Get with the private sector - pensions are long gone and the same should be with the teachers. 15 years of service or more - old pension system no more contributions from the State. Less then 15 years - no pension - allow a 410k and that's it. Also new hires - no retirement health benefits. I agree its not pretty, but its standard with the private sector - AT&T, IBM, Verizon, etc. And believe it or not, we still have people who want to work here.

MSEA kisses up to O'Malley and slams legislators in a letter. MSEA invites O'Malley up to speak on their big rally day despite him proposing education cuts. MSEA phone-bombs legislators to stop 'legislative' cuts. Is anyone sensing a theme here? The MSEA is in O'Malley's pockets.

Teachers should know their union isn't working on their behalf. It's working on a political agenda at the request of Gov. O'Malley who is telling them to bend over and take it.

How about the teachers pay 100% of their fricking retirement with the state or county of employ kicking in SMALL percentage on top of that?

Here are the words of outgoing NEA chairman Bob Chanin talking about the power of the teachers unions.

" “It is not because of creative ideas, it is not because of the merit of our position, it is not because we care about children, it is not because we have a vision of a great public school for every child. NEA and its affiliates are effective advocates because we have power and we have power because there are more than 3.2 million people who are willing to pay us hundreds of millions of dollars in dues each year because they believe we are the unions that can most effectively represent them, the unions that can protect their rights and advance their interests as education employees.” (standing ovation)

“Why are conservative and right wing bastards picking on NEA and its affiliates? It is the price we pay for success. …”

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=bqn1rvv7Fis

The content of this posting is important, but I am having a hard time getting past all of the grammatical and spelling errors. Please take your time and proofread these articles before you post them.

If the State PAID like IBM, AT@T, Verizon, the pensions would not be as big a deal.

Where did all this hate for teachers come from and when did it start? Teachers in MD and a most other states are vested in a pension system. 30 years in MD, the state dramatically reduced the amount of $$$ teachers receive by ending the old Teacher Retirement System and starting the new Teacher Pension System. This was at a time when IRAs were the new hot item, and teachers were told that they would get far less at retirement BUT that they could invest the $$$ that was not being taken form their paychecks for the Retirement System, and invest it in a 403B of something similar.

So, you teacher-haters, you act as if the greedy teachers are making huge salaries and, after 30 years of work, get 80-90% of their annual salary as pension. NOTHING could be farther from the truth. Most teachers in the Pension System will not be able to retire after 30 years and will, like most middle class workers, need to work until there SS kicks in.

Get the facts haters!

Yes, "Union Buster", the NEA collects dues so they can be a political power- Like churches or the NRA. This revelation will be filed under "Duh" for future use.

AFCME is "largely supportive" of this???? As a State employee who has served just under 4 years, I would be screwed by this compromise. I gotta say I will never, ever support AFSCME if they end up selling out young people like this. That's just awful. What a great recruitment tool!

Dear Anonymous,
Get your facts straight so you can tell the whole truth!
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker (@GovWalker) recently tweeted a video advertisement produced by Crossroads Grassroots Policy Strategies. This ad featured very selective edits of a speech by retired NEA general counsel Bob Chanin, which you quoted above in your post.

“It’s not because we care about children… it’s because we have power,” Chanin said. “We have power because there are 3.2 million people who are willing to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in dues.”

Chanin was discussing the reasons why the right-wing typically despises NEA.

Taken out of context, these quotes give the false impression that NEA exists not for strengthening public education but rather for its own power-grabbing and profit. This is a lie.
We members advocate for public education, education employees, and human and civil rights because it’s the right thing to do.  Yes it takes money to do that and It’s my money, that I choose to give. I earned it and that is how I want to spend it.

A free public education available to all regardless of race, class, gender, ability level, or religion is what gives us the ability to offer "the American Dream". Education is the great equalizer and to provide a good education, you need good teachers. To retain good teachers you need adequate benefits. Not gold plated as some of you are claiming we have, but basics we were given as a trade off for not earning the salaries of our counterparts with equal levels of certification. Any better benefits were bargained for and something was lost or given up and traded to achieve any gain. It's not fair to change the rules of the game when it's close to the finish. I will do my part, do more than I already am, and am willing to pay more to maintain a stable modest pension benefit that I already pay into. Most 401K plans have the bonus of employers matching funds. This would not occur in education. Our pension plan is modest. I also contribute to 403B plan because our pension in MD is not the motherload that outsiders seem to think it is.

a dose of reality, I will let those who DO believe their own eyes and ears to decide, not some putz like yourself who is in the "I do not believe my eyes and ears" gang.

The video speaks fro itself.

The last refuge of a loser is to deny the truth.

It is always the case that when times get economically hard people turn on what they need most, public services. Police, firefighters and teachers always take the brunt of governments furry. I am not sure how the government can point a finger on the pension system and say that it has broke the state. When money was running like water no one even looked or cared about pensions. Everyone was interested in spending, spending, spending. I guess everyone forgets about those fine outstanding mortgage brokers that would lend 750,000 dollars to someone that had a 30,000 dollar a year job. My neighbor was a mortgage specialist and over drinks told me of countless times that he made mortgages for people that he knew would default but the upper management said do it. He liked the money and why wouldn't he??? Maybe the big business banks/lenders should pay up. They are one of the reasons for the collapse of certain states. In short, I think that the easiest scapegoats are always public services. If Maryland public services could all strike for a day or two people might just realize how much they are needed and adjust their thinking. Not putting anyone down or anything....just sayin...

Once upon a time, in the private sector, pensions were the order of the day. Who benefits from 401k's the most? Brokers and Wall Street! The same people who were bailed out with our tax dollars. Now we must shortchange our public employees' pensions because of something that was caused by billionaires. The media is doing a fine job of pinning the blame for our economic collapse on the working man, while Wall Street makes record profits and bonuses. Well guess who owns them?

There are so many grammatical errors and typos in this piece that it is hard to read!

Riddle me this: why does the MSEA continue to give O'Malley a free pass? They invite him up on stage to complain about 'keeping the promise' at their rally when HE IS THE ONE WHO BROKE THEIR PROMISE. It's like an abused child defending their abuser on the stand--absolutely disgusting. The MSEA has become the biggest partisan hackjob of an 'associastion' in Annapolis and everyone knows it. If O'Malley cut the education budget in half the MSEA would say the legislators are the devil. It's just plain stupid. No wonder Nancy Grasmick left. I wouldn't deal with those clowns down on Main Street either.