Every #teacher knows they work far more than 40 hours a week. This reality is evident from the cars parked at the school after hours and on weekends, teachers grading papers during school basketball games, responding to emails and phone calls outside of the workday, or the time spent as coaches and activity sponsors after school. While most teacher contracts span 180 days, their pay is distributed over 12 months. If teachers are fortunate, their work hours are defined in their collective bargaining agreement or contract. Unfortunately, most agreements lack this information, allowing districts to make extra demands on teachers after school hours for staff meetings, required special education meetings, or to support students needing help with specific content.
It's common for teachers to be asked to stay after their typical workday. As a beginning teacher, I experienced this firsthand. The school where I worked had weekly staff meetings after school hours, often lasting over an hour. These meetings were far from productive after a long day of teaching and frequently led to additional weekly meetings to work on curriculum, grade-level assessments, or various required committees. Many of these meetings could have been handled via email, rarely resulting in shared decision-making opportunities.
This practice has persisted in the teaching profession for over 25 years.
One of my principals when I was a beginning teacher at the time was especially ineffective at running meetings, rarely providing a clear agenda. Consequently, discussions typically ended in indecision and confusion. On one occasion, she decided we needed to conduct a school-wide assessment of the K-5 #curriculum during the school year. She wanted everyone involved, avoiding pushing it to the summer months when only a select few might be available. Predictably, this meeting was scheduled after #school hours. We anticipated a long meeting and voiced our concerns, as some of us had children in daycare that required pickup by a specific time, incurring additional costs for any delays.
When we raised our concerns, she offered us pizza as compensation. Yes, pizza! There was no offer of overtime pay or even altering the school calendar to provide time off in exchange. We were expected to work for pizza. Pizza didn't cover my childcare costs. Given that our contract hours were not clearly outlined in our negotiated agreement, it was within her purview to make such a request and enforce it. We were informed that failure to attend would result in disciplinary action. This was not just a matter of inconvenience; it was a matter of fairness and respect for our profession.
As you can imagine, this did nothing to improve #workplaceculture. What other profession compensates employees with food for their time? We felt demoralized and disrespected, left with the decision of disciplinary action or extra work for pizza. Neither option was truly a choice. This expectation remains typical in many school districts today. Some teachers are beginning to negotiate pay for overtime work, but that is case-dependent. Teaching, a predominantly female profession, may contribute to this inequity compared to other professions. Requiring any employee to work for food seems like a bad prank rather than reality. This is concerning given that "being overworked and underpaid" is a significant reason teachers cite for leaving the profession.
According to federal regulations, teachers are exempt from overtime pay under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if they work more than 40 hours a week, regardless of whether they earn less than the FLSA salary threshold or are compensated hourly. Teachers are paid differently than other professions, with many earning below the FLSA threshold. This policy restriction contributes to the #genderpaygap.
The nation's largest teachers union, the #NEA, has repeatedly urged the federal government to remove this exception, yet it remains in place as of 2024. Unlike teachers, other professions such as doctors and lawyers, who are also exempt from overtime pay, earn substantially higher salaries. The NEA highlighted in a 2023 letter that the median salary for doctors was approximately $229,300, and for lawyers, it was $135,740; teachers lag far behind with a median salary of $66,397. This stark disparity underscores the pressing need for equitable treatment and #faircompensationforeducators.
The Economic Policy Institute estimated that of the 6.5 million teachers who meet the standard in the FLSA regulations, over 1.5 million teachers would be directly impacted if the exemption were removed. These 1.5 million teachers, whether hourly or salaried, earn less than the weekly threshold for overtime eligibility ($684 per week). Despite working more than 40 hours per week, they do not currently qualify for overtime pay due to this regulation. This policy undervalues teachers’ dedication and hard work, placing them at a significant disadvantage compared to other professions.
Although I am no longer a classroom teacher, I remain deeply involved in education. I have helped many school districts negotiate extra duty pay, particularly for special education teachers. Reflecting on my experiences as a beginning teacher, it's no wonder I left the profession, as many others are doing today. Change is possible. The federal government should remove this exemption and increase school funding to cover the additional costs. School districts that want to retain their highly qualified teachers could offer better work protections without teachers having to push for them to be outlined in their negotiated agreement or contract. School districts are already struggling to find teachers, and the power balance is shifting away from leaders toward employees. Teachers, now is your time. #Dontworkforpizza!
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