The NY United Federation of Teachers launched a group blog this week and managed to get immediately attacked-- first by Eduwonk, a proponent of charter schools, that expressed astonishment that the union would allow criticism in their comments sections, and then by the NY Post which complained that by having a disclaimer on the page that not everything said reflected the views of the UFT leadership, the union was refusing accountability.

Now, aside from gloating about the publicity, the folks at the UFT blog are loving the irony of an unaccountable corporate dictatorship run by Rubert Murdoch not getting that unions are democratic institutions where a blog would be impossible if every idea expressed had to be approved.  

But the core interest in the blog-- aside from the snark-- is a chance for the teachers to actually talk about what contracts for teachers actually require-- rather than the myth that teachers get paid the same whether they are skilled or not:

For example, on the so-called "single salary schedule," the UFT's contract proposals in the current round of negotiations include paying teachers, on top of a competitive wage base, additional salary for such things as working in hard-to-staff schools (to attract highly skilled educators), having extraordinary knowledge and skills (based on objective criteria), or qualifying for and assuming additional responsibilities (as part of a career ladder).

The union has also proposed restructuring and expediting the teacher discipline process for those accused of certain serious charges and for proven incompetence. And for five years the UFT has tried to eliminate the exclusive use of seniority in transfers and hiring by substituting a school personnel committee to interview and hire applicants.

No, what the union objects to is political appointees, rather than committees of fellow professional, having the sole discretion to hire, fire or promote, a recipe for favoritism.

An irony right now is that conservatives are irate that the UFT is competing against other groups to run its own charter schools to demonstrate in practice how schools should be run if the teachers had their druthers:

The charter schools that the union is opening are meant to demonstrate not merely that unions and quality education are compatible, but also to be a showcase for what all public schools should be like -- well-resourced with small classes and well-prepared teachers, and with a collaborative management system that supports teachers and holds them accountable but gives them the professional discretion to teach each child in the way that child will learn best.

So all in all, a pretty interesting set of debates and discussions for one week.  Tune in.

Update [2005-8-26 14:56:24 by nnewman]: EduWonk sent me a note that they don't feel that they "attacked" the UFT blog, but were conveying the idea that "there was not uniform enthusiasm for this blog within the UFT leadership because of the comments feature." Fair enough and all unions get antsy when new venues for directly attacking the union leadership are opened up. But the UFT is even more to be lauded for doing so despite those concerns.