Duncan talks Scott Walker, collective bargaining
Blog by Sean Cavanagh/Education Week
Arne Duncan, speaking with reporters yesterday, offered a few more thoughts on Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's controversial bid to strip teachers of many of their collective bargaining rights. The secretary of education reiterated his concerns about Walker's proposal, and offered a few more details on a phone call he had with the Republican governor recently, in which Duncan evidently tried to convince him to work cooperatively with teachers' unions. Duncan, as he has previously, noted the state's largest teachers' union had released a far-reaching proposal—before the governor unveiled his own plan—for merit pay and making it easier to remove ineffective teachers, among other steps. The secretary praised the union's proposal, citing it as evidence of teachers' willingness to embrace new ideas and negotiate. (more...)