This week we reviewed a number of common contract provisions and explored why they are important to the employee, the unions, and to management. As we discussed, seniority is an important provision for many union negotiators. Presently, the last-hired-first-fired school of thought is being hotly debated in public education. Unions consistently take the stance that seniority should be the only factor in job loss due to layoffs. Many politicians and their constituents have begun to question the wisdom of this method and have recommended that school districts move to a layoff procedure based upon job performance rather than seniority. What do you think about this issue? What have you learned about this issue from reading the newspaper or watching the evening news? Please post a discussion board item taking a stand for or against seniority-based teacher layoffs in education. As always, when responding to others, please remember that our discussions should be lively, but respectful.