Quote:Written by Warner Todd Huston    
Thursday, 18 February 2010 00:15  

I don't expect this to stick. I fully expect some left-wing, paid off judge to come to the aid of these union thugs. But... in Central Falls, Rhode Island School Superintendent Frances Gallo has fired an entire high school's worth of teachers and administrators over a labor dispute.

Central Falls High School is situated in one of the poorest sections of Rhode Island yet the teachers there make between $72 and $78 thousand per year, far above the mean income of the area. The school is also performing dismally.

So, Superintendent Gallo told teachers that they would have to work perhaps twenty-five minutes more per day and help tutor the students. Naturally the un-caring teachers union refused - proving once again that education and the kids are not of interest to a union.

The union wouldn't budge so Super Gallo just fired them all. Now THAT is some funny stuff right there! Good for Super Gallo.

Like I said, I doubt that the courts will allow it, but they should. These unions need to be busted.

The actions of this recalcitrant union brings to mind the nick-name that the founders had for Rhode Island. It was called Rogues Island back then. The name still fits.

This also brings to mind a famous quote of a teachers union chief from decades past. Albert Shanker, former president American Federation of Teachers (1985) was AFT president for over 20 years. His most famous quote is: "When school children start paying union dues, that's when I'll start representing the interests of school children."

Quote:Central Falls High is one of the lowest-performing schools in Rhode Island. It is in a community where median income is $22,000, census figures show.

Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic and for most of them, English is a second language. Half the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, officials said.

Quote:Of the 800 students, 65 percent are Hispanic and for most of them, English is a second language. Half the students are failing every subject, with 55 percent skilled in reading and 7 percent proficient in math, officials said.

Quote:By Roy Beck, Thursday, February 25, 2010, 2:45 PM EST

...But a massive Zogby poll shows Hispanic views to be quite different.

If 56% of likely Hispanic voters (according to Zogby) think immigration already is too high, and only 7% think it is too low, why would a politician push for a jump in immigration? Not only would it apparently satisfy only 7% of likely Hispanic voters, but it definitely would turn off the majority of other voters concerned about high unemployment.

...But when Zogby gave likely Hispanic voters the choice between making illegal immigrants go home over time through better enforcement and giving them a path to citizenship, they favored attrition through enforcement by 52% to 34% over amnesty.

The one thing the consultants have right is that it makes a difference how politicians oppose amnesty and oppose foreign labor importation. Obviously, if the rhetoric is aimed at opposing Hispanics specificially, that is going to hurt with the Hispanic vote. But both Democrats and Republicans need to constantly remember that immigration policy is not about ethnicity but about numbers.

It is nice to have Zogby's confirmation that likely Hispanic voters look for a practical numerical immigration policy in about the same way as the rest of U.S. voters.

Geoff Vankirk Wrote:The district was not trying to cut their salary or reduce their benefits but these public sector union thugs (similar to Bruce Tait) wouldn't budge an inch anyway. They made a stand and now have no jobs.