|
1) WEACtions. It's always educational and entertaining when you can
dispel a myth that both the teachers' unions and their political opponents
are strangely linked in perpetuating: that NEA/AFT members, staff and
executives are united/monolithic in their positions. The unions support this
myth because they have an organizational interest in promoting solidarity.
The more people in line, the better for all concerned, is their thinking.
Union opponents support this myth because it is then easier to use the NEA/AFT's
most out-of-the-mainstream positions against them in all instances. If you
don't oppose it, you must support it, is their thinking.
You don't have to be a full-time union observer to recognize that any
organization of some 4 million members is unlikely to have a single position
about anything, much less a whole agenda of things.
NEA's own member survey indicates that (surprise!) teachers are much
like the rest of America. Teachers' unions end up supporting liberal-left
causes because their leaders and activists are a self-selected group of
liberal-left people. It's actually pretty simple.
That's why EIA loves highlighting the other NEA/AFT: the NEA/AFT that
consists of real people who have disagreements, who squabble and
sometimes fight each other, who
question the quality of the merchandise they are paid to peddle, and
whose personal concerns often trump the party line.
It's in the latter category we can place this news. Employees of the
Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) and its subsidiary, the WEA
Trust, are represented by their own union, the United Staff Union (USU). USU
recently conducted a satisfaction survey of WEAC staffers and the responses
suggest they are mostly happy with their salaries, benefits and working
conditions.
Some, however, have complaints.
The survey responses are anonymous, but are genuine quotes and not
paraphrases:
General atmosphere
* "There is way too much favoritism going on in some
departments, to the point of making good morale non-existent. Blatant
disregard for department 'rules' and watching managers look the other way.
USU employees not adhering to our contract (i.e. tacking breaks onto lunch
time, leaving early every single day (right in front of managers!), taking
extra long breaks to exercise & again, managers are aware and nothing is
done. Also there are union stewards nearby who don't address these issues
either. And being stuck with some managers who are extremely loud &
annoying, talking excessively about personal stuff. What can the USU do
about that???"
* "WEA[C] has a lot of managers that have no people
skills."
* "I feel that we can be each other's worst enemies.
The personal attacks and back biting, the malicious behavior that I have
experienced with certain colleagues (by both UniServ and WEAC staff) makes
this a toxic environment to work in, especially for a female."
* "I believe that working conditions, particularly in
the WEAC building, could be much better. Having worked at WEAC, I know that
there is a general climate of distrust, and the managerial changes with
regards to human resources may further erode the existing poor conditions.
Many workers at WEAC (myself included) believe there is too much monitoring
of work, and feel that WEAC operates very much like a typical private sector
employer (not a union employer)."
* "I don't think our union does enough to improve the
tension in the workplace - not only management to union relationships but
between union members. Nobody likes to confront or stand up to the bully's
but to bury our heads in the sand doesn't work either."
* "This is my first experience working for a union.
When I started here, I watched everyone fight amongst themselves - didn't
leave a good impression on me."
* "We have members who daily abuse work rules. Leave 10
min early everyday, take 30 min breaks and 40 min lunches. They sit next to
union stewards and nothing is said. They are 'cheating' on everyone!"
Non-union employees and outsourcing
* "Very dissatisfied in the USU allowing so many people
at the Trust to continue to be there without being in the Union. It is very
bad that a 'union insurance company' has so many more employees who are
non-union than union."
* "Subcontracting and outsourcing work need to be
watched. Phil Dorr could see his job eroding years ago, and what he
predicted did come to pass. I don't think we did a good job at saving his
position. What used to be a graphic artist position became a clerical
position. The graphics work was outsourced at huge costs to WEAC when it
could have been done in-house. That could happen to any one of us. If WEAC
wants to, they can outsource any of our jobs."
Union philosophy
* "I don't know what the union does - I don't
understand unions."
* "I believe the union is a waste of time and money and
is not needed in this type of industry. Our working conditions are not and
never have been what they were when unions were established with trade-type
jobs decades ago. The attitude of the union in demanding its rights and
pouting if it doesn't get them is beyond immature."
* "Why in the world do we pay dues? Just so someone
else can talk to management for me if I have an 'issue'?"
* "I believe we should be paying dues only if we want
to be part of the union. I firmly believe we should have the option of not
being in the union if we so choose. I absolutely detest the fact that I am
paying dues for something (a political agenda and ideals) that I vehemently
disagree with and want nothing to do with."
* "The USU is one-sided politically. My views would not
be welcome in this organization."
* "My opinions about the political arena are in vast
contrast to the union's direction. I know that a function of the union is to
lobby for legislation that is helpful to the union. I just don't always
agree with those that are promoted as candidates that will help the
situation."
Finally, there was this, from someone "overwhelmed" by
union employment:
"Since I come from the 'outside' and have worked a
number of other places before coming here, I am overwhelmed by the great
salary, benefits, work environment, and the hundred other 'little things'
like newspapers in the break room, phone banks to make calls on breaks and
lunches, computers for personal use, caterers that deliver lunch, ability to
mail and receive packages etc. through work, and a host of other 'extras'
that I NEVER had in any previous job. There isn't a day that I come to work
that I don't benefit from one of these 'little extras,' and I am personally
offended when I hear others criticizing and whining about things here that
don't please them (most of which I consider unreasonable). Some of these
people have never worked anywhere BUT here, and they have no clue what work
life is like 'on the outside.'"
2) Join Us, You Money-Grubbing Scabs.
Two
stories from two different AFT affiliates worth putting together:
* AFT's state affiliate in Rhode Island passed a
resolution to "seek out opportunities to organize all charter school
teachers and staff throughout Rhode Island" and to support card check
legislation for charter school staff. Card check laws allow unions to
establish exclusive bargaining status without a secret ballot election.
* The United Teachers of New Orleans (UTNO) saw its
clout and membership numbers wash away in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina
and the legislature's reconstitution of the school system. The establishment
of a number of non-union charter schools was a particularly bitter pill for
UTNO to swallow. Subsidized by AFT's national office, UTNO's spirit carries
on. Here is a verse of UTNO's version of the old union anthem "Solidarity
Forever":
"In UTNO's hands is placed a power
Greater than charter schools' hoarded gold,
Greater than the might of armies
Magnified a thousand fold.
UTNO is bringing to birth a new world
Above the watermarks of the old
For the union makes UTNO strong."
3) Where Have You Gone, Victor Riesel? It would take a lot to
surpass the corruption exhibited by indicted
New York City Central Labor Council President Brian M. McLaughlin, but
Local 1181 of the city's Amalgamated Transit Union, which represents 15,000
school bus drivers, is taking on the challenge.
This morning's story by Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times,
one of the last major labor reporters in the United States, calls and raises
the McLaughlin story with details of missing funds, intimidation, and mob
ties (to a guy called "Matty the Horse," no less).
Even those of us who aren't shy about reporting union
corruption thought these days were long gone. If they aren't, we need
someone to assume the mantle of
Victor Riesel to report on it.
4) NEA to Publish NCLB Goosebumps Tales.
In its perpetual effort to promote reading in
America, the National Education Association is putting together a book of
scary stories and is asking its members to contribute their favorites. But
there won't be any vampires, werewolves or ghosts. These horror tales will
feature a more fearsome creature: the No Child Left Behind Act.
NEA plans to compile these
stories submitted by members and - I'm sure – assign a team of fact-checkers
to each one the union receives. NEA will release the book on January 8, the
fifth anniversary of the law's enactment.
5) John Kerry Scheduled to Address South Carolina
Education Association. U.S. Senator John Kerry
is scheduled to appear before the South Carolina Education Association's
Representative Assembly on Veterans Day at the union's headquarters in
Columbia. No word on whether
he'll stop here to deliver an inspirational sentence or two.
6) Teamsters in Fort Wayne Forge Ahead, But Fall
Short of Victory. A battle is going in Fort
Wayne, Indiana, to represent the school district's bus drivers. Teamsters
Local 414 is the incumbent union, and is being challenged by the Indiana
State Teachers Association (ISTA), an NEA affiliate. Unfortunately for
everyone involved, the rules state the winner must receive a majority of the
members of the bargaining unit, not just a majority of votes cast.
Last month's election went to
ISTA by a
96-94 margin, but 113 votes were needed to win. A second election
produced a 109-95 vote in favor of the Teamsters.
"I can't keep having
elections," Doug Coutts, the district's chief operations officer, told the
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette.
The situation mirrors one
faced by the Teamsters and NEA in Las Vegas (see
Item #6), which left the NEA affiliate in charge, despite a Teamsters
win in the vote count.
7) The Obstacles to Disaffiliation.
The Collier
Support Professionals Association (CSPA) in Florida is learning the hard way
that divorcing NEA requires dotting all the i's and crossing all the t's.
The state Public Employee Relations Commission ruled
that CSPA, which broke with NEA and the Florida Education Association last
year,
is not the certified bargaining agent for the district's education
support employees. PERC declared the school district can only negotiate with
CSP-NEA, which, for all intents and purposes, no longer exists.
The confusion over the union status of some 1,000
members in Collier County is actually only the most recent in a long series
of incidents between the local on one side, and the state and national
unions on the other (See "Coup
D'Etat in Collier County," "Collier
County Cold War," and "Collier
County Union Now Has Two Competing Presidents.")
8) Supply Your Own Punch Line.
From the
November 4
Lancaster Eagle-Gazette: "The Fairfield Union Local Schools teachers
union has found a new way of raising awareness about the organization. Mindy
Neal, the union's Bremen Elementary School representative, enlisted
teachers, principals, a school board member and even a janitor to play
basketball on donkeys Monday."
9) Last Week's Intercepts.
EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from October 27-November 6:
*
Papers Catching Up II: Miami Vice. More internal dissension at the
United Teachers of Dade.
*
Teacher or Preacher? No wonder kids can't multiply fractions.
*
The Wheels of Justice Really Do Turn Slowly. The ING Group. NYSUT.
403(b)s. Paid compensation for endorsements. Last month's New York Times?
No, the EIA Communiqué of nine years ago.
10)
Quote of the Week.
"We need you
to be warriors for justice!" – Author Jonathan Kozol, addressing the
Wisconsin Education Association Council convention in Madison on October 26.
Evidently, Kozol was supposed to be
at the gathering across the street. |
