# NC Teachers: This time, it's personal! **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [May 10, 2018, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887 "2018-05-10T00:37:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/41 "2018-05-15T21:36:04Z")
Hey, what’s the deal with the $50 fee that teachers have to pay if they’re sick? Is that normal? ---
**Author:** ![Bijou\_Drains](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bijou_drains/32/2814_2.png) [@Bijou\_Drains](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bijou_Drains)\ **Post date:** [May 15, 2018, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/42 "2018-05-15T23:18:37Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Hey, what’s the deal with the $50 fee that teachers have to pay if they’re sick? Is that normal? It’s a normal payment in NC to take a vacation day during school session. Does not apply for sick days. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/43 "2018-05-16T02:57:36Z")
> [@Bijou\_Drains](#): > > It’s a normal payment in NC to take a vacation day during school session. Does not apply for sick days. Sorry; perhaps I could have phrased that better. Obviously it’s normal for NC; that’s where they do it. I was inquiring if this was normal _for teachers_, regardless of which state they are employed in. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/44 "2018-05-16T03:59:00Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Sorry; perhaps I could have phrased that better. Obviously it’s normal for NC; that’s where they do it. I was inquiring if this was normal _for teachers_, regardless of which state they are employed in. I can say that my mom doesn’t pay any sort of fee for stuff like that. She just doesn’t get paid unless she calls it a sick day, and then only up to a certain number of them. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 10:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/45 "2018-05-16T10:05:45Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I can say that my mom doesn’t pay any sort of fee for stuff like that. She just doesn’t get paid unless she calls it a sick day, and then only up to a certain number of them. I am on the bus to Raleigh! As for the deduction, teachers get three personal days per year, to take off for any reason . If we take a personal day on a day where students are in class, a substitute teacher is required, and we pay $50 towards the cost of that substitute. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/46 "2018-05-16T14:41:03Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I am on the bus to Raleigh! > > As for the deduction, teachers get three personal days per year, to take off for any reason . If we take a personal day on a day where students are in class, a substitute teacher is required, and we pay $50 towards the cost of that substitute. That’s lame as hell. Fuck that. Get that stupid clause out of your contract. I’m not aware of any other job where a sick person has to defray their employer’s costs because they’re sick. That’s just ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/47 "2018-05-16T15:02:08Z")
One of my exes is a educator in Georgia and she says that no, they don’t have to pay for their own subs. I really wonder how common this is (and why anyone on the teachers’ side would have ever agreed with it). ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/48 "2018-05-16T15:23:00Z")
Here’s [an AP story](https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/north-carolina-teachers-plan-protest-state-capital) about today’s teacher protests in Raleigh. ---
**Author:** ![Gedd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gedd/32/4938_2.png) [@Gedd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gedd)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/49 "2018-05-16T16:09:29Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Sorry; perhaps I could have phrased that better. Obviously it’s normal for NC; that’s where they do it. I was inquiring if this was normal _for teachers_, regardless of which state they are employed in. IIRC you didn’t have to pay in Ohio. We moved to NC and my wife was . . . Surprised ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/50 "2018-05-16T16:30:36Z")
[Aerial view of the NC protest](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/996773674341449728) ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/51 "2018-05-16T17:15:51Z")
> [@RTFirefly](#): > > [Aerial view of the NC protest](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/996773674341449728) :eek: Wow! That’s an awesome crowd! Good job, NC teachers! ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Ace](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/6bbea6/32.png) [@Johnny\_Ace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Ace)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/52 "2018-05-16T18:53:58Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I am on the bus to Raleigh! > > As for the deduction, teachers get three personal days per year, to take off for any reason . If we take a personal day on a day where students are in class, a substitute teacher is required, and we pay $50 towards the cost of that substitute. Go teachers! My sister is pulling for you too. (She’s a special ed teacher.) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/53 "2018-05-16T20:42:06Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > That’s lame as hell. Fuck that. Get that stupid clause out of your contract. I’m not aware of any other job where a sick person has to defray their employer’s costs because they’re sick. That’s just ridiculous. First, we don’t get to negotiate our contracts. That’s part of being in a right to work state. Second, sick days are different from personal days, and do not have a deduction for taking one. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/54 "2018-05-16T20:43:52Z")
Back on the bus, wet and tired and exhilarated. What a day! I’ll try to give some afterthoughts later. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/55 "2018-05-16T20:55:50Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > First, we don’t get to negotiate our contracts. That’s part of being in a right to work state. Second, sick days are different from personal days, and do not have a deduction for taking one. Are you forbidden by law from unionizing? I’d highly recommend it.\* Take control of your working conditions. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > Back on the bus, wet and tired and exhilarated. What a day! I’ll try to give some afterthoughts later. Huge props for how you spent your day! I’m proud of y’all! Very much looking forward to reading your account of the day and your thoughts on it all. \*I am a proud union member for 20 years now. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [May 16, 2018, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/56 "2018-05-16T21:25:30Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > … > > "This time last week, I thought I’d be the only person from my school going to Raleigh. … > > By Thursday afternoon, I’d heard a half-dozen teachers express interest; so I talked with my principal and gave him a heads-up. He was pleased. > > By Friday afternoon, I’d talked with nearly every teacher at our school, and nearly half the staff had put in for a personal day. > > By Monday evening, our district’s school board, voicing approval for the rally, decided to call a workday. Our school had something like three times as many teachers putting in for leave as other schools, proportionally. > > At last count, a little less than half the students in North Carolina will not be in school on May 16–districts are closing like gangbusters. … > [@RTFirefly](#): > > [Aerial view of the NC protest](https://twitter.com/ABCPolitics/status/996773674341449728) Well, Fuckin-A! Congratulations on the turnout!! ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 17, 2018, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/57 "2018-05-17T21:23:09Z")
> [@](#): > > Quoth **Snowboarder Bo** : > > Are you forbidden by law from unionizing? I’d highly recommend it. I think he mentioned on the first page that they are. Which is all the more reason to highly recommend it. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 10:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/58 "2018-05-18T10:59:30Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think he mentioned on the first page that they are. Which is all the more reason to highly recommend it. Collective bargaining by public sector unions is illegal in some sense, although I’m not sure whether it’s actually criminalized, or just that nobody from administration is allowed to sit down across from a union rep to negotiate contracts. As it currently stands, the only negotiation that happens over our contracts is between the Republican House leader and the Republican Senate leader. Striking is a class 1 misdemeanor, punishable by something like 120 days in jail and a $10,000 fine. These are decades-old laws, and given our state’s political culture right now, changing them would almost certainly involve some major civil disobedience, including jail time for a lot of folks. From where I stand, I don’t see that happening right now: we need to change our elected leaders before there’s a chance of changing these laws. As for the rally–it was hugely inspirational, and now I, and a lot of folks, are trying to figure out the best next moves. The chant that I hope has the most sticking power: “Remember, Remember, We Vote in November.” Election day is November 6, and it’s not a state holiday. Some school systems have it off, and others don’t; ours has it as an early release day (students leave at noon or one), with professional development in the afternoon. I’m advocating for another, similar action on November 6: I want teachers to put in a personal leave request for election day, put it in by the end of August so that local administrations can change it to an annual leave day early on. And then I want the 19,000-30,000 teachers who rallied on Wednesday to put their red back on, go to their local precincts, smile at the parents of the kids they’ve taught, and hand them pro-public-education voter guides. It’s easy for folks to demonize this movement when it’s a bunch of activists seen from a distance. It’ll be harder, I think, when it’s Mrs. Jefferson, who taught their daughter in third grade, talking with them about funding schools. ---
**Author:** ![Ionizer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/5daacb/32.png) [@Ionizer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ionizer)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/59 "2018-05-18T15:18:52Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > snip > > As for the rally–it was hugely inspirational, and now I, and a lot of folks, are trying to figure out the best next moves. The chant that I hope has the most sticking power: “Remember, Remember, We Vote in November.” > > snip **LHOD** , fwiw, my niece is a (middle-school) teacher in east OK, and went through (and heavily supported) all the Okie-teacher strike stuff. I visited the crowd a couple times, and it was so nice seeing the teachers ‘kicking butt, taking names’. Was really cool seeing the “ladies in black” doing their march into Capitol (lots of attorneys garbed in caps and gowns gathering amidst pomp and circumstance) to show the legal aspect that was soon to arrive). Teachers even waited at places where Gov Fallin was to visit to keep it ‘in her face’. Them teachers were highly motivated to say the least! Talked to niece a week or two ago, and she told me that around 80+ seats of State govt are being challenged by teachers or those who strong back teachers. It ain’t over yet 🙂 Good luck w/ your State! ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [May 18, 2018, 3:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887/60 "2018-05-18T15:35:54Z")
> [@Ionizer](#): > > Talked to niece a week or two ago, and she told me that around 80+ seats of State govt are being challenged by teachers or those who strong back teachers. It ain’t over yet 🙂 > > Good luck w/ your State! Thanks! For the first time in a really long times, Dems are fielding a candidate in every district. We want nowhere to be a safe district for Republicans. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nc-teachers-this-time-its-personal/813887.md?page=4)