DHS school WAAAY behind on paychecks!

imamiri

Tue, May 01 2012, 4:05 pm

Fox wrote:

imamiri wrote:

OP is your DH part of the teacher's union? If so, have them contact their union rep and maybe a strike is in order.

Or consider notifying the labor department. It's illegal to withhold pay.

I believe the OP said he teaches in a yeshiva. Very few yeshivas have enough staff members to make it worthwhile to form a union, which is typically organized around a specific employer, such as a school district. Even if the staff were interested in such an alliance, the major teachers' unions would have little interest. While one can always join as an associate member, the union would have no bargaining rights in such a case.

Unfortunately, notifying the labor department would probably make things worse. From the OP's description, the school is not withholding pay -- they simply don't have it. Involving the government in such a situation is likely to result in closure and involuntary bankruptcy -- in which case the OP's husband is unlikely to ever get his money.

BTW, religious institutions in the U.S. are exempt from many of the labor laws that govern other businesses. This is a legacy not of Jewish day schools but of Roman Catholic schools, where the priests and nuns who taught were not necessarily compensated at market value (or at all, depending on the order).

Yes but these are priests and nuns. They are people with families to feed and mortgages/rent to pay.

I understand the union issue. Too bad because it could help them.

If the school is unable to pay for months and months on end, someone needs to look at the books. Obviously, something is going wrong with the accounting.

sky

Tue, May 01 2012, 4:51 pm

imamiri wrote:

Fox wrote:

imamiri wrote:

OP is your DH part of the teacher's union? If so, have them contact their union rep and maybe a strike is in order.

Or consider notifying the labor department. It's illegal to withhold pay.

Most likely parents aren't paying their tuition on time and because of the lousy economy their sources of fundraising are saying no.

there was a school in Lakewood that was having issues that caused the teachers not to be paid in a long time. They spoke to rabbanim and had a planned walk out. The administration in the school was completely changed after that and things got better.

allergypro

Tue, May 01 2012, 11:51 pm

OP your dh must work in the same school as I do! Seriously, WHAT are they thinking???? I don't understand why yeshivas get away with this! I don't know about anyone else, but my landlord, grocery, butcher, etc. all want to be paid promptly. I'm just trying to imagine the cc company's reaction if I would tell them "I'm sorry, maybe next week.....or month...)
As far as tutoring, I DO tutor. But it's soo hard to find jobs! There are many who inquire, but honestly, it would not be worth it for me to tutor under a certain price, and with the economy it's a steep price for a parent to pay. And I'm cheaper than a lot of tutors.
Something definitely needs to be done about this vicious cycle. If teachers don't get paid, we can't pay tuition. If parents don't pay tuition, teachers can't get paid.