Teachers unions have
outrageous benefits
knoxnews.comHurray for Gov. Scott
Walker! He is standing against a union, the NEA and its minions in
Wisconsin.
Labor unions have a long, storied and violent
history in America. Most don't realize how corrupt, misleading and
influential they have become in today's political process.
Look at these facts:
- 15.3 million Americans belong to unions.
- For the first time ever, more union members
are public sector employees than private sector. 7.9 million
public sector, 7.4 million private.
- Only 45 percent of the NEA's members are
Democrats, but 94 percent of NEA contributions went to Democrats
in the last election. The unions are a honey-pot for progressive
political causes that have nothing to do teachers, much less
students, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- Since 2000, nearly 14,000 EEOC complaints
have been filed against unions - 4,248 race discrimination,
3,386 age discrimination, 1,828 sex discrimination, 297
religious discrimination, 1,642 disability discrimination, 2,422
miscellaneous discrimination.
- 83 percent of bad teachers never get fired.
According to Chicago school principals, current union power
makes if nearly impossible to fire poor teachers.
- About half of all union members in America
live in California, New York, Michigan, Illinois and New Jersey.
Guess what? States facing the highest budget deficiencies are
California, Illinois, New York and New Jersey. Scary, huh?
In Milwaukee, the average teacher compensation
package exceeds $100,000, the graduation rate is under 50 percent,
for black children less than 35 percent. Is it any wonder that
Walker wants to change the educational landscape, to bring fiscal
responsibility and help to Wisconsin's children and residents?
I am not against teachers. I used to be one. Most
teachers are very conscientious, many are superb. I am against the
collective bargaining unions use to demand outrageous benefits at
the cost of non-union members, while education's results are dismal.
Duane Block
Lenoir City
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