Inviting Conversation for December 22, 2009
Please imagine this scenario: You are making $x per month in salary for 2010. You get paid every other week. You receive an email. There will be a vote. If your union agrees, you will be contributing $250 (pretax dollars) per paycheck in an interest-free loan to your employer, up to $10,000, so that the company can remain solvent and keep jobs, possibly yours. At the end of three years, you should be able to get the loan back and a 1% salary increase. If you decide to leave the company early, you can get your “loan” back.
The Detroit Federation of Teachers presented this to its members. The members voted. 63.8% said yes.
There are so many issues which could be discussed here. America’s education system is flawed. Of this there is no doubt. Most feel that teachers are underpaid and undervalued. Being a former school teacher, I do understand that many teachers help fund their classrooms by buying materials for which there is no reimbursement, or slipping lunch money to a hungry child, or…well that list goes on.
I do not want to discuss the status of education. That is not the issue here. It just happens to be a school district which is asking its teachers to loan money to the school so the school can be staffed. Or is that the issue?
My question: How would you react if your employer asked you to loan $10,000 to your company to keep the company going?
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How could you possible ask a teacher to do this? As you said teachers are underpaid and not appreciated. A lot do go above and beyond what they are paid to do for the sake of an education.
ReplyDeleteI have heard so much about how people will not help out the schools due to “that’s what the lottery is for”, However schools and teachers are suffering. I have the mindset that it is my job to help my son get his education, so being part my responsibility to make sure the teachers have what they need no matter if it does come from my pocket.
But in today’s economy I would not loan my company that kind of money, there is to much uncertainty in if a business is going to last or not. Much less if I loan them that money and they go under I would never see it back.
Wow, almost 2 out of 3 Detroit teachers voted YES!
ReplyDeleteI have 3 teachers in my family: 1 son and 2 daughters-in-law and I bet that all three would vote YES. As teachers, they do not have to be persuaded about the importance of their work and they would put up the money.
Loyalty, however, is a two-way street. Unfortunately, in the private sector, there is no trust on either side of the employment equation.