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Wednesday, June 8, 2011

The Type 75 theory of the lone troublemaker. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The Type 75 theory of the lone troublemaker. « Fred Klonsky's blog

The Type 75 theory of the lone troublemaker.

In 2003 when teachers went out on strike in the district, the superintendent was sure that the union president was just trying to show who was boss. That he could pull all the teachers out if he wanted. She had expressed this to people on several occasions. He was just a lone troublemaker.

The fact that the teachers were carrying a monumental burden of health insurance costs, an issue that would eight years later consume the nation in debate, in her mind couldn’t possibly be the problem.

It had to be the lone troublemaker.

Years later a parent approached the former union president and asked, “When are you retiring?”

“Next year,” the teacher said. “A year and a day from now. Why?”

She explained that the building’s Type 75 had told her that nothing would change in the building until some teachers retire next year.

The Type 75 was new to the building this year. The general consensus among the faculty and staff has been that