Posted on 12/10/2014 7:24:15 AM PST by MichCapCon
After a teachers union president lost a legal battle involving forcing a non-union member to pay part of her salary for union-related activities, she responded by publishing the names of all former members who opted out of the union in a newsletter.
Under Michigan's right-to-work law, employees can no longer be required to belong to or support a union as a condition of employment.
According to Adam Neuman, the former Brighton Education Association member who sued to avoid having to pay part of BEA Union President Ellen Lafferty’s salary, the BEA president also put bright red “I Opted IN” buttons in the school mail boxes of employees who were still part of the union.
Some observers say publishing the names of those who opted out is akin to workplace bullying and think Lafferty is creating a hostile workplace environment.
Lafferty didn't respond to an email seeking comment.
“Before Michigan’s Freedom-to-Work law, the union would simply have gotten Adam Neuman fired,” said Joe Lehman, president of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy. “Now all they can do is bully and intimidate those who don’t want to join, which still keeps millions of dues dollars rolling in.”
Neuman, a social studies teacher and Afghanistan war veteran, resigned in August from the BEA and the Michigan Education Association, the BEA’s parent union. The state’s right-to-work law says that once union members opt out, they no longer have to financially support the union as a condition of employment.
Neuman said paying part of the union president’s salary amounted to “supporting the union.” The provision was part of a union contract the Brighton board of education signed last June, which required charging all members of the bargaining unit for the amount the union agreed to pay the district in return for Lafferty’s “release time.” Release time allows union officials who are school employees to get paid by the school for conducting union business during school hours.
But under current law, employees who opt out of union membership are still considered part of the “bargaining unit.” Neuman said that’s why the union felt he should still have to pay part of Lafferty’s salary. Eventually, the union and the district agreed to charge only dues-paying BEA members for the union’s share or Lafferty’s release time. Neuman told The Heartland Institute that once the lawsuit was settled, “all union members received a shiny new red button in their staff mailbox with ‘I Opted IN’ on it. Yet another example of their priorities when it comes to spending dues money, I guess.”
Gary Naeyaert, executive director of the Great Lakes Education Project, said that Michigan’s teachers have earned the freedom to choose whether or not they want to join a union.
“This freedom should come without bullying or efforts to publicly intimidate them,” Naeyaert said.
Union thuggery comes in many forms.
Unions exist only to enrich the leadership and elect liberal DemocRats.
Why does the union get to use public property to advertise?
“But under current law, employees who opt out of union membership are still considered part of the “bargaining unit.”
Yeah trust me, I’ve seen that one first hand, they’ll represent you but it won’t be with the same vigor by any stretch.
My only complaint about these kind of arguments is the Teacher (Adam)applied for a job that wages and benefits were fought for and negotiated by the union. Good or Bad.
Now Adam thinks he should be able to benefit at the cost of others. Well Adam you can, it’s called Resigning. It’s really simply. Walk in to the Administration and say I resign. Sign a piece of paper saying so and leave.
Then go apply at a charter school making half what you were with very few benefits. When a couple of parents bitch about your methods you can enjoy what Right to Work and At Will Employee is all about.
You just don’t get it. The Union negotiated with a “management” team for salary and benefits that exceed the free market. This also drives up the salaries of the “management” team, so there is a clear conflict of interest. Then the Union spends some of its ill gotten gains to fund politicians who throw more money at education without demanding results, because they too have a conflict of interest.
The taxpayers are not represented by any of the players in this farce. The teachers, Union or not, are benefitting at the cost of the TAXPAYERS. It is only fitting that the Union gets a taste of its own medicine.
FDR was correct about very few economic matters, but one he got right was that public employee unions are not compatible with an honest, effective and efficient government
lowlife sleazy vile union scumbag alert!
Yeah, I could have done FAR better at negotiating my salary ($24,000) than the union ever did, and that includes benefits, etc. The union did NOTHING for the teachers I worked with, and constantly refused to obey the laws and court decisions that they lost during my years. They were petulant, distant, and only cared about collecting dues. The more that got threatened, the more uncivil they got. Unions are many decades past any measure of usefulness, utility, or positive contribution to America. They are simply a political arm of the Democrat party forced into most large employers in the US. They should be dismantled, and I cannot wait for the day that it happens, at every level. (I’ve worked under, and gotten regularly robbed by, 2 teacher’s unions, 2 transportation unions, and 1 other union, and they deserve nothing but contempt.)
(I make several times that salary in the private sector in related fields, with better benefits, with no additional education or licenses or training... and did so after NCLB finally got me to run away from the classroom that I loved so much.... Common Core just confirms the wisdom of my decision. I knew I was taking a massive pay cut to teach, and could easily have demanded, and received, a better salary in any negotiation with any school board looking to hire me if I was allowed to be independent of the vile teacher unions.)
I understand completely. Been involved in it for Decades.
My point being the Teacher that is whining is also the individual that applied for the job, knowing full well what the Wages and Benefits were. That is most likely why he applied there instead of a parochial school or charter school that offers much less in a compensation package.
The other part I would suggest that instead of targeting the Teachers or unions, you address the issue with those that make the ultimate decision. The Management or the Board that oversees it. Whom seem to be unwilling to own up to their lack of accountability. That is where you are supposed to be represented!
How many Board Members you ever heard of being removed for trying to keep costs down? Their conflict comes in that when Staff or Faculty hear of Management getting raises at the level of 10’s of thousands dollars a year approved by the Board they expect some passed their way. Management and the Board doesn’t want the public to know about the outrageous raises so they agree to union contracts they shouldn’t. The board just turns a blind eye because they want to be “friends” with Management, or are using their Position as nothing but a Resume fluffer.
Most Boards are nothing but puppets for the Management of these Schools. I have seen hundreds of Thousands of dollars of tax payers money being spent on many political boondoggles approved by Boards to push many public projects that have absolutely no connection to Education. Like Public Sewer systems and county busing proposals.
I also have seen Administrative Positions created paying in the 5 digits filled with “Friends” of the Board, whom then spend 90+% of their time traveling the Country to conferences and seminars.
That is what most that have never seen the under belly of Public Education won’t acknowledge.
You’ll have to explain to me again, why did you even apply for all those Union Jobs after being previously abused by others? Perhaps it was because of the Compensation scale? Nah, you just wanted to get robbed by the Evil Union. /sarcasm
Right, that's why you applied for a union Job that you knew paid well. Instead of Non Union Teaching opportunities like Charter or Parochial Schools and negotiating on your own. /sarcasm
I am not saying some if not the majority of unions have failed their membership, but stop with the B.S. that you could have negotiated better. If that were true you would have traveled that path instead of seeking out employment in a Union Shop. There is no other excuse. There are thousands of vacancies every year looking for Teachers in Charter and Parochial Schools. Many more than are open in Public Ed.
Please provide the quote where the Teacher was whining. It seems to me that he was simply making sure the rules were followed, and acting in his own economic interest. The Union was the only entity acting childishly in the story posted here.
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