Comments on: Some unions say MDUSD proposals would devastate them

By: changepls

changepls — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 23:29:17 +0000

When does this madness stop? Steve Lawrence needs to resign immediately. He has singled handed turned MDUSD upside down with all the changes with principals at schools and the new positions at the district. The Board members need to rescind all pay raises for all appointments that have been made in the past 6 months. Schools are being violated with dangerous cuts to secretaries and instructional assistants that will affect the safety of our children. I think the State should come in and investigate the district, the superintendent, and the school members immediately. As parents, we need to make the district stop this massacre of our schools and employees. Now he hired a man with such a questionable background, there is no excuse that is acceptable. It is time for the Superintendent to submit his resignation immediately!

By: Adria Pou

Adria Pou — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:21:36 +0000

The secretaries and office managers (Local 1) have already seen their daily hours and work year reduced, and furlough days would have been implemented this coming school year. The district wants now to reduce even further the hours and work year for secretaries and office managers, increase furlough days, and reduce the health benefits. Since our paychecks are not so large to begin with, this is a real sacrifice. Reducing the benefits, which for many is the reason they stay in these jobs, is the ultimate. Should we be paying the district for the privilege to work there? I echo a previous message: the General Counsel received a raise of $39,000 this year and the new Superintendent also received a raise plus a $25,000 housing allowance.
It seems that the district wants to make up the deficit on the backs of those who can least afford it.

By: Contra Costa Resident

Contra Costa Resident — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 20:20:03 +0000

When I read the letters to the Times, it seems that people want the public service unions to give up their benefits and have to deal with them like the public sector.

I see MDUSD as taking an approach to this but the unions listed above don’t like it.

Either you want public service unions to have full benefits or you want them to be treated like the private sector.

By: Doctor J

Doctor J — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 11:54:48 +0000

What hypocrisy ! Richards, one of the Gang of Five who got a substantial raise, along with the lawyer, last November, is the architect of cutting benefits to low paid employees. He says the Board must “cut somewhere” — OMG — look in the mirror and trim your salary back to what it was pre-November along with the rest of the Gang of Five. And don’t forget the Supt who was hired in February at $100,000 more than he was making in Sacramento plus a $25k bonus and almost $100k more than Nicholl. Other districts in the East Bay have hired new Supt’s at LESS than their predecessors ! I can feel more disinformation starting to build — it worked with the Bond, let it begin with union negotiations. The truth is the Board doesn’t want to cut people — the jobs won’t get done, and the schools will grind to a halt. Hold fast Unions. Someone has to take out the garbage and fix the leaky pipes. Someone has to answer the phones and answer all those emails from the district office.