Unions 101

I've written before on the adversarial relationship between teachers unions and students, whose respective interests almost always clash. But here's a case where the union not only ended up screwing the students, but also the teachers:

When Oregon’s North Clackamas School District found itself faced with a tight budget, it asked its teachers to agree to a wage freeze in order to avoid layoffs. Teachers told our affiliate station KATU that they took a poll in the spring and the majority of teachers agreed to the wage freeze. But because the teachers are represented by a union, the union handled the negotiations with the school district.

The result? The union refused the wage freeze and teachers were laid off. Teachers say the layoffs could mean 45 kids in some classrooms.

I've said it before and I'll say it again: teachers unions are the biggest problem with education in this country, and the biggest obstacle to improving it.