A central plank of libertarian (and neoliberal and conservative) opposition to organized labor, to collective bargaining, to workers acting collectively is something I term the ‘hire-and-fire fantasy’: that employers should be able to initiate and terminate their employees’ employment at will. (This power would presumably be written into the contracts they sign with their workers.)Continue reading “The ‘Hire-And-Fire’ Fantasy Of The Libertarian”
Tag Archives: teachers unions
Nicholas Kristof is Gullible, Very Gullible
Nicholas Kristof thinks conservatives are–like a broken clock–right at least some of the time. Kristof, unfortunately, is just wrong throughout his latest limp Op-Ed. To borrow a line from Steven Soderbergh‘s plainspoken Limey they are right precisely the ‘square root of sweet FA‘ number of times – a vanishingly small number. What are the conservatives rightContinue reading “Nicholas Kristof is Gullible, Very Gullible”
Michelle Rhee Shoulda Gotten An Education
Late last night, I stumbled across an ‘interview’ with Michelle Rhee (linked to by John Protevi on Facebook). (‘Michelle Rhee Gets an Education,’ New York Times Magazine, 2 February 2013). The comments section is absolutely priceless, and well worth a read. Here, I want to address a couple of her responses, because they offer usContinue reading “Michelle Rhee Shoulda Gotten An Education”
The CTU Strike: Facile Reliance on Evaluation Won’t Work
Reading responses to the CTU strike has dismayed me: that there is so much hostility directed at teachers and their unions in a country where the path to middle-class success used to be understood as a good public education, but which is now directly under attack from a shrieking horde of carpetbaggers and rent-seekers. (Thankfully,Continue reading “The CTU Strike: Facile Reliance on Evaluation Won’t Work”
The New York Times Joins the CTU-Bashing Party
This morning, I posted the following on my Facebook status: I wouldn’t use today’s NYT Editorial on the CTU strike as a window-cleaning schmatta. Unfortunately, editorials in influential newspapers cannot be dismissed so easily. So let’s take a closer look. The editorial begins unpromisingly: Teachers’ strikes, because they hurt children and their families, are neverContinue reading “The New York Times Joins the CTU-Bashing Party”
Blaming Unions: The Easiest Game in Town
And so, here we go. A teacher’s union is on strike–more specifically the Chicago Teacher’s Union–and the bewailing begins: the strike is hurting students; the teachers should put their selfish interests last; get back to work, don’t you know you are hurting the students? As I pointed out a few days ago, if there isContinue reading “Blaming Unions: The Easiest Game in Town”
United Against Teachers on Teacher’s Day
The Facebook statuses of some friends of mine who live in India acknowledge September 5 as the date for the observance of an Indian holiday, not, I think, ‘observed’ with any particular enthusiasm in the United States: Teacher’s Day. (A confession: I did not realize there was a Teacher Day in the US till IContinue reading “United Against Teachers on Teacher’s Day”
Samir Chopra 