Union Perceptions

I am a big fan of Mike Antonnuci’s Education Intelligence Agency (EIA) blog as he does an amazing job of keeping an eye on all things union. Since the teacher’s unions have come out so firmly against alternative certification, I rely on EIA to keep track of union positions and facts.

This time he steers us to a Rasmussen Report on the public perception of teacher unions. From their article: “two-thirds of U.S. voters (66%) say the teachers’ unions – the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers – are more interested in protecting their members’ jobs than in the quality of education.”

Wow – this on top of the WSJ Article that called out the unions for opposing alternative teacher certification since “Like all unions, teachers unions have a vested interest in restricting the labor supply to reduce job competition. Traditional state certification rules help to limit the supply of "certified" teachers”

Is this a trend? Do people – and maybe even politicians – finally understand that a union’s focus is more pay and benefits for members and not education improvements? It gives one hope.

And a shout out to Jay Greene and Matt Ladner for pushing the “all fronts” strategy on the blog.

There is change in Denver

If you have not read The Slate’s coverage of the education reform rally in Denver before the Democratic National Convention then I strongly urge you to do so now. This is truly a watershed moment in American politics. Democrats are finally realizing that the teacher’s unions are doing their job – working hard to get better pay and working conditions for their members and that if that comes in conflict with improving schools, schools lose. As Senator Peter Groff stated – with much applause – “when the children's agenda meets the adult agenda, the adult agenda wins too often.”

This is a great day in education reform. To see inner city leaders taking a stand on what is right for students and not worrying about the political ramifications is truly amazing. It provides inspiration to teams like our staff at ABCTE who are battling to do what is right for students to know that others out there are working just as hard for our schools.