Union Bouquet #11: The Grievance Edition

It's spring, the time of year where the motivation of students and teachers alike is dwindling. The time where stressed out teachers have had enough. Their union stewards and representatives have tried to work out differences with the administration informally, then formally. It's time for a grievance. Welcome to the 11th edition of the Union Bouquet: Grievance Edition.

This teacher details her unyielding, unrelenting harassment in NY.

In Rochester, they're looking at changing the way grievances are handled.

This grievance went all the way to step three, and a school board member agreed that there is a long history of administrators violating the contract.

This teacher filed a grievance regarding his dismissal from an Ohio school district; at issues is whether or not he stole $1,000 and some steaks. He was a culinary arts teacher...which would explain the steaks.

Do you remember the story about the Bethlehem PA Principal who was found naked in his office, watching gay porn and accused of selling methamphetamines? Not education's finest moment, for sure. If the teachers' union grievance had really been investigated, this might not have happened. He later resigned.

How could you file a grievance against this?

Dumping caustic chemicals down the classroom sewer made this worker sick, so he filed a grievance.

This grievance purports intimidation and harassment due to the fact that this individual is a union president.

9 teachers resigning and one 1 retiring from the same high school during the course of one school year? It couldn't be the principal, could it?

5th grade teacher Evan Brock has been notified that his contract will not be renewed, but the union has filed a grievance to keep him.

In Hawaii, teachers there work 15.5 hours on average per day. No wonder a couple of 'em smoked a doobie before work. Unfortunately they got arrested but still filed a grievance. For what? I don't think "bogarting" shows up in the contract language anywhere.

This Montana First American Reservation Superintendent says he was fired because "he was white". The union has a much different take on the situation. Yes, they filed grievances too.

Wayne State University Graduate Student's union says an international student fee is unfair and has filed a grievance on the matter.

This teacher was assaulted twice, the district did nothing, she called it quits and now the state DOE is trying to pull her licence. Sounds like it's worthy of a grievance of some kind, eh?

Usually I don't post stuff about the stupid stuff that a handful of teachers get caught doing, but this is too good. This teacher got busted for selling over 600 books she allegedly stole from her elementary school on E-Bay.

The Michigan based Howell Education Association is contemplating filing a grievance after the school district has been practicing regressive bargaining (where your later offers at the table get worse and worse). The district elaborated with a lengthy and contemplative "No comment."

In Nashua, New Hampshire the teacher's union withdrew their direct dealing grievance after a new contract was approved by the town's government. In case you're wondering, direct dealing is when the administration (or their agents) of a school district try to get an agreement (of any kind, but this grievance mentioned their contract) from teachers without going through the union, in many cases the sole representative of the teachers. It is a no-no.

Though they can't file a grievance against another teacher, this post delves into the reasoning, logic and math behind the salaries of union Presidents and/or Executive Directors.