So begins a mass e-mail from Organizing for America:
When teachers demand job protections, generous benefits, and salary increases in the midst of a recession...well, that's expecting special treatment, indeed.
Michael ?
Right now, my job ? along with those of my colleagues ? could be in jeopardy. I'm a public school teacher in Philadelphia. And, like most states across the country, Pennsylvania is facing some bad budget shortfalls. Without federal help, a lot of teachers like me ? as well as other public servants like police officers and firefighters ? will lose their jobs. Maybe you know some of these people. Maybe it's you.
Democrats in Congress are trying to do the right thing, proposing emergency assistance for states to preserve more than 100,000 jobs like mine. They're racing back to the Capitol for an emergency session this week to pass this bill and save these jobs. But Republicans are standing in the way. Minority Leader John Boehner is calling the bill a ?payoff? to ?special interests? and attacking every Democrat who is fighting for us.
But I'm not a special interest. I'm a teacher.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi ? and the entire Democratic Caucus ? have decided to rush back to Washington to make sure that hundreds of thousands of workers like me will get to keep our jobs. In addition, the bill will actually create even more job growth by closing tax loopholes for companies that ship American jobs overseas. But the Republicans are going to do everything they can to prevent this aid.
Please stand with me, in support of Democratic leaders who are standing up for folks like me: http://my.barackobama.com/MyJob
Thank you,
Wendy C.
Teacher
Ambler, Pennsylvania
Dear Wendy,
Nobody wants to lose their job in a downturn, but it's happened to millions of private-sector employees over the past two years. Many workers have also seen their pay cut and benefits trimmed. Teachers have been rather fortunate; not only have most of their jobs been protected by federal aid, but many are actually receiving pay raises during this difficult time. And their health care benefits and pensions remain worlds better than what most Americans receive. It's inevitable that school systems are going to need to learn to do more with less. Here's the good news: your job could easily be saved if your union leaders were willing to accept some modest concessions. (Even a salary freeze might do the trick.)
But when teachers demand job protections, generous benefits, and salary increases in the midst of a recession?well, that's expecting special treatment, indeed.
-Mike Petrilli
