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WEEKLY NEWS 3: Teachers On Strike

If you live anywhere near Detroit, Michigan, chances are you might not have had a teacher on Wednesday. More than 50 schools in the area were left teacher-less when instructors went on strike. The frustrated teachers called in sick, regardless of their true health status, to try and bring attention to what they feel are unfair pay cuts.

The method of a mass group of workers in the same industry or company calling in sick is known as a sick-out and is a form of protest that many dissatisfied employees use to help force their employers hear their demands. In the case of Detroit’s recent sick-out, some teachers and school administrators felt that having money taken out of their salary as a loan to the school district was unfair, especially when some local principals were receiving an 11 percent raise.

To respond to what they perceived as an injustice, numerous teachers from 53 schools called in sick Wednesday for an indefinite amount of time. The exact number of teachers who missed work is unknown, although there were unconfirmed reports in the city Tuesday night that as many as 1,500 teachers might miss class Wednesday. This is up 500 percent from the 300 teachers who usually call in sick on any given day.

In many labor disputes, both sides say that they have tried to make compromises. On one side, The Detroit Federation of Teachers (DFT) says that it tried to help the city’s school board find ways not to make $63 million worth of proposed cuts to teachers’ budgets or salaries, but was ignored. The DFT is a labor union, which is an organization that represents the interests of employees in a certain industry or career. The local school board denies this, and says that they asked the DFT to have teachers take a 10% pay cut, like many members of other unions in Detroit, but said the DFT would not make any compromises.

Regardless of who is to blame, Detroit’s mayor told a local news channel 4 that, “the actions of these teachers are hurting our children and our community. Teaching is a calling, not just a job."

--Written by Morgan Diamond

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