Cairo Association of Teachers - Newsletter

CAT Tracks for September 10, 2006 JUDGE ORDERS DETROIT TEACHERS TO SCHOOL

Standing up for a "righteous cause"?

From the Detroit Free Press...

No settlement yet; teachers picket at Detroit board president's house

BY GINA DAMRON and KATHLEEN GRAY
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITERS

They marched through the drizzly rain Saturday afternoon, carrying signs with sentiments like "Hands off my benefits" and "Protect our classrooms."

Just a day after a judge ordered Detroit teachers to return to school Monday, a handful of teachers, students and area activists took the fight straight to Detroit Board of Education President Jimmy Womack, as they protested in front of his home on McNichols.

"Womack, we're not going back without a contract!" they yelled. "Jimmy Womack, we want our money back!"

Wayne County Circuit Judge Susan Borman ordered Friday that new contract or not, the 7,000 Detroit Public School teachers, who have been on strike since Aug. 28, have to be back in school Monday.

But, some say, they won't go.

"Our union's historical position has been no contract, no work," said Jessica Curtin, a social studies teacher at Crockett High School, who picketed in front of Womack's house Saturday. "We're standing up for ourselves and our students and for quality schools."

Womack -- who said it was inappropriate for teachers to protest in front of his home while the two sides are still talking -- said their statements are ironic because many teachers don't live in Detroit, meaning their children are being educated, while the city's kids are forced to either stay home or move to other districts.

"The clear message is: Where we teach is not good enough for our children," Womack said.

It is unclear whether Detroit students will be back in class Monday. The district said Saturday it would make an announcement by 7 p.m. today about when students should return. Teachers voted to go on strike after refusing to accept $88 million in concessions demanded by the district.

DPS administrators and the Detroit Federation of Teachers union have been negotiating 12 hours a day for more than a week, but a settlement is still out of reach. DFT President Janna Garrison said talks broke off around 10 p.m. Saturday. No further talks were set as of Saturday night, she said.

The district, which is dealing with a $105-million deficit, wants teachers to take a 5.5% pay cut and to pay more for health benefits. The union wants a 3-year contract with 5% pay increases each year.

If the teachers go back to school Monday without a contract, they will work under the old contract, which was approved last year. That contract included a wage freeze and the loss of five days' pay.

Union leaders said Saturday that they plan to read Borman's order to members at 4 p.m. today at Detroit's Cobo Center.

Tony Hawk, a math and science teacher at Denby High School and the district's 2005-06 educator of the year, said that if union leaders urge them to continue striking, he will.

But, he said, that's not what most teachers want.

"We want to go back to work, but" the teachers can't afford to accept "the concessions that the district is actually sending down on us," said Hawk, 33. "I think we all understand that we're breaking the law by striking, but we're trying to stand up for what's right."

Lashelle Benjamin, 16, a junior at Cass Tech, was one of a few students who came to the protest to show support for the teachers. She said her teachers are working for change, such as getting new books to replace tattered ones.

Starting Monday, the teachers could be fined for each day they're not in class. However, Christal Bonner, a long-term substitute at McNair Middle School, said she isn't worried.

"My source is God," she said. "I believe that when you stand up for a righteous cause, you will be blessed."