[uncitizen]

Actually, most of the bargaining agreements I've seen in the last few years have involved MINIMAL pay increases--maybe 3-4% max.

This is true. The unions have lost entire industries due to their greed. Seems they've finally gotten the message that they can't be so greedy anymore.

The smart unions are negotiating job security. That's where the action is. Surprise, surprise!

The teachers (here in Calif i think) are fighting to get 2 teachers to each classroom. Enrollment is down, schools are closing. So they want 1 inexperienced teacher and 1 experienced teacher to work together "so the new teacher can benefit from an experience teachers methods". Yeah, right! Budgetary cuts to the schools, yet the teachers want that money for themselves and not the students.

[Arizona Carolyn]

The teachers here are whining they have 35 students in a clasroom and can't teach that many -- Bulletin!! We ALWAYS had 35 - 40 in our classes when I was growing up and we learned just fine -- why, because we paid attention and the teacher was in charge of the class, not the students.