The union can be a career-ender depending on where you are. When I was in California, I was once teaching a fourth-grader how to read after hours. The time was 4:20 p.m. My union rep walked in and asked me what I was doing; I told him that I was tutoring the student. He told me that the contract was from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. When I protested that my job was to teach, he told me, "You don't want to cause any trouble here." I left that district at the end of the year. In my new district, the union is weak enough so most staff are not members. The only reason to join the union is to obtain harassment insurance, and that can be obtained in other places, too. There are 100,000 school districts in the United States... my advice to a teacher disgusted with the union is to vote with his feet. I've even talked with the state rep here about the one-party stance of the NEA, and he glumly conceded the problem. In this state, the NEA doesn't support candidates anymore, although their stance on issues is still biased toward the Left. Many teachers I know are fed up with the union... I suspect the same thing is true with the rank-and-file of other unions supporting Democrats. My solution was simply not to be a member. Hasn't hurt me one bit in this district. I can see where it would be harmful elsewhere, though.