Posted on 06/24/2013 1:11:30 PM PDT by rhema
Schools out for summer, which leaves ample time during the day for students to relaxand for their teachers to recharge and reflect. Its also an ideal time for them to decide whether union membership is right for them. Unfortunately, its also the only time for many of them to decidethe nations 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
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
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.
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.
Privatize education—all of it.
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Agreed.
We need a strongly worded federal right to work law.
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