Thursday, June 22, 2017

Nina's notes

Anonymous wrote:

New Post: Ninas notes. Has anyone read the new email that normally and automatically goes right to spam infamously titled "Nina's Notes"? Allow me to save you the pain: Esposito congratulates her brotherhood in Philadelphia for settling on a contract at the beginning of her email(that is after her obsequious salutation). After that, she praises them and then posts the details for immediate view. Why does she do this? Easy: Esposito wants to read what teachers are not getting in the contract in Philadelphia to use as a tool of intimidation just as Tarka did before her so teachers will not strike. Why? Easy: so that she keeps her job until she retires. Where do Esposito'schildren go or have gone to school? Answer: North Hills School District. The naivety of Esposito to post that contract and then to posrpt WAY DOWN THE PAGE- "Unfortunately I can see no path of settling our negotiations prior to June 30th". Shouldn't that have been posted first? We PAY HER SALARY! No, rather, she uses the contract not to praise Philadelphia, but to make teachers, counsellors, paras, and security guards of the Pittsburgh Public Schools think, "OOH, WE ARE SO LUCKY. SEE WHAT THEY GET IN PHILLY!" Esposito knows that we are not getting anything, such as step increases, and she knows that our medical coverages will be a disaster, and she knows she does not care about anything except about her pay and job security. What is scarier is, is if she she negotiates salary step increases. Can you imagine how she will have sold us out so she can retire in a few years and not feel the horrifying afterm

Saturday, June 17, 2017

Step increases

Anonymous wrote:

"New post: Step increases will be halted. Did anyone read the email from Nina Esposito saying that she "just emailed" Hamlet about whether or not step increases will occur? Did you read her latest ingratiating email proclaiming" You did it"? Did you read in the latter email where she states that the "district can freeze people at their step placements"? Is she that inept and desperate to write something like that regarding our lives? Of course Hamlet is freezing step placements. Where do you think he's getting the money to hire all of these new positions for his flunkies? This is just the beginning my friends. This is what those who voted her in deserve: nothing but the worst. Esposito claims that healthcare will remain the same in status quo, but before that bold print of hers, she states that she along with entourage will be discussing healthcare next week with Hamlet. When are we going to protest this union, strike, and get our union leaders(sad)-who everyone knows work for the district- and get them back into the classroom to experience the walk-throughs, the data, the van, the meetings, the behaved students, the parents of these students, the circles, and the tripod? "

Monday, June 12, 2017

Live interview w/ Superintendent Hamlet today/ opportunity for questions


Public Source is interviewing the superintendent today:


At 2:15 p.m. today, join in on our in-depth interview with Superintendent Anthony Hamlet.


For students of the Pittsburgh Public Schools district, today is the last day of school.

Our reporter Mary Niederberger will interview Dr. Hamlet about his first year as superintendent. Please join us today at 2:15 p.m. as we stream the interview LIVE here.

If you have a question you'd like to ask Dr. Hamlet, please submit it in the comments on Facebook.

The recorded interview will be available after at publicsource.org

Saturday, June 10, 2017

Handling of complaints/ confidentiality

Anonymous wrote:

"New post please:
Something troublesome occurred in my building last week, and it has left me real upset. Our building has smokers. A lot of smokers. I will hesitantly admit that I am one of them. We have become lazy about where we smoke and we have been taking quick puff breaks outside the back door of our building. Wrong?Yes. So another employee in our building who has an office in the basement complained about the smoke getting in through the ventilation and working its way into her office. She wrote a long letter to Dr. Walters, our principal and an assistant superintendent. She asked that he please do something to get us all to move. That not the problem I have. She had every right to write the letter. I wish she had come to us first, but again I get it. What happened next is what angered me. Dr. Walters forwarded her letter to every one in our building, with the woman's name, office number and cell phone number still on the letter. The note was also taped to the back door where we smoke. 

Is this what we can expect in our district when we make a complaint? I have an issue with schedules but I'm now afraid to speak up for fear of being made a public scapegoat. I feel bad for this woman. I don't know her but I've been tempted to call her just to say how bad alot of us feel about what he did. After that stunt, it looks like he was promoted? Who are we working for? Vindictive mafia-types who expect silence and want us seen and not heard?

I just wanted to put this out there so everyone with kids know just what kind of people are running the ship." 

Friday, June 9, 2017

PNC paycards for union dues

Anonymous wrote:

"

The union invited the district to steal money from its employees. Our own union, headed by Nina Esposito, invited the district to the union four years ago to a Saturday union representative meeting to introduce the way the district would be paying our union members instead of paper checks: either through direct deposit or the District's mandated PNC Paycard. The latter(PNC PAYCARD) is the most egregious, unethical, and illegal way to pay its employees. The card has no routing or checking account numbers. If the card is lost or stolen, it costs $10 for a new card and $15 to expedite the card. In the meantime, since there are no account numbers associated with the card, there is no way to go into a PNC and withdraw your earnings. Moreover, the terms state that the first PNC ATM withdraw and first PNC teller withdraw of the month are free. However, after that, PNC charges $2 per ATM withdraw-at a PNC ATM mind you- and $5 per withdraw from a PNC teller inside the bank. If this sounds unscrupulous, it is, but not as much as this. It costs $2.50 to speak to a representative(and the rep is not an employee of PNC), and on the weekends, there are no representatives at all. In addition, The card was and still is charging $2 per ATM withdraw without giving one free, and it was charging $2.50 to just hear your balance without talking to a representative on the phone. I spoke to a rep(again, not a PNC employee) and the rep said that 25 people from our district call every payday to complain. Moreover, the card was assessing $5 teller fees without giving a free one. I have had the card for a total of two and a half years and found $275 worth of these breach of terms fees. These are not courtesy refunds. I caught their graft, yet it is still going on now. What if no one finds these errors? Nothing happens, except employees having money stolen from them WITHOUT EVER KNOWING. The district is taking advantage of those who have no checking accounts, and our own union not only accepted it, our union literally invited it. Remember, we are paid twice a month, so either way, anyone who has this card will have to pay a minimum of $7 a month to get money. Unless you take all of it out at once( which is desperate) you can double, triple, and quadruple the $7 a month fees, not to mention the breach of term fees. It is beyond a class action suit. Nina Esposito should be fired immediately for allowing this to happen, and to introduce this card to 20 union representatives on a Saturday morning rather than informing every school in a formal meeting, shows Esposito's deliberate intent to hide this, and it shows that she works for the district. I know there are many who have this card. Ask around and tell them to tell their story on here. I will be posting a phone number on here to contact me. I have spoken to others. This story will be on the news soon."

Thursday, June 8, 2017

Proposal re: coaches for City League teams

Anonymous wrote:

"A proposal to allow city employees to coach City League teams -

http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2017/06/07/Pittsburgh-City-Council-proposal-allow-city-employees-coaching-work-Rudiak/stories/201706070192

It's interesting because the article mentions a shortage of coaches in the City League. The PFT contract calls for teachers first (regardless of being less qualified than an "outsider") . For years, successful retiring teachers/coaches were denied retaining their coaching position so a teacher could have the position even if they were less qualified for the position. PPS and the PFT were behind the times as the suburban/WPIAL schools have been hiring the most qualified coaches regardless of employment for some time."