Springfield MA Teachers Overpaid by $1.2 Million – A “Mistake” Gone Unnoticed from October 2010

From: WGGB Springfield Television Springfield Mass Teachers, upon signing a new contract with the City, experienced a double dip pay raise in October, which, as it turns out, was clerical error. Now, the union is trying to figure out the least painful way for these teachers to pay back the city, perhaps in 1 to 3 year terms.
One can hardly blame the teachers, who had no clue, apparently that there salary increase, above what was anticipated, was an error – unions negotiated through collective bargaining to increase teacher’s payrolls, and there it ends. Regardless of the fact that raises, in this economy, can only be found at the state employee level (for the most part), one would think that a hue and cry would have gone out from the rank and file, noting they were overpaid, and righting the clerical error post haste, instead of having months go by.

Meanwhile, some of those teachers are working in schools in Springfield where a a 13 million dollar grant has been given to the 10 “lowest performing schools” in Springfield and Holyoke.

The taxpayers, those left in the Commonwealth, are to say the least, immune at this point to the constant fleecing by local and state governments, whether they be in earnest or in error. Meanwhile, Govenor Deval Patrick is defending unions and their rights to collective bargaining (public employees) (Boston Globe)

Only in Massachusetts.