Categories: News

Public Unions Go Postal

NJEA President Barbara Keshishian has a piece in the Star-Ledger today lambasting the Jersey paper for a general lack of support and for “ridicul[ing] NJEA’s spending $6.6 million on advertising that challenged Christie’s priorities and misinformation.” (Apparently the union’s lapdog, Star-Ledger columnist Bob Braun, doesn’t compensate for negative coverage.) Writes Keshishian,

As the recent story in Wisconsin proved, Christie’s attack is part of an overall rightwing extremist strategy to demonize public employee unions — and teacher unions in particular.

In a related story, the head of the police union in Camden, John Williamson, told a Courier-Post reporter that Christie’s attack on public unions makes the Governor akin to a genocidal maniac, specifically Adolph Hitler:

Williamson did not say it directly, but quoted a historical figure to imply the countywide plan is part of a larger plot to dismantle public employee unions in New Jersey.

“We must close union offices, confiscate their money and put their leaders in prison. We must reduce workers’ salaries and take away their right to strike,'” he read aloud.

Really? “Overall rightwing extremist strategy?” Hitler? So one supposes that in this scenario Assemblyman Alex DeCroce is, say, Rudolph Hoess and the Senate Republicans are the Gestapo. I guess Mary Pat is Eva Braun. Oh, wait: non-extremists and others who don’t count themselves Third Reich aficionados also support limits on collective bargaining and changes in unsustainable pension and health care benefits.

Offensive? Totally. Stupid strategy? That too.

Keshishian (whom, to her credit, does not quote from Hitler) then goes on to demand that Fuhrer Christie sign a piece of legislation (S1940/A2773) which would require school districts that negotiate lower salary increases or benefits concessions to use the savings to hire back teachers who might have been laid off. So let’s say a district decides that student educational needs can be met more efficiently through purchases of technology or other instructional materials or programs and, therefore, lays off some teachers. That district also manages to win some concessions through collective bargaining. According to S1940, that district would be required to shelve the innovations and hire back teachers instead. (Question: do any concessions mandated by the State also require districts to hire back teachers?)

Here’s
New Jersey School Boards Association’s statement against the bill.

Keshishian closes indignantly,

NJEA and its members are not going to be demonized, demoralized or unfairly criticized by a governor who is carrying out a national attack strategy on public sector unions, and whose stated goal is the privatization of public education.

Hey – at least Christie didn’t call you Hitler.

Laura Waters

View Comments

  • How do you function effectively on a school board when you have such contempt for teachers?

  • Your opinions are very disappointing. What has NJEA done, except speak up for its members? One of Christie's spin doctors and his fellow travelers' favorite tactics is to attack the teachers union and attempt to turn members against their elected leadership. He's a good performer, after all he's a lawyer and a politician, two "professions" not particularly well known for integrity and honesty. BTW Christie is way too fat to be Hitler... Goring would be a better comparison. I admire most teachers too, but I reserve my contempt for arrogant politicians and the hacks who shill for them while pretending to be "for the children."

  • You really don't see it, do you? Thevunion leaders you hold in contempt were chosen by AND REPRESENT the teachers you claim to greatly admire. You cannot insult an entire group of people and then say you admire the members and just hate the group. You claim to want to make urban education better, but you've climbed on board with the Christie-Rhee-Gates agenda which only seeks to make education cheaper ( and profitable for those wealthy enough to own stake in a charter school.)

    I won't be reading your blog any longer.

Recent Posts

BREAKING: Statement from JerseyCAN on State’s Long-Delayed Release of Student Test Results

This is a statement by Paula White, Executive Director of JerseyCAN, on the New Jersey…

2 years ago

NJEA: Murphy’s Elimination of Teacher Performance Test Is a Major Win for Students and Educators

This is a press release. Earlier today, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill to eliminate…

2 years ago

Murphy Signs Bill Eliminating EdTPA Test for Teacher Certification

Today Gov. Phil Murphy signed Senate Bill 896, which prohibits the New Jersey Department of…

2 years ago

LILLEY: Blue States Had More School Closures and More Learning Loss — Just Like NJ under Gov. Murphy

The 74 conducted a study of the relative learning loss in Democratic (Blue) and Republican (Red) states and…

2 years ago

One of Newark Superintendent’s New High Schools Tolerates Racism Against Black Students

In October 2020 Newark Superintendent Roger Leon announced with great fanfare the opening of district’s…

2 years ago