Cuomo and Republicans Compete to Abolish Tenure

Republican Senators Tightening the Screws (by cadmonkey)

Democrats & Unions Tightening the Screws (by cadmonkey)

The New York state senate passed legislation this week, backed by NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg and schools chancellor Cathy Black, which would end tenure and seniority protections for New York teachers. The move will have no effect on the 4,600 layoffs that Bloomberg has already demanded. The bill passed the state Senate this week, by a vote of 33 to 27, and would allow the city to lay off teachers based on performance and disciplinary records, rather than seniority.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo is planning to introduce his own bill that would expedite implementation of the new teacher evaluation system negotiated by the sellout AFT. He said his bill would also eliminate seniority-based layoffs. It would also base evaluations partly on student performance.

The bill passed in the Republican led senate, but faces a tougher road in the Democrat led assembly. Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver opposed the senate bill and favors Cuomo’s, which would still screw teachers, but it would do so with the seal of approval of the Democrats.