Whitney Tilson's School Reform Blog: Newark teachers send city a deadly serious message

You just can't make this stuff up! What a bunch of THUGS! THIS is how Newark's teacher's union is trying to pressure Cory Booker?! Let's be clear about exactly what they're saying: "We'll run attack ads that make the entire city of Newark look bad unless you capitulate to our demands." Shame, shame!

Designed to shock, the billboards started appearing along entrances to Newark a few days ago.

"Help wanted," they read in bold black letters. "Stop the killings in Newark now!"

Not exactly what a struggling city wants to have its commuters reading every morning on their way into town.

But the man behind the signs, Newark Teachers Union President Joseph Del Grosso, said he's trying to jolt the city into action by bringing more attention to the rising number of murders, which reached 106 last year.

Asked what the message had to do with representing the city's teachers, Del Grosso said he's been having trouble recruiting...

The union, which is in the midst of contract negotiations, represents nearly 6,000 teachers, aides and clerks in the city's 80-plus schools, and the organization hasn't always been on the side of Newark's current administration. It backed Booker's opponent, state Sen. Ronald Rice (D-Essex), last year in the mayoral election. Del Grosso also opposes Booker's support for vouchers and charter schools.

But Del Grosso denied the billboards had anything to do with politics. Unions, he said, aren't just for representing workers, but also to advocate for social justice.

"I don't care who the mayor is or how much influence he has; Newark can't succeed unless we stop the violence," he said.