Given conversation on this site, I thought you might be interested in the following Q&A interview with Dave Monti. Dave is a science teacher at RB and the current RBEA president. Our reporter sat down to talk to him about his role and the role of the union in regards to RB and its finances.
http://rbclarion.com/top-stories/2011/10/27/qa-rbea-president-dave-monti/
Dan Mancoff
Clarion Sponsor
Please find out if Mr. Monti's union role is a paid one, how much he is paid, and will his Illinois taxpayer funded pension take into account his union salary, if he gets one.
Mr,
I will double check for you, but I do not believe any RBEA leadership role is paid nor does it have any impact whatsoever on his pension. If I find out differently, I'll post here.
Daniel Mancoff
Thanks for obtaining the information. Please also find out how much paid time off he is allowed for his union responsibilities. It is my understanding that this is probably in the contract.
At this point, I'd refer your questions to the school. I'd either contact Mr. Monti directly (his e-mail is posted at the RB web site) or contact the superintendent. I am not a contract attorney, union representative, or spokesperson for the school, so these kinds of questions are really outside my area of expertise.
Daniel Mancoff
Mr . How are your questions germane to the interveiw Mr Monti gave? Sounds like you are on a info fishing trip. To what purpose I can only guess.
Dave Monti is a very well thought of teacher and does a lot of extra work with the kids on the ecology club. I remember him coming here to Riverside and helping to organize the student participation in planting the nineteen trees my Class of '56 and the Olmstead bought for the Swan Pond. He is a hell of a good guy and the kind of teacher that really makes an impact and deserves not to be sniped at.
Have you had him as a teacher? Have your kids had him as a teacher?
Mine have and I wouldn't refer to him as "a hell of a good guy." I'll grant you that he makes an impact, but not necessarily a good one.
But that is all besides the point. I think mr's questions and concerns are valid. I hope he or she finds out the answers to the questions. I'd like to know if the superintendent answers honestly and freely or if he blows off mr's questions.
I do not have children at RB and never had. I have heard positive things about Dave Monti. I have no interest in sniping at Dave Monti. He probably is a very good teacher. Why wouldn't he be?
My questions have to do with compensation. To what degree are school union reps compensated (salary, benefits, pension, time off) by the taxpayer? I would like to know, since the topic came up.
Eric Sundstrom:
1. Can we agree that it is widely accepted that taxpayers have a right to know the compensation level of public employees? Isn't that why the compensation is public information?
2. You asked, how my questions are germane to the interview Mr Monti gave? This interview is all about Mr. Monti's role as a union representative. All I want to know is to what degree the taxpayer is funding this position? To answer your question, I had to go and reread the interview - and it really is allowing Dave to provide the union point of view? Is this even appropriate without providing another view?
3. Eric, based on your postings here and certainly my comment applies to Mr. Spatney, you seem to try to be informed on the major issues of the day. The Tribune has been running a pretty hard hitting front page series - very hard hitting - about taxpayer funding of pensions - not based on government salaries - but on union salaries. So given that series - why wouldn't I want to know what the taxpayers are contributing to RB Union reps - above and beyond their teaching. Why is this such a surprising question - given the current topic in day to day news?
Here is a link to the Tribune series on pension abuse - you know the series that said the taxpayers are paying for a union official's pension - based on his union salary - after substitue teaching two days.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/watchdog/chi-pension-crisis-gallery,0,5880368.storygallery
The collusion of public employee unions and elected officials has simply convinced me that we are in serious trouble as a nation. People we elect to represent us and act in our interest are in fact stealing from us and laughing at our gullibility as we do it.
Please tell me you have read this series and tell me why you think I am wrong.
By the way, the Clarion interview is a union propoganda piece from start to finish. I read something recently, from a non Catholic, who sent their children to a Catholic school, that having their child learn religous values from a Catholic point of view was less alarming than the liberal point of view of public employees presented in a public school. After reading this interview, I know what they meant.
Mr. I have been following that series in the Trib re pensions, plus I have had multiple conversations with many state and county employees I am aquainted with. The pension abusers mentioned in the article are labor union heads and Illinois lobbists. The way the article reads it sounds like is was done by ten to twenty individuals and most of them are in the process of having these unwarrented pensions stripped from them. They were given this Golden Carrot by Illinois politicians many of whom are still in office. ( Both Democrats and Republicans being involved... As if there is much of a difference between the two parties here in Illinois!).These politicians should be held to account and voted out of office. They promised Unions and the people of Illinois prosperity and wealth all the while never planning on honoring those promises. In the mean time Senate Bill 512 currently on the table in Springfield is attempting to address pension reform. Look it up and let your Legislative representative know what you think. Re Mr Monti's interveiw. What he states is factual. My son recently graduated from RB and I still have a daughter registered there. Class sizes ARE up because the numbers of teachers is going down. Many extra curriculars are gone or are on the chopping block. Do you think Football will be one of them? (lol) The old addage you get what you pay for especially holds true in education. As my mother used to say . Let's not cut off our nose to spite our face.
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