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April 27, 2012

Latest skeptic of teachers unions is clothing label’s city billboard

by Rachel Cromidas, at 2:18 pm

This spring, the West Side Highway’s typical advertising fare also includes a political message that seems aimed at teachers unions.

A billboard advertising Kenneth Cole — the clothing company owned by Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s brother-in-law — puns to southbound commuters, ”Shouldn’t Everyone Be Well Red?” In smaller lettering, the billboard says, “Teachers’ Rights Vs. Students’ Rights …”

The second line evokes a tension drawn out repeatedly by some critics of teachers unions, including Cuomo, who say that unions’ support for teachers’ job protections can stand in the way of students’ education.

The billboard also invites viewers to visit WhereDoYouStand.com, a website maintained by the city-based company, to weigh in on “Issue in the News.” This spring, one of the issues is “Should underperforming teachers be protected?”

That question attracted the company’s attention this winter, as media attention turned to efforts underway across the country to toughen teacher evaluations. Locally, a breakdown in negotiations over evaluations late last year and the controversial public release of reports on teacher performance in February were both accompanied by criticism of teachers unions, including from Cuomo.

“We heard people talking about it in the news,” said an official in Kenneth Cole’s public affairs department who declined to give her name but said she worked on the ad campaign.

“It’s something in the news and being debated, and we wanted to provide a forum where people could discuss it as well,” said the spokeswoman, who added that the billboard is meant to tap into ongoing public discussions, not to attack unions. The ad went up March 14 and is the only one advertising Kenneth Cole in the city, she said.

Education policy positions are hardly common fodder for clothing ads. But Kenneth Cole Productions is known for its advocacy campaigns about pollution, homelessness, and other social concerns, and sometimes the messages address timely political issues. Last year the same Manhattan billboard featured a pro-same-sex marriage message, coinciding with its legalization in New York State.

Kenneth Cole’s three daughters attended private schools; his youngest is currently a senior at a Westchester County private school. The designer is married to Maria Cuomo, whose brother is Gov. Cuomo.

A screenshot from a Kenneth Cole web site, featuring the billboard and posing a question related to union politics.

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  • Mlevin

    Terrific letter. Thank you

  • lkrueger23

    I apologize for assuming you quit the profession after a year. 

  • guest

    what subject do you teach?

  • saybyebyetomymoneykenneth

    I used to think that Kenneth Cole was a good company to support…no more! My pay has been (severely) cut and now I only have money to buy the basics (i.e.food, shelter, heat). I will be letting others know about this and to look into companies that are supportive of workers.

  • Al

    Fake post.  Cwiegenstein, if you were ever a teacher so was my left shoe.  Not only does your misspelling of “taught” undermine your credibility, your whole framing of “unions promote based on seniority” smacks of the right-wing extremist Kool-aid you appear to have consumed and bears little resemblance to how things work in schools or how teachers talk about changes of position within schools and school systems. 

  • Sandrine

    Also, all you need to know is that he is Cuomo-cozy. Ugh. 

  • Oizzy

    A students learning environment is also a teachers working conditions! Come on its not about teachers vs students!

  • Rsj785

    Why do people who have clearly never set foot in a public school feel they can continue to comment on them? How is anyone supposed to know about all of the great things happening in public schools if they never visit and never send their children to them?

  • UnionPrez

    #1 Unions don’t promote anyone. #2 The union protects working conditions. #3 For obvious reasons, it’s probably a good thing that you decided to remove yourself from the field before you were removed, if indeed, you really ARE (were) a teacher…

  • UnionPrez

    Not just Cuomo-cozy…Governor Andrew Cuomo’s sister is married to Kenneth Cole. Governor Andrew Cuomo, better known as King Cuomo in NYS, is a keen advocate of privatization of public education. Hmmm… shall we connect the dots?………………

  • Sueado

    Thanks!  Someone did reply to my email; she thanked me for my service as a teacher but did not apologize or explain the ad in any way, shape. or form.

  • Rainfem

    Are you sure you quit… your spelling is embarrassing…

    “where”

  • Guest

    You did not teach and quit, you obviously struggle with literacy yourself and that is probably the reason you no longer teach. The word is “were” not “where” and “taught” not “tought”. This was probably part of your “struggle” in the teaching field. It has never been about teachers vs. students, unfortunately right now its government trying to allow privatization of education.  

  • Rawoloszyk

    Interesting – so glad that we’re the whipping boys for workers everywhere. Teachers should be protected from: 1) students who harangue us with foul language and aggressive behavior 2) administrative staff who woefully refuse to listen to our concerns about capping numbers of students so that we can actually teach/reach those in our care 3) punitive, destructive area administrators who only see the bottom line (read, get rid of older teachers). 

  • MamieB

    Not English, I hope!  My 6th graders write better than lkrueger23:/

  • Neogeo1968

    Boycott Kenneth Cole hence forward….bye bye Kenneth,hows ALEC treating($) you!!!

  • Disgusted

    Should abusive management be protected?

    http://www.wendel.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=content.contentDetail&id=8889Is it any wonder whose “side” Kenneth Cole is on?  Shoppers, whose side or You on?Vs. indeed.

  • Still Disgusted

    Should abusive management be protected? 

    https://www.google.com/search?q=kenneth+cole+california+supreme+court 

    Is it any wonder whose “side” Kenneth Cole is on?  Shoppers, whose side or You on?  ”Versus” indeed.

  • Paulcump

    should under-performing Congressmen be protected? A better question!

  • Reading teacher

    I agree that the teacher above should have corrected his/her spelling errors before commenting, although not all teachers have a command of spelling proficiency (some Math teachers, for instance). However, this person does make an excellent point.We all start in the same place… attending college, then working hard in our first years to continually improve, taking additional workshops and trainings to continue that goal… How many other professions have these same kind of rigorous and ongoing expectations?

  • BarosaChu

    I am shocked that the Kenneth Cole company is engaging in warfare against teachers.
    I will never buy another Kenneth Cole product!!

  • Mary Morch

    Ken Cole and Company should be ashamed of themselves.
    The teachers (average wages $45.000) are not the problem.
    Pick on someone your own size!!!
    It’s too easy to demonize the hardworking individuals on the classrooms.

  • Mr. Flerporillo

    A lot.  Doctors, lawyers, accountants, hairdressers, architects, financial managers, engineers — in a nutshell, probably most jobs that require a state or board license.  

  • Jal1221

    Hey, Kenneth Cole, stick to designing, and let the teachers do their jobs.   
    You are hardly an authority on teachers’ unions or schools, since your own kids are among the elite and attend private school.  

  • Dcnanny

    As a public school teacher, I can’t afford Kenneth Cole, but now I wouldn’t support him even if I could.

    Shame on you, Mr. Cole. Stick to what you know.
    And, sir, your play on words while cute, isn’t grammatically correct. I think that means you’ve just been schooled.

  • Davidnodiff

    The more I read about Cuomo, the greater is my disbelief that he espouses Democratic principles (and principals).

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000074659237 Diane Nati Micelli

    WOW…… Kenneth Cole is Married to Maria Cuomo ( Good Ole Gov Cuomo’s sister!!) MY “Reaction” : F U Kenneth Cole, Teachers in NYS are being evaluated with a defective tool!!!! Come to an inner city school for one day, do my job then tell me who is “Underperforming!” (which by the way is two words not a compound) So sick of the Teacher Bashing!!!!!! 

  • Julianne D

    Teachers don’t even get paid enough to buy his Clothing.  Obviously he is so out of touch with the middle class it’s sad.  A Teacher’s working conditions are a student’s learning condition. 

  • Teacher52328

    What stands in the way of students’ education is administrators that don’t do their jobs and take care of the “bad” teachers. It appears too much work for them…after all, it is those administrators that evaluate every single teacher and allow them to be tenured. They get paid the big bucks to weed out the “have nots” and celebrate the “haves”…

  • Safs52

    It’s astonishing to me that educational issues are being framed as teachers vs. students. Teachers are the number one advocates of students; that’s why we went into teaching in the first place.

    Should underperforming teachers be protected? What a ridiculous question. Underperforming teachers should be helped and supported. If they can’t improve, they should be given due process. THAT’s what unions do: guarantee due process.

  • Musicteach

    Teacher’s rights=student’s rights

  • UnionPrez

    Now I have an idea for a new banner! 

  • Crsd99

    What does underperforming mean? Not passing a stupid state test that is riddled with errors and bias?!

  • Say No To Cole

    If Kenneth Cole had any idea what he was talking about might give his opinion some credit, since he does not have a clue, perhaps he better stick to designing products that I will do my level best to make sure no one ever buys!!  Educate yourself Mr. Cole!

  • Tumnus’ Dad

    Ahh Kenneth.  Why must you succumb to the ignorance of the uninformed?  Just like the people who legislate, you obviously don’t know what you are talking about.  Forget about fashion design.  You should go into test design.  Ignorance goes a long way in that field.

  • Urbanauditorium

    The questions aren’t one in the same and the enormity of the concerns can hardly be addressed in a single punch line posted on a billboard by a shoe/fashion designer. Answering whether or not an underperforming teacher ‘should’ be protected does not necessarily imply a debate over teachers’ rights vs. students’ rights. The term ‘underperforming’ is generic and points to nothing quantifiable. Flipping the coin, what are student’s rights? And furthermore, what are their responsibilities? Not only are both teachers and students very unaware of each other in this regard, parents and the general public are equally so. And to go a step further, is a discussion of entitlements really the most viable way to approach the state of affairs in the classroom? 

    To Kenneth, 

    I’m glad you can match your colors, but where education is concerned, you’re obviously not well read.

  • Ron

    So I wonder if the kids working in the factories in China and Lord knows where making his overpriced clothing and accessories had or have good teachers?  Another rich elitist jerk criticizing teachers who often work under horrible conditions.  What a shock he’s related to Cuomo.

  • Nanspe94

    I would like all of you who don’t teach to be evaluated as the governor is proposing we should be. We must be responsible for children who refuse to do homework, or to behave, or to listen as we teach. We have parents that don’t get up to see their children off to school or who come to school without breakfast or lunch. We have children whose parents leave them and go away on vacation and don’t make sure they have their medication. We also have students that have physical, mental and emotional problems that their parents refuse to acknowledge. So go ahead and walk a few miles in our shoes because after a few steps I’m sure most of you will take them off.

  • Nmschool

    I’d say your billboard just added to the problem, now we’ll be getting papers with the word “red” instead of “read.” Take a real good look at advertisements, very confusing to children now, very grammatically incorrect, but so are the standardized tests.  Ah, lots of mistakes!!  I totally agree with Nanspe94.  I’d love to see more politicians and parents do what we have to do daily.  Maybe if you try to undo all the problems the children come into school with,  We could have more productive teaching days. Kenneth Cole, who’s he???

  • Just call me Ms. Sarcasm

    I don’t know why everybody is pointing fingers at Governor Cuomo.  It’s obviously just a coincidence that Kenneth Cole is his brother-in-law.

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