Unionized teachers cut out-of-class activities in contract dispute with school district officials.
Early last week, Walnut Valley Unified School District finally found even ground with the Teachers’ Union by using a third party arbitrator. This news was received with both joy and relief by the student body, who had previously been under immense pressure as prior to the conclusion of the arbitration, the difficulties with the District led the Teachers’ Union to urge the teachers of Diamond Bar High School to cease all voluntary actions including club advising, teacher recommendations, tutoring, and other such activities.
Though not all teachers followed through with this instruction, and the teachers who did cease such voluntary action did so in varying degrees, the teachers’ actions had an imminent and apparent effect on the student body. While this effect was largely negative and sparked a displeased, even outright angry, reaction from certain portions of the school, it seems reasonable—to an extent—that the teachers simply couldn’t have been expected to do more work when facing such large cuts to salaries and benefits.
It is understandable that the teachers would take such drastic action when their ability to support themselves, and for many, their families, is at risk. The proposed furlough days and other such cuts obviously was not received well by the teachers—teachers who are underpaid and underappreciated as it is. Creating a situation where they could continue to educate the youth while still conveying an important point seems not only a logical decision, but also an astute one.
This is especially true in light of the fact that teachers are not paid for advising clubs or doing other voluntary work—a fact most students are not familiar with or simply take for granted. Considering that club advising often takes hours of work and that teacher recommendations can cause an overwhelming burden for teachers, this “charity work” was already an often underappreciated gift to students.
However, while it is reasonable that teachers terminated their work in these extra-curricular activities or cease writing new teacher recommendations, it seems cruel for teachers to renege on previously made commitments to write recommendation letters and pre-planned club activities like the Blood Drive. This occurred with only a few of the teacher participants, but it affected a good number of students. It may seem like a clever way to make a “bigger splash” and thus achieve their means more quickly, but it flushes months and months of students’ hard work down the drain and leaves others in a hopeless state with little they can do to improve their current situations.
If anything, this sort of action simply undermines the entire Union and the teachers’ stance in their dispute with the district. Though this reneging of previously made commitments only applies to very few, it is enough to turn many students and their parents against the teachers. These sorts of actions could have transformed the teachers into the villains in this debacle, causing many students who previously supported the teachers to view them as the “bad guys.”
It is unfortunate that the teachers were forced into such a dire and desperate position where they felt it necessary to take such drastic actions in order to make a point. And, for the most part, their actions were understandable. Teachers simply cannot be expected to do so much when given so little. But, at the same time, some took it a step too far and had, as a result, regrettably turned many students and parents away from their cause. While we hope that such a dispute between the District and the teachers will be avoided in the future, in the case that it does, hopefully drastic actions such as defaulting on promised commitments will be avoided.
