Buffoonery in Tacoma

Art Jarvis is an egotistical buffoon. He has proven this every single time that he has written or said something in an obvious attempt to sway the public in his favor. He is the Tacoma School District’s equivalent of Andy Coons.

Andy Coons has tried just as hard if not harder to use the media to influence readers. He is also more (inadvertently) transparent in his love for himself and his buffoonery. The problem is that the same actions are unethical and inexcusable for Jarvis, but honorable for Coons. While most people seem to disagree with the teachers (primarily due to the timing), Art Jarvis is portrayed as the villain while Andy Coons is portrayed as the good (but misguided) guy.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Andy Coons wanted to strike. After a previous vote that fell short of their requirements to go on strike, Coons blasted the district (fueling hatred towards the district), hastily scheduled another vote, and made sure that as many people voted as he could possibly get. He got his wish and addressed the media by saying how difficult it was for him to get exactly what he wanted.

The district accused the union of breaking off negotiations in an attempt to push for a strike. How did Andy Coons respond? When the district contacted them, they were too tired. What was even more interesting is what he didn’t say. He never mentioned any attempts to contact the district before they were “tired” or between that time and the decision to strike. Why were they too tired to talk to the other side? Because they spent all day bargaining. It’s amazing that none of this bargaining led to any ideas to be shared with the other party involved in bargaining. Perhaps the district is right. It seems to me that preparations for a strike would have better explained the refusal to talk than actual work on the contract.

On two separate occasions, I have heard about the district changing their proposals in attempts to work something out. Rather than deny these reports, the union has criticized the proposals. While it might be nice if we had heard about more attempts to please the teachers, it’s what I’m not hearing from the union that matters. I have yet to hear of any attempts on their side to provide any alternatives to district proposals. One of the big arguments has been over how they should transfer teachers. The district doesn’t want to base things entirely off of seniority. The district has proposed multiple ideas on how to address this issue. The teachers have complained about the subjectivity, but they haven’t even hinted at what they would accept (besides keeping things the same as before).

With the union insisting that the district is responsible for improving the contract, initiating contact, and all the work involved in the negotiating process, I will accept the arguments from the district that the union is not bargaining in good faith. Since Art Jarvis has clearly tried to manipulate the media, they keep pointing to him as proof that it’s the district that isn’t willing to negotiate. Coons has managed to spin things by insisting that spinning the story to the media is unethical. If it is (I personally agree), then he really needs to take a good hard look at himself.

Since tone doesn’t always come off very well in writing, I want to make sure that you know that I’m not writing because I’m mad. With the state of comedy right now, it’s hard to find anything to laugh at these days. I haven’t stopped laughing at Andy Coons today. His antics are downright comical. All day, I have been waiting for a judge to order teachers back to work so that I could hear Coons make a fool out of himself. Unfortunately, I never saw a direct quote regarding the ruling. The only thing that I have read about his response is him hinting that it’s acceptable for teachers to defy a court order (while officially stating that they should go back to work).

It’s not just Coons. Like I have already said, Jarvis tries to spin things at times and comes off as a joke himself. Of course, he is nothing compared to the teachers union’s lackeys. They continue to insist the Art Jarvis is spinning reality while they remain oblivious to the fact that Andy Coons is pretty much the same. They have proven a blind obedience to him by repeatedly saying what the union wants them to say including frequent copying and pasting (spamming) in public forums. When Andy Coons goes on a power trip and manipulates teachers for his own personal gain, the teachers continuously prove that they are too mindless to realize what is actually going on. They act like the union represents the teachers, but anyone with an ounce of common sense can see that the teachers are representing the union.