1/18/11

FROM THE BULLY PULPIT

I don’t know why I read the newspaper. Maybe it’s because of all those perks and guilty pleasures I get; I’m speaking about MLK Day, how I had the day off, how I scanned the Detroit Free Press and discovered that as an employee for the State of Michigan I should be ashamed of myself. I’m speaking about the front page article: “State Workers Holiday Perks Could Be Cut.” I learned that not only should I not have MLK Day off; I should not have the day after Thanksgiving either. No surprise there, when you take into consideration the Detroit newspaper’s union busting past.


But I’m a convict-teacher. I work year round. What about all those educators in our public schools? Summers off! Winter break! Spring break! How dare they! Funny thing is: our puzzle palace, aka Lansing, can’t even fund the mandates placed on our public schools. Or so they have said.

Not too long ago they found a surplus of school money; unfortunately, they don’t want to spend it on education; reminds me of the extra 3% of my salary earmarked for healthcare—money they want to steer into the general coffer, but then my union and the courts got involved; now the 3% is in escrow, waiting to be spent on—get this—not balancing the budget, but on our healthcare costs! Shame on us public employees. How dare we question their motives! How many private companies filled in their budgetary gaps with their employees’ healthcare funds? Makes you wonder.

Today’s sketch is titled: Michael Vick’s Pit Bull.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hey,
Take it easy on the public school teachers. I had to do a seven hour professional development on MLK day. We also have to put 3% of our pay back into the system for health care or whatever. You know we are broke out here. The funny thing is, our ISD paid $35,000 to have someone from the Marzano research lab to conduct our professional development. I got a raise this year, but bring home less, buut at least we got some high priced p.d. Don't feel like the lone ranger. W.W.

Erik Donald France said...

At least according to Vick's pit bull, it's a good thing there are lots of teachers to bargain collectively against the budget cudgelmeisters. Most workers public or private need more holidays and "personal saints' days" off, not fewer of them.

JR's Thumbprints said...

WW, You're absolutely right; I forgot about the public school teachers additional 3%. It'll be interesting to see what our new Governor of Michigan proposes in his State of the Union address tomorrow.

JR's Thumbprints said...

Oops! I meant "State of the State." There is no union ... not when you've got the media making us out to be the bad guys.

the walking man said...

Yes sir I am waiting for them to come after the CoD pension funds and to see how Mr. Mayor man and the nerd are going to have at retiree's and medical we still pay about 1/3 of the cost of.

You know as few as ten years ago management was telling us "Sure you make a coupe of dollars an hour less than someone with equal skills in the private sector, but you will have your retirement and your annuity funded pensions."

Shit is shit the lies stunk back then and they stink just as much today.

Charles Gramlich said...

Politicians and the media critcizing other folks for their work habits and the money they make. Is there anything more hilarious than that? If I had an ounce of respect for any of them I might be troubled.

ivan@creativewriting.ca said...

Dunno.

As a perennial untenured professor in the past, no union, working from contract- to- contract, and, when in trouble, getting letters from the Dean like "You can't count on this for income"--I find it a little hard to empathize.
But then I didn't have to work in Hell.
You should surely be getting hazard pay, or whatever they call it over there. Actually, I'd offer that they can't pay you enough.

JR's Thumbprints said...

Ivan, I do get hazard pay; however, now they've re-calculated the security level of some of the more volatile inmates and dumped them in my area.

Rick said...

JR, to understand this, you may need to be sent to the "Freedom is Slavery" re-education program.