Teachers Unions Name Kerry a Price

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL ^ | July 28, 2004 | JUNE KRONHOLZ

[Brilliant]

WASHINGTON -- When John Kerry decided to skip a scheduled speech to the National Education Association convention here earlier this month, he telephoned NEA president Reg Weaver, who took the call at the podium. Mr. Weaver wasn't in a conciliatory mood: He held up the phone to the convention's 9,000 delegates and urged them to "tell [him] who you are."

"We are NEA," the delegates boomed back. Mr. Kerry got the message: The next day he addressed the meeting via satellite. "First, I want to apologize," he began.

Education may not be the biggest issue in this year's campaign, but the 2.7 million-member NEA and its smaller rival, the 1.3 million-member American Federation of Teachers, will play anything but a marginal role.

About one in 10 of the 4,353 delegates to this week's Democratic convention in Boston is a teacher -- about 285 are members of the NEA and 130 are members of the AFT. The NEA is pumping millions of dollars into ads attacking President Bush's record. And in an election that's likely to turn on the parties' success in getting their voters to the polls, the teachers' grass-roots campaigning could be critical for Democrats.

But the unions are wrapping their support for Mr. Kerry around opposition to President Bush's No Child Left Behind education program. "Today many of our public schools are straining under the so-called No Child Left Behind law," Mr. Weaver declared to the Democratic convention last night. "This law is underfunded and threatens to leave even more children behind." The unions are demanding changes to an initiative that many Democrats voted for and still generally support.

[Brilliant]

Paying different salaries to different teachers based on their performance or the subject they teach "strikes at the heart of unionism," says Diane Shust, the NEA's chief lobbyist.

Maybe the "heart of unionism" is not consistent with the need for education.

[ClearCase_guy]

Let's all keep in mind that the NEA is a tax-exempt, non-political organization. I'm sure that it does not engage in any improper political donations or political activism that might favor one party over the other. To do so would surely invite the wrath of the IRS.

[RockinRight]

Yeah. The heart of unionism says even if an employee is worthless, never shows up, and has poor performance, they deserve as much pay as someone who excels at their job.

My liberal girlfriend gets much of her information from these NEA types. Ooh I wish I could convince her otherwise.

[nmh]

They want more money, lower standards so that EVERY child can be left behind. Oh, I forgot they also want to keep children hating their country and molding them into little godless Marxists.

[sarasota]

Kerry cannot make a decision (this time, scheduling) and stick to it. And he wants to be our Commander in Chief.

[dennisw]

This is how your teacher is spending her (his) summer. Another fine Democrat constituency that would not exist if they didn't get that big ol' gubbermint check every two weeks. Plenty of these bums are delgates at the Democrat convention.

There are more unionized teachers in Michigan than unionized auto workers.