America's Teachers Have A Choice, And This Includes Not Joining A Teachers' Union

Forbes ^ | 6/24/13 | Gary Beckner

[rhema]

School’s out for summer, which leaves ample time during the day for students to relax—and for their teachers to recharge and reflect. It’s also an ideal time for them to decide whether union membership is right for them. Unfortunately, it’s also the only time for many of them to decide—the nation’s teachers’ unions, as well as many unions generally, have done a remarkable job of restricting their members’ knowledge of and ability to exercise their rights regarding union membership.

For years, educators have joined teachers’ unions with the assumption that their money advances their profession. Unfortunately, the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers have morphed from respected education associations to behemoth special interest groups that do little to advance teachers as professionals.

Educators nationwide have grown increasingly frustrated in recent years by the partisan political spending, high dues, and adversarial tactics of their labor unions. In 2012 alone, 140,000 educators left the NEA. This mass exodus has not only gained headlines but has left teachers questioning the value of pricey union membership, which can run as high as $1,200 a year.

While there are thousands of teachers who freely exercise their right to opt out of union membership, many educators are unaware of their options due to roadblocks set up by unions and state laws that favor union bosses over teachers. Millions live in states or districts where they are required to pay dues or fees as a condition of employment. Other are beholden to arbitrary “drop” periods surreptitiously extending their union membership, or are misled to believe they have no other option than the union.

Teachers across the country are constantly subject to laws and policies that keep them from making informed decisions. Such misinformation and convoluted opt-out requirements may be effective for keeping members

[rhema]

Gary Beckner is the Founder and Executive Director of Association of American Educators.

[Vigilanteman]

My younger brother was a darn good school teacher in America. He went through hell to get out of joining the teacher's union in a right-to-work state.

Although he was successful in doing so, the crap he had to put up with as a result of his decision wasn't worth it. He eventually found an opportunity teaching school in Japan and took it.

[rhema]

I bailed out of the NEA and joined the AAE in union-stronghold Minnesota. I still had to pay "fair share" dues, but I was able to persuade a few of my fellow teachers to join either AAE or the Christian Educators Association International. Most teachers think only the NEA and AFT offer professional liability policies, without which a teacher shouldn't be. AAE's liability policy is better than the NEA's.

[rhema]

1 in 3 union members would leave their union if given the chance. Even in union-bewitched Minnesota, 27 percent would exit their unions.

[Vigilanteman]

Thanks for the tip. AAE sounds like a great alternative if he ever wants to take his skills back stateside. Considering the good life which he enjoys in Japan, however, I do not expect it to happen anytime soon.

[familyop]

Privatize education—all of it.

[trisham]

Privatize education—all of it.

**************************

Agreed.

[Impy]

We need a strongly worded federal right to work law.