The Key to Golden Handuffs

I don't belong to a union, never have. I'd like to. Who wouldn't? In particular, they call union, public sector jobs "golden handcuffs" for a reason. In addition to the impressive wages, pension and insurance, I'd like to have that kind of security. I'd like to know that it's practically impossible to fire me... even when my work, over time, has become apathetic at best.

I have a very close friend who was, until recently, the president of our public school board for nearly a decade. He and I have spent a great deal of time discussing the issue of teachers' benefit and wage packages, their union and how it impacts our schools' budgets. I live in Michigan, the home of the UAW—a force to be reckoned with in a state where the car is king. But according to my friend, even the auto workers' union is a pushover compared to the power behind the teachers' union.

I believe there's a reason for that: we love our children.

We love our children so much, we've been willing to concede whatever it takes to ensure they have the best education our tax dollars can buy. Even when our nation's economy teetered on the verge of another great depression, even when Michigan's auto industry suffered a near-catastrophic collapse, even when our small manufacturing jobs were outsourced and the cost of our health insurance coverage would leap by twenty percent per year...even then, we loved our children enough to fight to fund our public school systems.

A recent Chrysler commercial had it right; Detroit has been to hell and back. In fact, I would argue that Michigan has been to hell and back. And through it all, we have done our damnedest to ensure our children's educations weren't compromised.

But have you seen their spelling, lately?

I have no problem continuing to meet the teachers' union demands, IF they would agree that we have the right to hold each and every one of their members to a certain standard, to a higher standard. If it takes busting their unions in order to accomplish that, then we should all grab the closest sledge hammer and start chipping away.

We love our children enough to finally, finally, insist that teachers' unions stop holding our kids' educations hostage to their wage and benefit demands while collective and individual accountability is so utterly lacking.

Call it "tough love" if you will, but I, for one, love our children enough to take those golden handcuffs, and set our teachers free.  

~ Robin