, the federal teachers unions. it's an extraordinary conflict of interest and it's a problem and should be addressed. allowing teachers to strike on matters such as their compensation, i think is a right that exists in this country. but i do believe we have to have a recognition of the person sitting across the table is representing the public and the students, not the teachers union. >> another issue that came out of chicago, governor, in your view, what portion of a teachers' salary should be determined by test scores? >> i don't know that there's a fixed percentage, but i do believe that there should be some connection between the capacity of the teacher to move students grade level to grade level and their compensation. i saw a study that was done in boston where they looked at the students in a classroom and how many of those students actually improved a full grade by the end of the year, and there were some teachers that regularly moved virtually all of their students a full grade level or more. and there were

some think we haven't been popular of teachers unions, i'm a big proponent of charter schools for example. i get really frustrated when i hear teacher bashing as evidence of performance. what is actually true, if we have got a bad teacher, we should be able to train them to get better and if they can't get better, they should get fired. >> you thie u.s. spends just about as much money as any country per pupil. what are we spending our money on? >> we have got a very diverse country, compared to those smaller countries where all the kids are coming to school pretty well prepared, they're not hungry, they're not poor. in our country, we have got poor kids, some kids that have deep troubles at home and that affects performance, but there's no doubt that we can step up our game, so what i have embraced moving forward is let's hire 100,000 new math and science teachers. let's continue to focus on early childhood education, makes a big difference particularly for kids who are low income. part of our race to the top, one of the dropout factories out there, a couple of thousand schools where we k

we're joined by karen lewis, the president of the chicago teachers union, just came out of negotiations. their responses, what they have said, what this meant for the teachers as well as parents and students. what has been fascinating watching this from afar and then coming to chicago, is the level of support you had. even the kids were out and teachers were scrambling, overall, the support from the committee. >> we have been working on that for quite some time. before we ever gained office of the union, we worked very hard against the school closings that have been going on. we have reached out into the community, worked with parents and students -- when you build relationships like that, it just grows. the whole idea to us of a union movement in school means you have to have all the stakeholders there. and that is something that has been missing, i think, from people in general across the country. unionism has soared have been like the school system, very top down -- has sort of been like the school system, very top down. the gentleman you spoke to our on our bargaining team. we had m

the leadership of the teachers' union are teachers, not union bosses. ren lewis is a national board certified teacher. she teaches and has been teaching chemistry at martin luther king high school on the south side of chicago. she is well known by students, former students, other teachers. she is loved as a teacher. she is part of the rank-and-file educators, a new caucus there really came on the scene just about four or five years ago. but because the previous leadership of the chicago teachers union was really not challenging this whole agenda, they fought the school closings are happening every single year in chicago, fought for teachers who were laid off, and rank-and- file teachers simply had enough of these policies after observing the punishment for 15 years, overwhelmingly, elected karen and the other leadership team from the caucus. i do have to say also that karen has been incredibly courageous. she has been vilified often in the media, and has stood very firm and in a principled way to fight for the schools. >> talk about what this means for t

and the head of the national teachers union said at one point, we don't care about kids, we care about the teachers. that's their right. but the people who are on the school boards and the parents, they're the people that have the primary interest in the kids. by the way, there may be politicians that don't get it right but i believe you have to recognize that a union has a different constituency than the parents have. and the people elected to represent the kids whether doing a good job or not i don't know. i can tell you this jeb bush stood up to the teachers unions in florida and that made a difference and arne duncan by standing up for the kids, has made a difference. i believe that we simply -- we simply can't have a setting where the teachers unions are able to contribute tens of millions of dollars to the campaigns of politicians and then those politicians when elected stand across from them at the bargaining table supposedly to represent the interest of the kids. i think it's a mistake and we got to get the money out of the teachers unions go into campaigns. we have to separate

here are the results. 31% said theayor. 56% said the teachers union. when the question was asked only to people in the city who have dsn the blchoo, th gap was wider. 22% said mayor bloomberg. 69% said the union. more than three to one. this underscores how off base mitt romney is when it comes to the perception of teachers unions in america. mitt romney is so confused on this issue he actually made the case for the teachers in chicago todain intvi >> education is done at the state level. the federal government provides funding for special needs unions in america. mitt romney is so confused on this issue he actually made the case for the teachers in chicago today in the interview. >> education is done at the state level. thfederal government provides funding for special needs students. >> it's just that easy, right? one of the main reasons the teachers went on strike for the first time in 25 years was because of resources and the lack of resources in the classroom. it's different throughout the city. ey c't afford to cut to federal and state funding. th

. >> the teachers union has a responsibility to care for the interests of the teachers. >> former governor howard dean and atlanta mayor react to mitt romney's educated mess. >>> scott walker and paul ryan come out against union busting. eugene robinson and bill roden on why the nfl gets what it paid for. and on national voter registration day, ten million latino voters are in danger of being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing the election to mitt romney. being disenfranchised. we'll bring you the shocking details of a new report that could swing the election to mitt romney. >> good to have you with us. thanks for watching. americans are up in arms after a blown call in a football game. it's amazing what gets the country's attention. the nfl is in a labor mess because millionaires are trying to save a little money by busting the referee's union. i'll have more to say about this in a few moments. >>> but today we learned what kind of labor issue we will have on our hands if mitt romney is president. it will affect the future of education i

it's not just related to teachers unions. it relatesore broadly. but people are able to give -- in the case of the democratic party, i don't mn to be , in case of the democratic party, the largest contributors to the democratic party are the teachersunions. and so if they can elect someone, then that person is supposed to be representinghe public vis-a-vis the teachers union, but actlly most ofhe iomem ter it's an extraordinary conflict of interest. that's something that should be address addressed. but allowing them to stre on matters such as compensation is un b to beliedo believe the person across the table is representing the public and udents. not the union. >> and another issue that came out of chicago, in your view, what pcentage of a teacher's salary should be determined by test scores? >> dwri don't know that there ia fircge i do believe there should be some connection between the capacity of the teacher to move students grade level to grade level and their compensation. and how you measure that i'm sure we could learn from the experiences

they believe in teachers unions. in teachers. >> the they, of course, he's talking about there, obama administration officials. bill, does a romney administration have any shot at genuine school reform if it antagonizes union leaders? >> yes, it does, not if it antagonizes all the teachers, but that's the distinction that chris christie's making. and increasingly, christine, that's the distinction the public's making, between teachers who can be good or bad or in the middle and teachers unions, which for the most part have been inhibiting any serious kind of education reform. ronald reagan won a majority of teachers. more teachers voted for ronald reagan than walter mondale, and this could happen again if people see the future of education in somewhat different and unconventional terms. it does require a change. it does require reform. but i think it's an appealing reform. there are states, like new jersey, where let's give chris christi credit, but let's give some of the union leadership credit, too, where they came

teachers unions are to blameor th educational system. president obama entered a counterpoint. >> i think governor romney and a number of folks try to politicize the issue and do a lot of teacher bashing. when i meet teachers across the country, they are so devoted and de dedicated to their kids. >> devoted, devotion, loving their profession. that's what teachers are about, but romney didn't say anything like that. they are the problem. many of romney's answers were superficial. one of his big solutions for education reform is aewne that whave bnal a for 70 years p parental involvement. >> i'd love to see parents very much evoed in evaluating the success of schools. if parent rs show up at parent/teach nightkids are waen stepped up with a question, romney wasn't too happy with the parent's involvement. >> new york city the parents here support the union to otect our kids three to one over the mor and t chll ths me this is coming from a poll of parents. >> i don't believe it for a minute. i know something about polls, and i know you can ask

the unions have had a lot of power for many years and they don't want to give it up and the teacher unions there to protect it. it's just like corporations are there to make profits and unions are there to protect the members. >> mike, that's just not true. we know in montgomery county, maryland, where they do self-police they actually increased because if you're a fourth-grade teacher and you have a terrible third grade colleague you want that teacher out of there, but in any profession, a true profession, you police yourself and that's what -- >> there are so many laws about true professions, doctors, lawyers. i have a true profession that doesn't work. how about the football and the center and the guards and the tackles and they're going to be in charge of all holding calls or face mask calls or clipping calls. do you think that would work or do you think we need referees, dick allenberg? >> of course, we need referees in football and the analogy is completely inappropriate. in lots of counties, we see teachers who are able to police themselves and fire the bad ones. that's what we wan

>> the teachers' union in chicago, i don't think has the approach that randi weingarter does. i think she's on the right track. namely, we need to have this multiple evaluation. we ought to involve teachers in designing the system. but we ought to do it and do it quickly and get those kids back in school in chicago. >> right. unfortunately, i'm sorry to interrupt, roy. i think that's whapg at the bargaining table now. but why did it take a strike deadline to do that? these folks have been bargaining for months and months and months. in the last few days i've seen real progress. i've been monitoring it a lot. on the phone all last weekend. no one wants a strike. a strike hurts everyone. but we want to make sure we get it right for kids. that's what the chicago unions is... >> brown: roy roamer, you've been on the political side of this as well. is there a political shift underway? i mean, you can't help but think about this in the midst of the campaign. here we have the democratic demc mayor rahm emmanuel. the unions have been allies of the democratic party. here's a fight. >> t

he took a huge risk in doing it. >> is this about teacher qualifications? the union says it's not. >> it is also about teacher ability. you tried really accountability -- to try to bring in accountability. it's inevitable. there are some things you have to take on. look at the performance of the school system. it is a school system that is run by arne duncan. he was in charge of that school system. >> chicago teachers make $76,000 per year. but the average earner in chicago earns $47,000 per year. you get people earning x amount paying teachers who make 50% more and who were offered a 16% increase in salary and yet went on strike precisely because they do not want to be held accountable. i think rahm is right. and i hope he clenches this by sending the head of the teachers' union a dead fish. that often works in situations like this. >> we're here for one thing -- to let the governor and republican legislators know that the voter i.d. is wrong, based on a lie. >> president of the philadelphia naacp. the supreme court of pennsylvania hearing arguments against the new

the two main issues are how teachers are evaluated is the big one according to the teachers union. acher evaluations tied to test scores. they are very worried that up to 6,000 teachers over the next year or two could lose their jobs if these new evaluations go into lays. the city of chicago says they don't know where that number comes from. but they're still discussing that issue. also rahm emanuel wants local principals to have more control of the hiring decisions in individual schools. he says the top performing schools in the strict are those that give that local control to the local principals. the teachers union wants more of that control centralized. that's what our understanding is of the main issues that are still being talked about right now, martin. >> well, beyond the lack of learning, this is a real problem for working parents. what are parents doing with their kids? >> well, it's been a very, very difficult situation. behind me is a school that's one of 140 or so schools throughout the city of chicago that was open temporarily this morning fo parents who had child care

soon after the start of the first- ever teacher's strike hear a parent protest of this protest ... >>a handful of parents confronted these unionting >>it's a competitive market i think these unions ought to try to negotiate in a more meaningful way with the school board then with a strike putting the kids out of school isn't the way the kids are in class is here at this high school and the teachers' plan to pick it until they get a new contract they agreed to a pay freeze last year so now they want a 5.6 percent pay hike the school board are first to 0.6% based on the consumer price index ... >>the demands from the union are unreasonable we cannot sustain three times the cpi in the first year or twice the cpi in years to or in year three ... the average annual salary as over hundred thousand dollars here and the union says it's necessary in such a highly competitive school district schooling top-flight students requires top teachers and salaries to be competitive >>we have teachers here who are 99% at a master's degree level ... the negotiation process according to both sides has been slow ... this slot strike may go for quite

politically, it's huge because the teacher unions historically have helped democrats get elected. obama is putting at risk is support from the teachers' union. >> they are helping him. >> if this strike went on and really had to take a position, he would risk losing a lot of unions. rahm emmanuel is a hero on this. things in chicago were a joke. they had a very short school year. the teachers needed to get in the real world on that. he is a hero. >> this is not about teacher qualifications. >> it is also about teacher caugaccountability. it is inevitable. it is the case in the nation's capital and elsewhere. look at the performance of the school system. there is a large percentage of kids to do not complete school in chicago. the school system was run by arne duncan, now the secretary of vacation. he was in charge of that school system. >> are caught the teachers make on average $76,000 per year. he wants longer school days and a longer school year. >> the average earner in chicago earns $47,000 per year. you get people earning x amount paid teachers who make 50% more and who were

. >> >> teacher union president says it is not there to catch a teacher's job and her lively had to standardized tests especially when we're talking about the portion of children who face difficult challenges are come from broken homes ... >> but the test scores are just part of the evaluation process only 25 to 35 percent of the press decision regarding a teacher's performance ... >> they want flexibility in the right to hire the teachers they need to help their students other teacher pay increases have been reportedly resolved with a base salary increases of the next four years money is still a major issue the school district projects and nearly $3 billion budget deficit over the next three years in the school board president says there is no avoiding the state financial shortfall ... >> >> i think it is only 25 are 30 percent of the entire of a valuation is based on the test scores another 10 percent is based on student feedback and 50% on conservation and evaluation is not exclusively test scores ... >> he is commenting on the issue of test scores and now it is tied to teacher evaluations th

the teachers union joins us for the latest. >>> public school teachers continue their strike in the cityhicago. the teachers union and school board officials failed to hammer out a contract on day two of the strike. a spokeswoman for the teachers union said today there's still a considerable way to go. meanwhile, new polling is looking good for the teachers. 47% of voters support the strike while only 39% oppose it. a number of major issues are still on the table. however, teacher evaluations appear to be the hot issue. mayor rahm emanuel and the school board want teachers evaluated on the student's standardized test scores. teachers argue the new system is very unreliable. it's unfairly targeting teachers in struggling neighborhoods because outside issues harm students' test scores like violence and hunger in the home life. the system is so flawed, professor professors sent the mayor a letter warning against it. critics say this is a plot by rahm emanuel and the school board to make a move towards more charter schools. he's stepped all over the teachers of chicago. he's cancelled their

she is the president of the chicago teachers union. we'll talk about where the negotiations stand. >>> now to the race for the white house. and with 58 days until election day, the campaigns are taking different approaches to getting out their message on this sunday. republican nominee mitt romney and his running mate paul ryan will leave the campaign trail and instead turn to the airwaves. both men will be guests on several sunday talk shows. >>> there's no rest for their democratic rivals who have headed straight from the party's national convention to hit the campaign trail. today president obama will continue his tour of florida with stops in melbourne and west palm beach. vice president biden will head to ohio for stops in portsmouth and milford. >>> and by the way, you can get up close and a personal look at the two men vowing to hold the country's future in their hands. find out what barak obama and mitt romney are really like beginning at 8:00. profiles the republican presidential nominee in "romney revealed: family, faith, and

won't give it to them. >> first not my teachers' union. i'm a parent, not a teacher. if you ask any an expert in this area including the national academy of sciences whom i hope you trust, larry, they say this evaluation system is not ready for primetime and will lead to very good teachers being fired. that's the last thing kids of chicago need at this point. >> we will leave it there. you can catch me on wls radio thursday mornings with don and roma, and on the weekends for my syndicated show. next up on kudlow, as america honor honors 9/11, armed hooligans storm egypt and desecrating and tearing down the american flag. tonight, we will respect the flag and honor it with our very special guest, the man who informed president bush of the attacks on that fateful day, former chief of staff, andy card. we never forget 9/11. you should always remember, america is about freedom and free market capitalism is america's best path to prosperity. never forget 9/11. i'm larry kudlow. we'll be right back. i don't spend money on gasoline. i don't have t

john tillman of the policy institute has been studying the illinois teacher's union and other unions. it is hard to fire a teacher. i assume they are all up to speed. they a >> they are all equal, john. there is what i like to call the union sealiceiling. they are in the classroom with a teacher who is below par what parents would like is to be able to identify the teachers who are exceptional and reward them with merit pay. that's not what the unions want they want everybody treated the same even though we knew they are different. >> if it were more of a market their spending is 13,000 per student. the best teachers might make 300,000 bucks a year. >> the special teachers who take kids out of a poor neighborhood in chicago would be greatly rewarded. with the teacher's union strike they are calling for lack of ask the ability and lack of measurement. there is no parent at the negotiating table in chicago. >> i have to believe most of the teachers want to do the right thing. they want more for sthemselves. i don't think the public knows this. the average age of america. chicago teacher

bad, break the unions, teachers unions are the problem here. you look at the ten states that have no binding collective bargaining, no unionization at all among teachers, they have far worse achievement results than all the states that have high union density. the ten states with the highest achievement, nine out of ten are unions. the teachers unions are not what makes the difference here. what really matters is what goes on inside the school and what goes on outside the school in the larger community. >> steve, what about that? how does this differ with other teachers' strikes you've seen? >> well, i think first of all, the most important thing is what the teachers union in chicago keeps trying to do is basically make every excuse for not being evaluated. he basically gave their talking points. the idea poverty has something to do with the fact that you can't -- you can't use test scores is something that the people who designed these teacher evaluation systems 20 years ago thought of right away. these teacher evaluation systems take kids, te

john tillman of the policy institute has been studying the illinois teacher's union and other unions. it is hard to fire a teacher. i assume they are all up to speed. they a >> they are all equal, john. there is what i like to call the union sealiceiling. they are in the classroom with a teacher who is below par what parents would like is to be able to identify the teachers who are exceptional and reward them with merit pay. that's not what the unions want they want everybody treated the same even though we knew they are different. >> if it were more of a market their spending is 13,000 per student. the best teachers might make 300,000 bucks a year. >> the special teachers who take kids out of a poor neighborhood in chicago would be greatly rewarded. with the teacher's union strike they are calling for lack of ask the ability and lack of measurement. there is no parent at the negotiating table in chicago. >> i have to believe most of the teachers want to do the right thing. they want more for sthemselves. i don't think the public knows this. the average age of america. chicago teacher

can you love your teacher and hate their union? president and his opponent both support paying teachers for their performance not seniority. they both support charter schools. both parties want education reform. the gop is more likely to say unions are standing in the way of that reform. i wonder what the president of the nation's largest teachers union thinks about that. the president of the nea joins me now. good morning, sir. thanks for joining us. dennis -- >> thank you for having me. >> are you losing sleep at all over the thought of a president promises? >> well, you know, governor romney has a very different for america than president obama disenfranchisement -- president obama does. our educators believe in president obama's vision for america. when you listen to prime minister romney he believes students should have all the education they can afford or if you're having trouble with higher education, ask your parents for a loan. he's really disconnected with most of the families we deal and students. >> this is a tough time

let's bring in karen lewis, president of the chicago teachers union.iations to join us tonight. karen, any progress? what's the latest? >> there's been some movement on the scores. we were having problems with it. we were able to show them where there were some real major flaws that a person could actually be quite okay and actually good as a teacher and still get a flawed e evaluation. look, we want people to understand that the evaluation system that we currently have is flawed too. we don't like it. it doesn't help us improve. and what we're looking for is an evaluation system that gives us the feedback we need to get better and to improve, but also gives us an opportunity to work towards helping children go in a different direction than just test problems. >> but what you have in chicago are neighborhoods that have schools that just don't have the resources that other schools have, which puts double the pressure on the teachers to be able to produce the product that's going to score well on the test. do i have that right? >> yes, but in addition is

the teachers union. a monday strike may be looming >> live at teachers union headquarters where we are expecting to hear from leadership and about one hour >> the public school teachers could soon be walking off the job. we will learn more in about one hour >> teachers were getting their uniforms ready today in the event to form picket lines in the morning.. they're going on 10 hours 9 andnow today... there will be a 10:00 p.m. press conference. the school board president said last night there is a proposal and that both sides were close. they said there was progress but not by a dramatic nature. the mayor has not been directly involved. teachers make on averaged $71,000 a year, days say they deserve more. if the teachers strike it will be the first time since 1987. >> no official word yet from cp hass. working parents are extremely concerned tonight about child care for tamaraomorrow. >> if there is a strike chicago teachers union members and their supporters plan to hold a big rally tomorrow afternoon

teachers the enemy. but they should be what makes children more successful. [applause] john: the union says it is not just about money. they don't think this system is fair to get students whose parents don't care and the teachers that struggle are unfairly judged. >> this is what is shameful. the unions blame the hard chips on the students. no question but the point* that the mayor was making you want to identify this teachers and move them farther and faster. that is what the union would tries to avoid. >> let's go back to the union rally. john: i was pleased most protesters were simple. we had an argument that kennedy had a different experience maybe she proposed the employer bill of rights. >> i felt lonely. i drafted something to protect business under. >> to hire and fire. >> she spent more time than i did it was fine until she tried to get workers to sign her petition. >> data maybe enough as it is. >> why don't you want to build america? john: that siren came from the union member at as a response to drown her out to. >> are you kidding me? [laughter] john: what was that about?

romney gets the white house. >>> and new polling says the people of chicago support their teachers. their unionsident joins me tonight for an exclusive interview. ...you see they all have something very interesting in common. they have teachers... ...with a deeper knowledge of their subjects. as a result, their students achieve at a higher level. let's develop more stars in education. let's invest in our teachers... ...so they can inspire our students. let's solve this. everyone in the nicu, all the nurses wanted to watch him when he was there 118 days. everything that you thought was important to you changes in light of having a child that needs you every moment. i wouldn't trade him for the world. who matters most to you says the most about you. massmutual is owned by our policyholders so they matter most to us. if you're caring for a child with special needs, our innovative special care program offers strategies that can help. i was talking to my best friend. i told her i wasn't feeling like myself... i had pain in my pelvic area... and bleeding that wasn't normal for me. she said i had to g

the teachers union says it relies much too heavily on standardized test scores and it could cost 6,000 two. the school district says that's not true. they don't believe those numbers. but here's why the teachers union says this new evaluation program is unfair. >> the children go into school with different learning capacities, different levels of educational preparedness. i work at a magnet school. of course, if they decided they were going to give merit pay, they might give me a tremendous increase but my colleagues who work at schools with tremendous socioeconomic conditions, those people might be considered failures. they have been considered failures. >> much of the anger has been on chicago mayor rahm emanuel who has so far not been directly involved in these negotiations. it is no secret that mayor emanuel and teachers union president karen lewis do not get along very well. still, the mayor is trying to distance himself from this controversy or at least him being the focus of the union's anger. here's what he had to say about that. >> the focus i want is on them. i want it on our

in president of the american federation of teachers, the chicago teachers' national union, wrote and e . . . weingarten, the president of the american federation of teachers, the chicago teachers' national union. randi, thank for joining us. >> it's always great to be with you, eliot. >> eliot: thank you. you did reform late the education conversation with the strike. explain what you wanted to do and what you think you accomplished? >> no one wants a strike, and a strike is to be avoided virtually at all no one goes into a strike willingly. but what happened in chicago was there has been 15 years of closing schools and teaching to the test as opposed to teaching children, so parents and the educators, together -- that's why parents supported the strike by a two to three to one basis, talked about how we need the tools for teachers, and resources for kids, so we make every single school in chicago a school where parents want to send their kids and educators want to work. a school where kids actually get prepared for the world that they are about to face rather than being a test score.

teachers' unions won't let you. why can't you get good physics and math teachers? because you cannot pay the same for the physics and math teacher and that skill set is much more needed in the private sector. as you pay for physical english teacher i'm not besmirching them because for the english teachers' but in the private sector the skills but is not as in demand because they will allow you to. you can't reward the teachers with bonuses. they won't allow you to. you get paid by the number of degrees. these are union rules. these are not established for our children. they are not even established to do the best of the members. it's the best for growing the teachers' union. i love this quote from albert chancre and some people say he didn't and some say that he did but it really tells you that when they give you a feel for what this is all about, when schoolchildren start paying dues that is what we will represent. next question yes, sir. >> david with the heritage foundation. in terms of how we can undo this, can you give a crash history of how we've gotten to th

teachers unions across the country watched the strike for guidance on how they should proceed in their own districts. dr. avis jones-deweever will this change the status of education in this country? >> i don't think it's like alone will change the status. but create a situation where we can look highway teachers, unions, government in general can create better educational opportunities for all of our children. >> sadly, no, there's still no market in education we don't have a system to encourage innovation or reward results. >> politics -- education is really so localized and i think that's one of the problems is that there aren't enough systems to sort of do best practices across the country and so what happens in chicago is not necessarily relevant for what happens in washington. never the twain meet in education. >> no. unfortunately this strike was not for the best interests of the chicago children who have graduating high school at 60%. it was for those teachers who are the third highest paid teachers in the country. i think that's ashame. >> yet the majority they polled parents