|
1) NEA and AFT: Different in Difference. I
spend most of my professional time explaining the fundamentals of teachers'
unions to people with no previous exposure to the topic. Since you're
reading this, you already know things like UniServ, affiliate relations,
agency fees, representative assemblies, etc., are as arcane as cuneiform and
just as difficult to decipher. But everyone wants to know what the
differences are between the National Education Association and the American
Federation of Teachers.
This is more than an academic question. In a recent
Education Sector report, titled "Waiting
to Be Won Over," teachers were asked, "As far as you know, which
national organization is your district's union or association affiliated
with?" Ten percent of respondents replied, "Not sure." Though I have no data
to back this up, I would also surmise that at least an additional two or
three percent who chose one of the two national unions actually chose the
wrong one.
There are distinct differences between the two, but I
won't bore you with organizational origins, and Al Shanker, and "tea and
crumpets" NEA, or the failed merger attempt in 1998. Instead, I've noticed
one very important intrinsic difference that has recently manifested itself.
By their very nature, unions desire, and often demand,
internal consensus. This, they believe, makes them stronger in the face of
external opposition. But it tends to have a dampening effect on internal
opposition. But it is still there and it arises in different ways in NEA and
AFT.
For the most part, NEA and all its affiliates practice
term limits for officers. For the most part, AFT and its affiliates do not.
Over time, that simple distinction has engendered entirely different
approaches to internal democracy, particularly as it relates to dissension
or opposition.
Because NEA has term limits, a leadership role is
attainable for any prospective candidate. But, as I have noted many times
before, the line of succession is set in granite. With very few exceptions,
NEA officers rise through the ranks, one after another, rarely skipping a
rung. The rep becomes a board director. The board director runs for
executive committee. The executive committee member becomes
secretary-treasurer, who becomes vice president, who becomes president.
Because the process is so circumscribed, it requires a
lot of networking and glad-handing for candidates to win necessary support
for a vacant "gateway" seat, like secretary-treasurer or an opening on the
executive committee. And when there is a contested election for union
office, the candidates can barely be discerned from one another. Personal
connections and a large base of support gets you elected, not policy
differences.
Because of this congenial method of governance, there
are few firebrands in any position of power within NEA. Those that exist are
tolerated, but are not taken seriously, much less embraced. There are, of
course, many differences of opinion within NEA, but no organized opposition,
which would certainly be viewed with distaste.
The AFT is a different matter. Without term limits, AFT
affiliate presidents can hold office for life. And many do. What's more,
they can hold multiple elected offices, so that AFT President-presumptive
Randi Weingarten will hold on to the presidency of the United Federation of
Teachers for as long as she wants to. This changes the entire internal
dynamic of the organization. Your chances of rising to higher office in AFT
are much slimmer, and if you miss your opportunity it might be 40 years
before you get another.
This style of governance leads to a lot of patronage
and top-down decision-making, but it also leads to a vibrant and determined
(some might say fanatical) opposition. Their powerlessness actually makes
them more vocal. If you're never going to run the union, who cares whose
toes you step on?
Here's a compare-and-contrast for you. West Virginia
Education Association President Charles DeLauder was defeated in a bid for
reelection by his own vice president, Dale Lee. In NEA, this is a very rare
occurrence. What's more, DeLauder only received 22% on the first ballot and
didn't even make the runoff. This suggests some serious dissatisfaction, but
you would never know by the spin. WVEA Executive Director David Haney told
the press Lee only ran because his daughter is graduating from high school.
"If he was ever going to become president he thought this was the best time
for him," Haney said. "I don't think it had anything to do with anything
other than that."
NEA sources tell EIA that Lee promised to spend more
time and resources on organizing and bread-and-butter issues. Others say Lee
was more effective as the voice of WVEA than DeLauder was. Also on Lee's
agenda, sources say, is a détente with AFT West Virginia. AFT sources tell
EIA that they would welcome such a move, but are skeptical that anything
lasting would come of it.
That information is sparse enough, but you won't find a
word about any of this floating around the Internet. There is a decided lack
of NEA voices in the blogosphere, particularly unofficial ones (Fred
and
Mike Klonsky are exceptions, but they deal with internal NEA issues only
tangentially).
AFT is a different story. In Washington DC you have the
union vice president suing the local president and the AFT president. In
Los Angeles, you have an incumbent president who ousted the previous
president for being insufficiently militant, and who survived a reelection
challenge on the same charge by his opponents. In New York City, you have
opposition caucuses fighting the incumbent caucus as well as other
opposition caucuses, and you have multiple bloggers, including
NYC Educator,
Education Notes Online, and
JD2718, as well as
Edwize, which is UFT's official blog. And that brings us to Chicago.
The city saw several back and forth battles for the
Chicago Teachers Union presidency between Marilyn Stewart and Deborah Lynch,
both with union caucuses to back them up. There were allegations of fraud,
mismanagement, tampering - you name it. The Chicago papers covered it well,
but you also had George Schmidt's
Substance keeping an eye on events. Now you also have Alexander
Russo's
District 299 blog, which not only reports
an ongoing battle between Stewart and her own vice president, Ted
Dallas, but has
blog commenters who add details and perspective.
Meanwhile, following the example of New York's
opposition caucuses, you have a
coalition formed that is posting internal union documents, such as the
collective bargaining agreement between the Chicago Teachers Union and its
own staff union (a Teamsters affiliate). The 16-page document details
salaries and perks that will water your eyes. Such a campaign would be
unheard of in NEA.
The approaches of both NEA and AFT have strengths and
weaknesses. NEA members get regular turnover of officers, the democratic
process, and a collegial atmosphere without any of the rough-and-tumble that
is part of national politics. On the other hand, dissent is either squelched
or papered over, the party line reigns so supreme that even blogs are
stilted, and independent voices are few and far between.
AFT members get actual dialogue, debate and even
battle. There are many voices on many issues, the party line is delivered in
a number of ways in a number of formats, and independent sources of
information are much more prevalent. On the other hand, endless incumbency
is the rule, leading to staleness in some places, and corruption in others.
The multiplicity of voices is nice to listen to, but often accomplishes
nothing.
With the accession of new presidents in NEA and AFT in
the same year, we may see some renewed movement toward merger of the two
unions. If so, it will be interesting to see which vision of governance and
the role of loyal opposition wins out.
2) UTLA Wants to Raise Dues by 38%. As EIA
reported three weeks ago (see item #3 "That's
Why It's Called the Golden State"), United Teachers Los Angeles was
setting up members for a dues increase by comparing its $689.04 dues to
other locals in California and elsewhere. But not since the Michigan
Education Association
extracted an additional $112 from its members have we seen such a bold
and sizable dues hike.
UTLA leaders want to alter the provision of the union's
constitution that currently sets dues at 1.5% of the minimum teacher salary
and convert it to 1.5% of the average teacher salary. UTLA computes the
annual increase at $264 – a 38% increase. Two weeks ago, the union's board
of directors approved the plan by a 35-1 vote. It will go before the UTLA
House of Representatives on June 4 and, if approved, will be subject to a
rank-and-file vote from June 9-12.
The outcome of the vote is of less interest to me than
the turnout. Rank-and-file voting for union officers is notoriously poor,
especially in Los Angeles. What would it say if the members can't be
bothered enough to at least vote their preference on whether they want large
sums of money extracted from their paychecks?
I'm also struck by the appeal of UTLA President A.J.
Duffy, who noted in his regular column in the May 16
United Teacher that the dues increase "amounts to 72 cents a day –
far less than a cup of coffee at Starbucks." A
similar comparison was used when the California Teachers Association
enacted its huge assessment in 2005.
The Los Angeles Unified School District should try the
same tactic. For the price of the UTLA dues increase, the district could
save the jobs of a couple of hundred classroom teachers. Isn't that worth a
daily cup of coffee?
3) District Spending Data Updated for Seven More
States. EIA has updated district-by-district enrollment, workforce and
spending tables for the states of Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan,
Minnesota, Mississippi and Missouri. Some items of note:
* In Maine, workforce reductions track closely with
enrollment drops statewide, though proportions vary widely from district to
district.
* In Maryland, the teacher force grew by 10 percent
between 2001 and 2006, while enrollment grew by less than 1 percent.
* In Massachusetts, the Boston Public Schools spent
$17,421 per student in 2006, a 45% increase over five years.
* In Michigan, unlike most other states, each charter
school is reported as if it is a separate school district. This leads to
some apples-and-oranges numbers, but does provide a ready comparison of
enrollment and hiring trends between charters and traditional public schools
in the state.
* In Minnesota, demographic shifts appear during the
2001-06 period, with Minneapolis, St. Paul, Duluth, Mounds View and St.
Cloud all experiencing significant declines in enrollment, while South
Washington County, Elk River, Lakeville and Chaska are booming.
* In Mississippi, school districts seem to have
weathered Hurricane Katrina better than Louisiana.
* In Missouri, statewide enrollment was flat, but
declined considerably in St. Louis and Kansas City, the two largest school
districts.
The tables are located at
http://www.eiaonline.com/districts.htm. District statistics for all
other states will be added over the next several weeks.
4) Education May Be the Last Friend He Has.
Last week, EIA reported on the teachers' union angle regarding embattled
Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann (see item #7, "Charter
School Schadenfreude"). Well, Dann resigned under pressure last week,
after articles of impeachment were filed against him. The Dayton Daily
News provided an
excellent timeline of events for those coming late to the story.
I neglected to mention this tidbit last time: A mere
two weeks before the scandal broke, Dann was honored by the Ohio Education
Association with its 2008 Friend of Education Award. I mention it here
because it's very doubtful you'll hear much about it from OEA.
5) If Three's a Trend, Is Four a Movement?
Two
weeks ago, EIA reported the recent decertifications of units of the Oklahoma
Education Association in favor of the non-union
Association of Professional Oklahoma Educators (see item #4, "Three's
a Trend"). Last week, the Associated Press reported a fourth group of
teachers, in the
Strother School District, also took the plunge. Still small, but
beachheads usually are.
6) Scheduling Note.
In observance of Memorial
Day, the next EIA Communiqué will not appear until Tuesday, May 27.
7) Last Week's Intercepts. EIA's blog,
Intercepts, covered these topics from May 12-19:
*
Iowa Governor Vetoes Scope of Bargaining Bill. Another Democratic
governor stands up to the teachers' union. Maybe some day one of these brave
souls will run for President.
*
Oversupply and Underdemand. Even if the union demands it, 12 students
does not a school make.
*
Preparing Students for Yesterday's World. By the folks who brought you
the Yummy Pizza Company.
8)
Quote of the Week.
"I don't know any other profession or industry where an outside, private
group is allowed to pay another employer's employees based on their
behavior." – Washington Education Association spokesman Rich Wood,
explaining union opposition to a $13.2 million grant to low-income schools
from the National Math and Science Initiative. Funny, I'm pretty sure Wood
and WEA know about the
Milken National Educator Awards. (May 18
Tacoma News Tribune) |
