Two numbers are worth noting in today's news, neither of which can make our friends in the National Education Association very happy.
The first is "1," as in "1 in 5 teachers support ending unions."
According to Scott Martindale in the Orange County Register:
Nearly one in five U.S. educators say they support abolishing teachers unions, and one in three support ending tenure for teachers, according to a new survey by the think-tank National Center for Education Information.The survey of 1,076 public school teachers nationwide indicates that educators are becoming increasingly supportive of doing away with unions and tenure, with support growing by four to five percentage points over the past 15 years, to 19 percent and 33 percent, respectively......While support for unions and tenure is shrinking, the portion of teachers who say that teachers should be paid based on job performance is climbing, from 42 percent in 2009 to 59 percent this year, according to the survey.
The second number is "40." According to the Associated Press:
Wisconsin's powerful statewide teachers union said 40 percent of its staff members were laid off Monday as a result of the law pushed by Gov. Scott Walker and passed by the Legislature curbing collective bargaining rights.
Why would Walker be to blame for the layoffs? Turns out the union has a hard time signing up teachers when membership isn't compulsory:
About two-thirds of the state's 427 school districts reached collective bargaining agreements before the law took effect, leaving about 150 subject to the law, according to estimates by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards.
WEAC has been working to get those teachers to become members, Burkhalter said. He refused to say how many had actually been signed up, saying those were "internal figures."
Keep an eye out for further layoffs when those hastily drafted contracts begin expiring in the next couple of years.
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