United Teachers Los Angeles supports merit pay “on a cold day in hell”

The Detroit Federation of Teachers shut down city schools to stop 15 charter schools from being built for free

The California Teachers Association has compared school vouchers to child prostitution

The Washington Teachers Union has withheld kids’ college recommendations for parents who didn’t oppose school reform

In Illinois (outside of Chicago), two union-protected teachers out of 95,500 are terminated for incompetence annually

In Illinois (outside of Chicago), it costs $219,504.21 to fire a bad union-protected teacher

In New Jersey, five union-protected teachers out of more than 100,000 are terminated for incompetence annually

In New York State, seventeen union-protected teachers are terminated a year

In New York State, it costs $128,941 to fire a bad union-protected teacher

In New York City, only ten out of 55,000 tenured teachers were terminated in 2006-2007

In Los Angeles, only eleven out of 43,000 union-protected teachers are even considered for termination annually

The National Education Association received $50 million for shaky investment advice in 2004 alone

NEA members are suing over the union’s endorsement of “Valuebuilder,” a plan with over $1 billion of members’ money invested

New York State United Teachers received $3 million for shaky investment advice in 2005

Washington Teachers Union embezzlement tab: $5 million

United Teachers of Dade (Miami) embezzlement tab: $2.5 million

Massachusetts Teachers Association embezzlement tab: $800,000

Michigan teachers unions' embezzlement tab from one thief: $218,000 in bad checks

Information for Teachers

What Should Teachers Know About Their Rights?

As established by Congress and confirmed by the Supreme Court, no teacher is required to be a member of any union. In 28 states and the District of Columbia, however, teachers can be required to pay the union an “agency fee” for the non-negotiable privilege of union representation. Teachers must pay this fee even if they believe they would be better served under, for example, an employment contract that rewards good teaching. This fee costs the same as union dues, minus the cost of the union’s direct political giving (agency fee payers still must shell out for internal union communications, which are often highly political). Agency fee payers thus do not pay for a union’s political contributions, and they cannot be fined (as union members can) for continuing to teach when a union strikes schools.

In right-to-work states, dissenting teachers do not have to pay anything to unions at all. teacher with kids Regardless of a state’s right-to-work status, religious objectors to joining a teachers union are allowed under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to direct all of the money they would pay in dues to a (non-religious) charity.

Liability Insurance

One benefit that can be tied to union membership, however, is liability insurance, which protects teachers in the event of a lawsuit. But there are non-union professional associations that sell their members insurance at prices far below typical union dues, without the political or educational entanglements that union membership often brings.

Professional Associations

The two largest non-union professional associations for teachers both swear off politics and hefty dues, charging teachers for liability insurance and not much more.

The Association of American Educators “is the largest national, non-union, professional teacher association, offering educators an alternative to the partisan politics and non-educational agendas of the teacher labor unions.” The association offers a $2 million liability insurance benefit, plus legal fees. Visit AAE at www.aaeteachers.org.
The mission of Christian Educators Association International is to “serve the educational community by encouraging, equipping and empowering Christian educators serving in public and private schools.” The association offers a $2 million liability insurance benefit, plus legal fees. Visit CEAI at www.ceai.org.

Kicking Out Your Union

Teachers who no longer want a union to represent them -- whether it’s because the union is obstructionist, corrupt, or just plain inept -- are entitled to seek an election to determine if a majority of their fellow teachers want to drop the union. Such elections are known as “decertification elections.” They are not rare -- several hundred take place at unionized workplaces in a typical year. The law must be followed carefully, however. To view the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation’s summary of state laws for teachers looking to decertify their union click here.

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