No Preliminary Injunction For DC Teachers Yet, Ruling Next Week

[tonysam]

Judge To Rule Next Week On Teacher Layoffs

"After listening to more than six hours of testimony and argument Thursday, D.C. Superior Court Judge Judith Bartnoff said she would rule "sometime next week" on the Washington Teachers' Union's (WTU) bid to roll back the layoffs of 266 DCPS teachers and staff.

WTU is seeking an injunction that returns the teachers to their jobs until an arbitrator can rule on the case. It contends that the layoffs are an illegal mass firing and that the budget crunch cited by Chancellor Michelle A. Rhee as the basis for the reductions is a sham, designed as a pretext for dumping older teachers. The union also says that school officials violated the collective bargaining agreement by failing to adequately consult with it ahead of time.

Union attorney Lee Jackson cast the layoffs as part of a long range plan by Rhee to secure by fiat what she was not able to attain at the bargaining table.

"This is union busting in the worst possible way," he said.

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This is education "reform" at its "finest." Rhee will probably get away with flagrant age discrimination.