Word: unionism
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...Denver Classroom Teachers Association has rebuked the proposal, calling instead for an across-the-board salary bump. "If the district continues efforts to fiddle around with bonuses vs. salary-building," says union president Kim Ursetta, "it hurts [our] efforts to say, 'Yes, it's O.K. to try something new and different...
...Ursetta and other union leaders say they don't want to dismantle ProComp; they just want to hold off making the changes until they can be studied more. The first definitive report on ProComp's impact on student achievement won't be completed until late 2009, though early results are promising. One pilot study found that students whose teachers enrolled in the program performed slightly better on standardized tests compared with students with non-ProComp teachers. Denver also saw statewide assessment scores improve substantially this past school year, with the district now outperforming state gains in all grade levels...
...Denver's ProComp program, short for the Professional Compensation System for Teachers, was implemented in 2006 in a joint effort by the school district and the local teachers' union to recruit and retain good teachers. Since February, however, union and district leaders have been butting heads over a series of changes to ProComp proposed by superintendent Michael Bennet. The biggest sticking point is his proposal to cap base salaries while increasing performance-based bonuses. The protracted contract negotiations already led some teachers to stage sick-outs in May; others have been handing out to parents flyers denouncing the district...
...Amid these early signs of success, even some union members think their representatives have taken hostilities too far. One group of teachers has started an online petition for an immediate contract settlement, and more than 300 teachers have signed it. Many of these teachers believe the district's offer is not perfect but reasonable enough. "The union's position just does not make sense to me - it appears to be opposition for the sake of opposition," says Chrisanne Lahue, 47, an English teacher for 22 years and a signer of the petition. Both sides, she adds, "should just roll...
...9/11 attacks put the Pakistani military's long-standing role in Afghanistan into conflict with its most vital strategic alliance. Pakistan had used Afghan jihadists to wage proxy warfare against the Soviet Union on behalf of the U.S. And after the Red Army withdrew and the U.S. had no interest in the outcome of Afghanistan's civil war, Pakistani security services nurtured the Taliban and shoehorned it into power, ensuring that Afghanistan was ruled by a client of Islamabad. After al-Qaeda struck the U.S., Pakistan's key ally demanded support for a military campaign to oust the Taliban...