The Education Wonks
More about Gallo Wines Boycot. The UFT here in New York often shows its support for other unions and workers. Solidarity is solidarity, I guess!
Sorry about the $910 dues for which you get so little satisfaction. You are in a criminal interprise - public education in America - it has many niches.
In your niche union thugs use your money to attend conventions and fund democrats while you whine that you don't get attention.
But more and more the public hates the entire net of local government and education. It exists only to feed itself from the labor of others. You are thoroughly for it provided you get a fair share.
Send them another firmly worded letter. That will work.
Ed, you do not have to join the NEA.
You know that.
You can pay agency fees (62% of the total) and keep the rest of your money. The fees you are required to pay are those related to bargaining and maintenance of your contract and handling grievances. The California supreme court ruled that since you get the benefits of the bargaining you ought to pay for the cost of it.
If you are opposed to the rest of the activities the NEA and CTA do (like getting $4 billion back from your governor) then drop your local, state and national membership.
It really is that easy.
Sorry to correct you, Joe. But in my district, the agency fee is equal to the combined dues of NEA/CTA and the Local Chapter. Next year, that will be $910, and will go up each year after that.
This sum is mandated by the collective barganing agreement, as negotiated between the District and the Local. At the end of the year, the Local then announces how much is the agency payer's "fair share," which has, for the past decade, been 85-90% of the full dues.
Some have said that it would be similar to a mugger giving back 10% of the money that was taken from the victim at knifepoint. Meanwhile, the mugger keeps 90% to do with whatever he pleases.
So yes, a person may resign from the unions, but the financial cost will be nearly the same, and the person loses the right to attend meetings of the Local or have a vote on the contract (which affects all teachers.)
As I've indicated before, I like the idea of a union to represent the collective interest of its members.
But before I can support any organization, it must be inclusive, democratically run, permit dissenting voices, and be financially accountable to those that pay the expenses.
Leadership must be elected by the rank-and-file in open, honest, fair, and contested elections.
Examples of successful progressively-run unions are those of the Airline Pilots, Professional baseballplayers, The Screen Actors Guild, and Actors' Equity.
If I am going to be forced to financially support NEA/CTA/Local, I want to see them become progressive, open, democratically-run, accountable, and responsive to their rank-and-file membership.
Since I will be forced to financially support these organizations, I will continue our advocacy for reform.
The paternalistic model of unionism (instituted by Jimmy Hoffa and others) that NEA and CTA inflict upon their members isn't really defensible in the 21st century.
As educated people, the rank-and-file are fully capable of making an informed choice when it comes to who will lead them, as well as how much belonging to the organization should cost.
Each member should have vote, and each vote should be honestly counted.
A truly democratic organization never need fear its membership.
NEA/CTA's awkward sytem of appointed committees and unelected union officers is as outdated and un-democratic as the electoral college. (Which should also be consigned to the dust bin of history.)
Joe, I'm surprised that you don't support progressive reform of the NEA. A truly democratic (and accountable) union would make for a stronger, more responsive organization. Perhaps the public may be more likely to consider an open and accountable union as an authentic advocate for public education.
You yourself work in Arizona, which is a "right to work state." You can choose whichever organizations that you wish to support, financially or otherwise. If you could, would you take that choice away from others??
In California, I must pay monies to all three unions. I cannot choose to belong to one but not the others. I have no choice when it comes to finacially supporting these unions, and I have no voice when it comes to who the leaders are or how the ever-increasing amount of monies that have been taken from me are spent.
Do you really think that the NEA in it's current form is perfect? Given your comments (and, in my opinion, inflexability) over the past few months, it would seem so. If the answer is no, in what ways do you think that NEA needs to change??
As an educated person yourself, I would hope that you would be tolerant of dissenting opinion, and not fall into the trap of being closed-minded to new thoughts and ideas.
If the NEA and its subsidiary state organizations refuse to evolve, (and insist on remaining static, paternal, and authoritarian 1950s style unions) they will continue losing influence and credibility when it comes to the shaping of education policy.
I would ask you to please listen to what the parents and other concerned folks have been saying about the NEA in the mainstream media.
We should not lose sight of the fact that it's the folks who pay the taxes that pay our salaries.
If NEA and its subsidiaries don't evolve, folks will continue to have an increasing amount of disdain for these organizations that profess (so hypocritically) to democratically represent the interests of those who serve our nation's children.
According to the latest issue of the CTA Magazine, CTA leadership has conferences in Hawai'i, Las Vegas and Monterrey, CA. to look forward to. Are there not "less expensive" places to meet in California that would suffice? Like, Fresno? Fresno is about centrally located. Oh, but, it is not the money of the leadership, no, it's money taken from classroom teachers in the form of "dues" payments. Maybe CTA should follow the lead of the Auto Club, have a Northern California Affiliate and a Southern California Affiliate. OR, even better, allow teachers to join ONLY if they wish to join CTA.
Boycott Gallo wines? Why? Why isn't CTA encouraging its members to boycott Anheiser-Busch (Beer and SeaWorld) and Target Corp. Both Corp. contributed to the Governators campaign against teachers in California. Why don't we hear about this from CTA/NEA leadership?
Wow. I need to read more about the meeting. And then reevaluate my membership. This is rather embarrassing to read about. Thanks for passing it along.
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