With layoffs coming, it's time to stand up for seniority
by Ron Whitehorne on Feb 14 2011 Posted in Social justice unionism
With many school districts facing budget shortfalls, teachers, including those in Philadelphia, will likely face layoffs.
The budget crunch coincides with a growing attack on teacher tenure and seniority as the governing principle for teacher assignment and layoffs. Even Antonio Villaraigosa, the mayor of Los Angeles and long time teacher union organizer and staffer has joined the choruscalling for “peformance” as the “driver” in decision around these issues. And former Washington, D.C. superintendent Michelle Rhee has made ending tenure and eliminating seniority central agenda points of her “Students First” campaign.
Much of the current debate over tenure ignores the many changes that unions