Genie Leaves Bottle

Well, the demons have escaped. Yes, those previously bottled up in Japanese reactors near the coast, and those unleashed by Wisconsin Gov. Walker and his henchmen in Madison. Rather than recount the indignities suffered by Wisconsin teachers and civil servants, it is fair to question whether this is an isolated incident, or simply fueling similar fires all across the country.

Case in point, the recent passage of SB1 in Missouri, the "right to work" law. This disingenuous  law pretends to "allow" job seekers to accept employment in union shops without having to make mandatory dues payments to their unions. Apparently, someone has convinced the state legislature that job-seekers are avoiding Missouri because union jobs will require them to make payroll deductions for their dues. Protestors have renamed this bill the "right to work for less" law. Surely, this isn't intended to be union-busting.

Is there any other evidence of possible union-busting in current Missouri legislation? Just ask Senatrix Jane Cunningham, who has recently sponsored a particularly odious attack on Missouri teachers. Her (brainless child) Senate Bill SB372 wreaks havoc on teachers by stripping away tenure, reducing minimum pay for certain classes of teachers from $33,000 to $24,000 per year (teachers are clearly overpaid), prohibiting teachers from participating in election campaigns for their own school boards (Sieg Heil!) and they will be subjected to rigorous teaching competency evaluations annually, to wit:

 Each teacher must have an annual comprehensive, performance-based evaluation conducted. Fifty percent of the evaluation will be based on the performance of students for whom the teacher has responsibility. Fifty percent will be based on the district's teaching standards developed under section 160.045. No more than forty percent of a building's teachers will receive a standards-based score in the top thirty-three percent. Teachers must be evaluated regularly and twice annually in the final year of their continuing contract. Advance notice of evaluations will not be given. Evaluations must be maintained in the teacher's personnel file.

If all this is necessary for public school teachers, surely it must also apply to the state's elected legislators. After all, they're responsible for the entire population of the state, including the kiddos!

While you are recovering from your cerebral hernia from that last passage, you'll find comic relief in another Missouri masterpiece conceived by (you guessed it) Senator Cunningham herself. This little gem addresses the critical needs of children under the age of 16 to enter into mainstream commerce. Specifically, SB222 modifies Missouri child labor laws.

It eliminates the prohibition on employment of children under age fourteen. Restrictions on the number of hours and restrictions on when a child may work during the day are also removed. It also repeals the requirement that a child ages fourteen or fifteen obtain a work certificate or work permit in order to be employed. Children under sixteen will also be allowed to work in any capacity in a motel, resort or hotel where sleeping accommodations are furnished. It also removes the authority of the director of the Division of Labor Standards to inspect employers who employ children and to require them to keep certain records for children they employ. It also repeals the presumption that the presence of a child in a workplace is evidence of employment.

Quite clearly, these little angels don't have enough schoolwork to fill out their afternoons, so they have to turn to the busy work of commerce to keep their idle minds occupied. To top it all off, this bill was championed on the supposition that lemonade stands and lawn-mowing businesses have been unduly oppressed by existing child labor laws. I would be very circumspect about drinking any of the Kool-Aid from her kitchen.

Not to leave the latest rant without some positive rumination, here's a note of interest:

A teacher somewhere in your neighborhood tonight is grading and preparing lessons to teach your children while you are watching television. In the minute it takes you to read this, teachers all over the world are using their "free time" and often investing their own money for your child's literacy, prosperity, and future. Copy and post this if you are a teacher, love a teacher or appreciate teachers.

Why do singles and childless couples pay taxes to their local school system? For the privilege of living in an educated society.


Cross-posted to The Renaissance Post