Image via WikipediaIn my varied ramblings about unions and especially “public” unions, I have not addressed a specific union that has been in the news lately, namely the Teacher’s Union or the Michigan Education Association.
I count a number of teachers as friends and family and know what a great job they are doing amidst day to day struggles not only with unruly students but with school administrators that can be a pain in the ass and make the job harder than it already is.
Some teachers were very instrumental in people’s later successes and/or failures. We all remember the “bad” teachers; in my case the teachers were nuns who did not take kindly to my rebellious nature (I asked questions I should not have asked) but also “good” teachers that made learning an adventure and inspired us to aim higher and higher.
My concern is not individual teachers or the teaching profession, no it is teacher unionism and as in unionism in general, there are the pros and the cons.
The newspapers are reporting that here in Michigan, the Michigan Education Association (MEA) is preparing for a strike vote just in case our Governor Snyder and our state legislature does something the MEA does not like.
It is illegal for teachers to strike in Michigan
Some legislators are proposing adding some teeth to the existing law namely allowing the state or school district to decertify striking teachers…now that’s some teeth!
Some teachers will argue that without the strike option, they have no bargaining power and they are correct in that.
But the law is the law and it was written specifically in the case of certain public union contracts when the safety and/or well being of the public could be compromised during a strike.
Many cite the Traffic Controller Strike under President Reagan where obviously the public was put in danger when the union struck, plus the union was acting illegally and so President Reagan fired all 11,000 traffic controllers.
I am not addressing whether teachers deserve their pay and benefits, my concern today is about finding another way where teachers can state their demands and have them seriously heard without resorting to an illegal and damaging strike.
I am also concerned with the MEA influencing elections by supporting Democratic candidates who when elected, are obliged to give the MEA what it wants since they helped elect the individual.
These are serious issues that I think need to be addressed in a civil manner and calling for a strike vote, to me, is just plain inflammatory and may bias some normally reasonable people.
Let it be known that new governor Rick Snyder is taking a school aid fund with a $660 million SURPLUS and is shifting those funds away from K-12 education, creating a $470 per pupil cut for Michigan districts. Again, there is NO shortage of funds for Michigan schools, only a governor intent on defunding schools to force teacher pay cuts, and to attack unions and the Democratic Party. THAT is what Michigan teachers are protesting. As cliche-ish as it may sound, this truly is about the kids, but also about local control over school districts, and honoring the funding Michigan residents have provided for their schools in good faith.
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