Puerto Rican Teachers on Strike - Yeah, the Whole Island

Teachers across Puerto Rico are on strike. Because of their centralized education system (in which strikes are illegal) collective bargaining decisions are made at the state level; so, the strike is an Island-wide, illegal strike by the FMPR, a 42,000 teacher strong association. Their press release says that 26,000 teachers went on strike late last week and 85% of schools across Puerto Rico are not functioning property. The strike has even included a little violence as teachers were injured and arrested in clashes with authorities.

Cruz at Daily Kos has an opinion on the issue and a petition you can send to Puerto Rican authorities.

Anyway, it presents an interesting picture of what would/could happen if states moved to a centralized system for collective bargaining decisions instead of keeping the decentralized, local school board decision making system in place. As collective bargaining and teacher compensation become a bigger and bigger issue in the States, this is something to keep in mind.

Comments

[george howard]

The Puerto Rican teachers deserve our support. An important part of this story, which has received little attention in the US, is the outrageously unprincipled role being played by the US's largest union, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU). SEIU leaders Dennis Rivera and Andy Stern are literally using the monthly union dues of SEIU's hardworking members (janitors, nursing assistants, government clerks, security officers, etc) in order to fund a campaign aimed at cutting the legs out from under the striking Puerto Rican teachers so that SEIU can take over the teachers union and become the largest union in Puerto Rico. According to Puerto Rican press accounts, this is what has happened: In January, SEIU affiliated a small teachers union in Puerto Rico that represents very few teachers and has a history of being very conservative and pliant rather than vigorously defending teachers' interests. In the 1960s, teachers abandoned this conservative and ineffective union (the AMPR) in order to create the current, progressive and democratic teachers union (the FMPR). In a Machiavellian move that would make even the most cut-throat CEO blush, SEIU's Dennis Rivera and Andy Stern are pumping money into their newly affiliated small union in an effort to displace the current progressive teachers' union, which is now on strike. After 27 months of bargaining, teachers went out on strike in an effort to raise their dismally low salaries (starting teachers earn only $19,200 per year) and address the underfunding of Puerto Rico's public schools (press accounts describe overcrowded classrooms, paint peeling from walls, exposed wiring, rats and cockroaches in classrooms, leaking roofs, blackboards that no longer erase, insufficient numbers of textbooks for students, etc). SEIU's Rivera and Stern have reportedly cut a deal with the current governor of Puerto Rico, Anibal Acevedo, to accomplish their raid of the progressive teachers union. Days after SEIU affiliated the conservative teachers union, the Governor took the unprecedented act of decertifying the progressive teachers union and cutting off its usual ability to collect monthly dues from its members. Articles in the Puerto Rican press report that there is great outrage among many Puerto Rican unions against SEIU. Unions are supposed to support one another - especially when workers are taking great risks by going on strike. Apparently, Andy Stern is perfectly capable of overlooking this fundamental principle of solidarity in order to advance his own self interest. It's hard to imagine a more outrageously unprincipled act by a labor leader.

[Brunie]

As a teacher and member of the federation of Teachers in PR we want no outsiders. I was on strike and defended rights we had in our union agreement. I will retire soon but I was there in the buring sun defending what's ours. This government had done nothing but squash us and do as they please. There's no respect for teachers here. Working condition are terrible, the pay even worse. The government and its legislative house sack up all the money with their pay and car allowance with that I can pay all my debts and lots left over. Mr. Rivera...we don't want you in PR cuz when we go to elections, again, we are going to wipe your ass!