010 (7) June 2010
(2) May 2010 (10) April 2010 (3) March 2010 (8) February 2010 (3)
January 2010 (9) December 2009 (6) November 2009 (5) October 2009
(16) September 2009 (3) August 2009 (2) July 2009 (5) June 2009 (2)
May 2009 (7) April 2009 (6) March 2009 (16) February 2009 (9)
January 2009 (10) December 2008 (11) November 2008 (8) October 2008
(16) September 2008 (14) August 2008 (18) July 2008 (12) June 2008
(3) May 2008 (2) April 2008 (3) March 2008 (14) February 2008 (11)
January 2008 (11) December 2007 (8) November 2007 (1) July 2007 (1)
June 2007 (1) April 2007 (1) March 2007 (1) February 2007 (3)
December 2006 (11) November 2006 (11) October 2006 (13) September
2006 (15) August 2006 (11) July 2006 (18) June 2006 (7) May 2006
(14) April 2006 (6) March 2006 (14) February 2006 (5) January 2006
(2) December 2005 (9) November 2005 (8) October 2005 (13) September
2005 (12) August 2005 (9) July 2005 (16) June 2005 (16) May 2005
(16) April 2005 (12) March 2005 (14) February 2005 (19) January 2005
(15) December 2004 (14) November 2002 (17) October 2002 (19) September
2002 (22) August 2002 (21) July 2002 (15) May 2002 (21) April 2002
(21) February 2002 (15) January 2002 (15) December 2001 (17) October
2001 (24) September 2001 (18) July 2001 (19) June 2001 (18) October
2000 (17) September 2000 (21) August 2000 (19) July 2000 (16) June
2000 (26) May 2000 (21) April 2000 (22) March 2000 (28) February
2000 (18) January 2000 (20) December 1999 (20) November 1999 (26)
October 1999 (25) September 1999 (18) August 1999 (40) July 1999
(38) June 1999 (24) May 1999 (27) April 1999 (25) March 1999 (26)
February 1999 (29) January 1999 (24) July 1998 (12)
Search
View socialistactionusa’s profile on Facebook
View SocialistActUS’s profile on Twitter
View SocialistActionCT’s profile on YouTube
Subscribe to Our Newspaper
Upcoming Events
No upcoming events
Category Cloud
Actions & Protest Africa Anti-War Arts & Culture Black Liberation Canada
Caribbean Civil Liberties Cuba East Asia Economy Education & Schools
Elections Environment Europe Immigration Indigenous Rights International
Labor Latin America Latino Civil Liberties Marxist Theory & History
Middle East Palestine Police & FBI Prisons South Asia Trump / U.S.
Government Uncategorized Women's Liberation
View Calendar
Blog at WordPress.com.
Follow
--
________________________________________________
Jules Verne
“ Reality provides us with facts so romantic that imagination itself could add
nothing to them. ”
― Jules Verne