Monday, March 22, 2010

Children, Our Most Precious Commodity and Unions

"Gallup has been polling public opinion about unions since the 1930's. Last year, for the first time, less than half (48 percent) of those surveyed approved of unions. Fifty one percent said unions "mostly hurt" the U.S. economy and 39 percent said they "mostly help." The percentage of the nation's private sector work force that belongs to a union has dropped precipitously. In the 1950's, over 30 percent belonged to unions. Today it's a little over seven percent.

But in our public schools, the direction is completely opposite. In 1960, about 35 percent of public school teachers belonged to unions and today it's twice that at 70 percent.

Is it not counterintuitive that most Americans feel unions hurt us, that we allow increasingly fewer goods and services produced in our private sector to be controlled by unions, but we turn increasingly more of our most precious commodity -- our children and their education -- over to a union-controlled workforce?"

~Star Parker

6 Comments:

At 3/23/2010 12:08 AM, Blogger OBloodyHell said...

GrailWolf, over at Wolf Howling, has done a number of pieces lately on public sector unions:





Public Sector Unions - A Toxin, A Crisis & An Opportunity

Read'n, Writ'n & Unioniz'n


California - From Riches To Public Sector Unions To Ruin



As well as a link to Reason's piece on the matter
Public Educaton, Charter Schools & Teachers' Unions In Cleveland

 
At 3/23/2010 6:17 AM, Anonymous geoih said...

Isn't democracy great!?

 
At 3/23/2010 8:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm certain our $150,000 per year drivers ed teachers are surely worth every penny. Just like those $100,000 high school librarians.....

 
At 3/23/2010 8:20 AM, Anonymous John said...

This goes a long way toward explaining why "public education" is now an oxymoron.

Unfortunately, although the quality of public education has fallen through the floor, most people don't realize that they can stop buying the product.

 
At 3/23/2010 9:07 AM, Blogger OBloodyHell said...

> I'm certain our $150,000 per year drivers ed teachers are surely worth every penny. Just like those $100,000 high school librarians.....

I'm all for exposing the claims of "low salaries", but this is juuuust a bit overblown. As I recall, the median salary for teachers in Cali, where they are supposedly the highest, is ca. $80k with benefits.

There was some recent (as in the last month or two) CD article about salaries etc. along with a link to a database of median teacher salaries in many locations. Those figures included benefits.

I'll let you find it. I seem to recall teacher salaries was the focus, and the link may have been general salaries not just teachers, but if so, THAT number I just gave was for professional teachers either way -- the DB was either just teacher salaries or profession was an optional control.

 
At 3/23/2010 10:00 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Public employee unions are the next great tyrant that has to be reeled back in. Elected officials and their representatives have to grow some spine; its happening in places like California, but progress will be difficult and spotty.

 

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