[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3742-3743]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                        NFL PLAYERS AND TEACHERS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. George Miller) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, the National Football 
League contract bargaining fight could teach an important lesson to the 
Governor of Wisconsin about how to ensure high-quality teachers in his 
State. When Governor Walker dictates that teachers will lose their 
collective bargaining rights except for negotiations

[[Page 3743]]

over pay, he shows how out of touch he is with the teaching profession, 
with school reform in America, and, frankly, with the American 
workplace.
  Having a voice at work has never been just about pay. It is about 
whether the American workplace will respect and nurture workers' 
skills, their abilities, and their ingenuity, or will it simply crush 
their spirits. It's about the total workplace and the ability of 
employees to utilize their talents and their time to the fullest 
extent, to be valued by and add value to the enterprise, whether that 
enterprise is a school, a factory, or an NFL team.
  Ask yourself this: If he could, would Governor Walker limit 
collective bargaining for the world champion Green Bay Packers to just 
questions of pay? If he tried, he would discover rapidly that in the 
world of millionaires, as in the world of teachers, it is not just 
about pay. It is about the quality of the job and the career.
  The Governor would quickly discover that, as important as pay is in 
the world of pro sports, an NFL player innately cares about the 
conditions of employment. He knows that his ability to get to that all-
important second contract is governed by more than just his talent. 
Will he have to play 16 or 18 games? What is the increased likelihood 
of concussions or other injuries that can end his career from an 
extended schedule or fewer practice games? Probably good for the 
wallet, but is it good for the player?
  The NFL owners who are worth $40 billion want the players to give 
back $1 billion, saying that they need it to improve and build new 
stadiums. Is that with or without the taxpayers' help? The players 
ought to find out.
  Yes, in the world of megastar athletes, pay is important, but the 
workplace dictates so many other important issues that NFL players must 
be concerned with if they are to reach their potential of the 
profession for which they have trained their whole lives.
  For many teachers, like athletes, their careers are their passion. 
Research tells us that a very significant number of teachers start 
thinking about a career in teaching while they're in middle school--not 
too different from athletes who start to get serious about their 
athletic futures. Like an athlete, the teacher's desire will not be 
enough to sustain his or her career.
  Other important elements are involved to ensure a teacher's success 
and the success of his or her students. How will teachers be supported 
in schools? What will be their access to meaningful professional 
development? Will teachers be given time to perfect lesson plans and 
presentations? Will he or she have a say in campus safety? Will they be 
included in the reform decisions that are made for the school and for 
the students?
  All over America school districts are changing the rules from the 
mere platitudes that teachers are the most important influence outside 
the home in the education of our children to really making it possible. 
Districts are soliciting teachers' views to improve both the learning 
and the teaching environment. It is happening in States and schools in 
tough unionized areas where some said it could never happen, and it 
will continue because it reflects what the new and current dedicated 
teachers view as a modern workplace, where results and outcomes matter 
to students, parents, teachers, and the community. It's not just about 
pay. Teachers advocate for our children. They advocate for our children 
when they are sick or troubled or when they're being bullied, when they 
need help learning.
  The Governor of Wisconsin's view of dictating and mandating without 
the say and collaboration that teachers want and expect in their 
careers is a broken model from the past and will not give students, 
parents, or our economy the results that our country needs as we enter 
the next generation of a highly competitive globalized economy.
  Many Americans may not care who wins between wealthy team owners and 
often highly paid NFL players, but no one is suggesting that the 
players should lose their right to collective bargaining on a wide 
range of issues and only be able to bargain just on pay.
  Governor Walker should stop attacking his State teachers and his 
public servants.

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