In cities across the nation with places like Cleveland Ohio being one of the top cities in the
nation in terms of poverty, the cities, media and public workers unions need to address the core of the problems with their
schools including the lack of discipline of students.
The Plain Dealer did publish a report about two years ago demonstrating how poverty directly affects
the drop out rate. The drop out rate by students from families in poverty was very high.
Now nearly 500 more Cleveland teachers will get cut due to budget contraints. The teaching staff has gone from
5,276 in 2000 to 4,100 this year in 2005. The district elminated more than 1,400 positions last year in the district.
The Public Workers Unions have ignored the plight of the general working force too long. Poverty, unemployment and the
working poor have been issues for years. Now the public workers and teachers have to to absorb the same consequences
of the silent depression just like everyone else. In the letter, below Paul Donovan, a retired steelworker from
a strong private sector union family, raises the basic question. If public servants end up making up to twice as much
as the people they serve how can any good come from this.
The largest employers in many major cities are related to governments needing a tax base
to survive. How long can this go on when the tax base keeps getting smaller and smaller. The priority should
be about good paying jobs across the board that support public services. About two years ago, the Cleveland
district brought in teachers from India and this created a protest. However, outsourcing and insourcing is
the name of the game in the private sector in the Free Trade arena. Why should the public workers sector
be exempted.
Social ills stem from profound unemployment
By Paul Donovan from the Cleveland Plain Dealer 04/05
(Mr Donovan's House of Cards Economy from the National Steelworkers Magazine is also noted at this site)
" Louis Filippelli, a Cleveland teacher -( Mr Filippelli in an earlier letter tells about the lack
of discipline in the public schools ) tells us about the district's problems. but fails a test himself ( Letters, March 27).
He may need a new lesson plan.
Once upon a time, Cleveland enjoyed a tax base with thousands of middle-class workers
paying the toll for the schools, and now they are gone. Some who still make a decent living fled to the suburbs, including
teachers who work in Cleveland (Fillippelli's letter comes from Westlake) which raises a basic question: How can teachers
and public workers make twice as much as the people they serve and expect any good from it?
Teachers and all public servants are in unions that are most protective of themselves, while
the private-sector have taken a big hit, competing on the basis of profit and loss. Many public workers have lost a
sense of what that means. Some of the public workers put up lawn signs t o protest firings while living next door to people
who have no place to go for help when they lose their jobs.
In the past, labor leaders risked their lives to support a living wages across the board. They
are now all dead or too old to voice their view. This is where the public unions came from. Now, however, they just
take care of themselves and applaud when the school dropout rate goes under 50 percent and ignore the fact that up to 50 percent
of young blacks in the inner cities are unemployed.
Let's talk about living-wage jobs first before we chastise the social climate in the inner city."
Paul Donovan
Retired Steelworker and Advocate for a living wage.
