Buffalo News Battles Unions

The sub-title to the headline says it all about the Buffalo Snooze's opinion of the Buffalo School Board election/race: Union-backed candidates appear to have edge in money and manpower over the majority block.

Well, duh?

First: There are more union people than majority block(ing progress) candidates. There are more people that are sick of all the attacks on teachers. There are more people that are getting sick of all the testing that tells us nothing of what a student is truly capable of. So, I don't see the problem here.

And as far as manpower goes – it's called organizing. It's what unions do. When everybody is fighting for themselves, it's divide and conquer and the workers lose. So, when the workers band together to make their voices heard it's a bad thing? 

Can we get some clarification on that?

Second: Money. Carl PaladiNO doesn't have money to spend? Seriously? This so called self made millionaire doesn't have money to buy TV, radio,and newspaper ads?

Wait – He's been getting them free since he first ran and was elected to the Board of Education. Any time there's a question to be asked of the Board, whom do I get to see and hear from? The media's favorite go to guy: Carl PaladiNO.

And if someone were to weigh out all the actual cost of all the free advertising that Carl has received over the years, the union has not out-spent him at all. Corporate Buffalo Media has outspent the union.

I rarely hear from anyone in the union on issues affecting education. I'm sure it would be nice to have a Buffalo Teacher's Federation spokesperson on as much as PaladiNO has been. It would have at least given us (those that have paid for PaladiNO's tax breaks/corporate welfare) more information.

The Snooze just wants the people of Buffalo to roll over and play dead while corporate America rolls on in and takes over the city. Not too dead – someone has to pay for all that corporate welfare and they don't want it to be them.

If the editors were serious about reforming education in Buffalo they would provide information that shows that all this testing actually does improve education and achievement.

To date they have provided nothing at all that supports their claim.

Then again,  there is no information that supports that claim,  so.....

Does the Buffalo School District need help because students are struggling to achieve? 

Yes.

But the News has done nothing to address the number one cause of educational dysfunction – poverty.

Buffalo needs to address the issue of poverty, but that means attacking corporate America and the people that own the News.

It's just easier to attack teachers and say that they are the problem.

Well, the teachers and other unions have said “No more.”

And they are not throwing their hands up in the air and walking out of the ring.

They are lacing up their gloves, wiping off the sweat and showing what the power of numbers can do.

And the News doesn't like it.

So the Buffalo Snooze has a problem with the Buffalo Teacher's Federation and associated unions getting together and fighting against a corporate takeover of the school system?

I'd say they have a different problem – It's a problem with democracy.