Free Daily Headlines :

  • COVID-19
  • Vaccine Info
  • Money
  • Politics
  • Education
  • Health
  • Justice
  • More
    • Environment
    • Economic Development
    • Gaming
    • Investigations
    • Social Services
    • TRANSPORTATION
  • Opinion
    • CT Viewpoints
    • CT Artpoints
DONATE
Reflecting Connecticut’s Reality.
    COVID-19
    Vaccine Info
    Money
    Politics
    Education
    Health
    Justice
    More
    Environment
    Economic Development
    Gaming
    Investigations
    Social Services
    TRANSPORTATION
    Opinion
    CT Viewpoints
    CT Artpoints

LET�S GET SOCIAL

Show your love for great stories and out standing journalism

New union advertisement attacks Malloy, complicate chances of agreement

  • by Jacqueline Rabe Thomas
  • April 13, 2012
  • View as "Clean Read" "Exit Clean Read"

The state’s largest teachers’ union launched a new wave of TV and radio advertisements Friday, calling Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s plans for education reform a “bad science experiment” that “is sure to explode.”

The 43,000-member Connecticut Education Association has played a critical role in persuading state legislators not to move forward on key components of Malloy’s education proposals. The legislature’s Education and Appropriations committees two weeks ago both significantly minimized Malloy’s initiatives, focusing particularly on plans to tie teacher tenure and salary increases to performance evaluations.

“The legislature is getting it right,” the 32-second TV advertisement says, laying out three components of the new version of the bill the union helped craft, intertwined with the CEA logo. “Tell your legislators to keep working to get it right. We don’t need a bad experiment.”

cea ad

New union advertisement that began airing Friday

Lawmakers have said they hope the unions and the administration can come to some agreement, but this advertisement is not likely the peace offering necessary to get the groups talking again.

“The problem’s been that the leadership of CEA hasn’t been trying to represent teachers; they’ve been representing themselves, said Roy Occhiogrosso, Malloy’s senior adviser.

“They’ve consistently misinformed their members because they’re afraid if teachers learn what’s actually in the governor’s package they’ll be supportive,” he said, in response to questions about the advertisement. “For reasons only they understand, the leadership of CEA is defending a status quo that is indefensible to everyone…except them.”

But the minute-long radio advertisement asserts that the union is representing teachers and that Malloy continues to be tone deaf to their concerns, despite having hosted a dozen town halls across the state where teachers have come out in force.

“Now if the governor would only listen,” the woman in the radio advertisement says.

The advertisements were put together by Wild Bunch Media, a Washington D.C. based political advertising firm that has a reputation of going after Republicans and creating media spots for Democratic causes and candidates.

Mary Loftus Levine, the executive director of the CEA, would not disclose how much her union plans to spend airing this advertisement, but she said that the decision was made to go after Malloy because he has not backed down on his destructive plans for education.

“We are really tired of hearing about unproven ideas that are basically backed by special interest groups and are extremely detrimental to teachers and kids,” she said. “The whole argument that he’s making is so disingenous.”

Loftus Levine said no one from the administration has reached out to the union to meet, and there is nothing scheduled.

“We’re still waiting for a call back from the governor’s office,” she said. “I don’t think the governor is really interested in talking with us now, because if he were he wouldn’t have been out for the past two weeks bashing teachers.”

Asked by email if there’s a chance that the administration would be coming to an agreement with the union or if the two sides would be meeting anytime soon, Occhiogrosso shrugged off plans or attempts to set up a meeting.

“There are no formal talks planned for now,” he said.

Sign up for CT Mirror's free daily news summary.

Free to Read. Not Free to Produce.

The Connecticut Mirror is a nonprofit newsroom. 90% of our revenue comes from people like you. If you value our reporting please consider making a donation. You'll enjoy reading CT Mirror even more knowing you helped make it happen.

YES, I'LL DONATE TODAY

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jacqueline Rabe Thomas

SEE WHAT READERS SAID

RELATED STORIES
Police task force seeks wider applicant pool for watchdog role
by Kelan Lyons

The task force sent four recommendations — and two that didn't get unanimous approval— to lawmakers for the 2021 session.

Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Vaccinations in nursing homes top 64,000; COVID cases are dropping rapidly among residents
by Dave Altimari

There were 238 COVID infections reported in nursing homes last week, down from 483 a few weeks ago.

Advocates call on state to improve response to vulnerable students
by Adria Watson

State child advocate Sarah Eagan and attorney Martha Stone want the state to do more for these students during COVID.

Support Our Work

Show your love for great stories and outstanding journalism.

$
Select One
  • Monthly
  • Yearly
  • Once
Artpoint painter
CT ViewpointsCT Artpoints
Opinion Miguel Cardona, who are you?
by Ann Policelli Cronin

When I ask Connecticut teachers about Miguel Cardona, those who know him or have worked with him say that he is really nice guy who knows what the challenges in our classrooms are, knows how to help teachers to improve their teaching, and respects public schools. All good. But what is his vision for teaching and learning that he will bring to the U.S. Department of Education?

Opinion Connecticut needs a strong two-party system, this Democrat says
by Edward Marcus

J.R. Romano’s recent resignation as the state’s Republican Party chair has brought into focus the need for a viable opposition party in Connecticut. It is not healthy politics when everything is totally controlled by one party:  the legislature, the governorship, and most of the major municipalities in our state.

Opinion Connecticut’s $100 million college shell game
by Stephen Adair

The plan to consolidate the 12 community colleges in Connecticut into one college with 12 campuses is called “Students First,” which is ironic because it does not fund students first.  It funds a new administration in a new, statewide bureaucracy. The Board of Regents (BOR) and the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities (CSCU) system office […]

Opinion Inconsistent television captioning is a barrier to equal access
by Jeffrey Bravin and Barbara Cassin

Our world long ago entered the age of the 24-hour news cycle, and a full understanding of the “who, what, when, where and why” of the news is critical for deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing citizens. Yet, Connecticut’s inconsistent quality of television captioning locks our community out of the complete sense of what is happening.

Artwork Grand guidance
by Anne:Gogh

In a world of systemic oppression aimed towards those of darker skintones – representation matters. We are more than our equity elusive environments, more than numbers in a prison and much more than victims of societal dispositions. This piece depicts a melanated young man draped in a cape ascending high above multiple forms of oppression. […]

Artwork Shea
by Anthony Valentine

Shea is a story about race and social inequalities that plague America. It is a narrative that prompts the question, “Do you know what it’s like to wake up in new skin?”

Artwork The Declaration of Human Rights
by Andres Chaparro

Through my artwork I strive to create an example of ideas that reflect my desire to raise social consciousness, and cultural awareness. Jazz music is the catalyst to all my work, and plays a major influence in each piece of work.”

Artwork ‘A thing of beauty. Destroy it forever’
by Richard DiCarlo | Derby

During times like these it’s often fun to revisit something familiar and approach things with a different slant. I have been taking some Pop culture and Art masterpieces and applying the vintage 1960’s and 70’s classic figures (Fisher Price, little people) to the make an amusing pieces. Here is my homage to Fisher -Price, Yellow […]

Twitter Feed
A Twitter List by CTMirror

Engage

  • Reflections Tickets & Sponsorships
  • Events
  • Donate
  • Newsletter Sign-Up
  • Submit to Viewpoints
  • Submit to ArtPoints
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Commenting Guidelines
  • Legal Notices
  • Contact Us

About

  • About CT Mirror
  • Announcements
  • Board
  • Staff
  • Sponsors and Funders
  • Donors
  • Friends of CT Mirror
  • History
  • Financial
  • Policies
  • Strategic Plan

Opportunity

  • Advertising and Sponsorship
  • Speaking Engagements
  • Use of Photography
  • Work for Us

Go Deeper

  • Steady Habits Podcast
  • Economic Indicator Dashboard
  • Five Things

The Connecticut News Project, Inc. 1049 Asylum Avenue, Hartford, CT 06105. Phone: 860-218-6380

© Copyright 2021, The Connecticut News Project. All Rights Reserved. Website by Web Publisher PRO