A retired teacher writes why she supports unions.

I’ve been thinking about what I was going to say on this blog ever since you announced it Fred, and it is difficult, not because I have nothing to say, but because there are so many reasons to support unions.

My first thoughts are with the coal miners, the railway workers, and even the women of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory who died in a horrific fire because their efforts to unionize for safe working conditions were halted. Without their bravery, tremendous sacrifices and loss of lives, millions of people would be working in conditions that give them no control over their environment.

But unions are more than that, and people who aren’t fortunate enough to have union protection, know it and are jealous. A union allows due process, a term that is often abused and twisted. Those who oppose unions say due process won’t let you get rid of bad teachers. What it really does is hold management accountable. Managers are required to observe and document bad teaching. That is a good thing, and managers don’t like to do that. They don’t want to be hassled. Most of them want complete control who works for them and yes, if you will forgive the term “suck” up to them. I have seen this over and over again. Let’s face it, if you are doing a good job but the boss doesn’t like you, procedures and guidelines are of the utmost importance.. That is why people without unions are jealous. They have no protection, and that is what tenure is, protection and due process.

Of course, unions are even more than that. Through negotiation and the law, public unions provide transparency, which is not really recognized by the general public. If you work in the private sector, your salary and benefits are kept secret. If you work in the public sector, salaries and benefits negotiated by our unions are public knowledge. We don’t hide numbers like the bank CEOs do. We negotiate fairly for everyone, and anyone can find out what we make. We don’t try to hide our “big” salaries like the private sector does.

I proudly stand behind each and every contract I have helped negotiate. The negotiators on my team, as I am sure with any other union teams, took into account what the district could pay us. We were not greedy. We negotiated for everyone, not for ourselves. We negotiated for safe conditions for the children and teachers in the classroom. We negotiated for fair grievance procedures and evaluation procedures. We negotiated for good salaries and health benefits for the teachers in our district. I am not ashamed of having the right to negotiate those terms. I am proud of it, and those who are jealous should be trying to get involved in a union so they will have the same rights instead of trying to bring us down. I think everyone should have the right to collectively bargain.

I stand behind the union that taught me to stand up for myself and for others. My union gave me courage to stand up in the face of adversity and confidence to be a leader. And, I am thankful for those who sacrificed so that others would have a job that provides safe working conditions. fair salaries, and the right to collectively negotiate. Without their sacrifices, I believe we would not have much say in what goes on in our classrooms. Our profession would once again be disrespected as it was before the collective bargaining law went into effect (signed I might add by a Republican Governor).

But most of all, unions allow us to be human, to dare to speak up when something is unfair, and to admit when something is wrong without fear, and that is a good thing.

-Chris

 

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