the teacher s union. they are considering teacher contracts and salary negotiations instead of what is good for our kids. has the curtain just been pulled back entirely on the teacher s unions? have they lost all credibility with parents and students now, pete? well, of course, you know who they haven t lost credibility with the people they are beholden to and beholden to them democratic politicians they elect. it s pay back time. it s not about kids or instruction. this is about political power. you see that at the end of the statement. we need to think about this in the broader context of teacher contract negotiation unless teacher contract negotiations have nothing to do with science and nothing to do with kids a and nothing to do getting people in the classroom. just getting this email now in december february. conversations they are having right now about what they will do about omicron and, you know, keeping our kids in masks or shutting down schools. there is even reports of s
law, bobb has the power to modify or terminate teacher contracts and collective bargaining agreements. michigan, along with ohio, idaho, tennessee and wisconsin are a few of the states working on legislation to rein in teachers unions. here s the question today is this latest round of teacher layoffs a way to balance detroit s crippled school budget? or is it really a jab at teachers unions in an effort to undermine their power? joining me now, chastity pratt-dorsey, an education reporter for the detroit free press. what s your take on this? is this move about balancing the budget or just a ploy to weaken the teacher s union? well, for 8 of the last 11 years the state has run the budget here in detroit public schools, a billion dollar budget. now the deficit is $327 million. with 80% of the budget being teachers salaries, employee salaries and benefits, they are looking to unions to say we need more concessions to get at this
obviously the reason you want to control the unions and the bargaining power is fiscal in the long run. it s not fiscal in this year. no $amounts. use the data argument and pass the damn thing. bret: mort, the longer this goes on, who gets more leverage the longer it goes on? it partly depends if there is violence. bret: say there is not violence. frankly, i think the public decided, the public employee unions overreached and they are getting fatter paychecks, more benefits, than private employees do. they re much more unionized than private employees do. enthe teachers unions, public turns against them. they want the kids to be well educated. teacher contracts prevent it from happening.
obviously the reason you want to control the unions and the bargaining power is fiscal in the long run. it s not fiscal in this year. no $amounts. use the data argument and pass the damn thing. bret: mort, the longer this goes on, who gets more leverage the longer it goes on? it partly depends if there is violence. bret: say there is not violence. frankly, i think the public decided, the public employee unions overreached and they are getting fatter paychecks, more benefits, than private employees do. they re much more unionized than private employees do. enthe teachers unions, public turns against them. they want the kids to be well educated. teacher contracts prevent it from happening.
education and the debates and divisiveness we re seeing, why it s worthwhile to do it today? well, the media loves to play with the divisiveness is actually extraordinarily important rewarding, fantastic work going none classrooms every single day. tea teaching is probably the most rewarding profession you can have. if you want to make a difference in students lives and build a country, there s nothing more important you can do. we have a baby boomer generation that s moving towards retirement. so even in tough economic times it s an extraordinary opportunity to come to the profession to help children learn and grow, to help strengthen our country and we have to have the next generation of talent come in. we actually have very, very innovative new teacher contracts around the country where fantastic young teacher, 28, 29, 30-year-olds can make $100,000 a year. you shouldn t have to take a vow of poverty to become a teacher.