Teachers’ Unions in Their Own Words
Some facts you may not have seen (unless, of course, you’ve been reading the Foundry): the average Chicago teacher makes $71,000 a year before benefits [For 9 months work]. That’s $24,000 more than the average Chicago resident, and second only to New York City in teachers’ salaries.
Yet unions are demanding a hefty raise – though they’ve backed down from their initial demand for a 30 percent pay hike. And this is in a city where only 15 percent of fourth graders are proficient in reading, and only 56 percent actually graduate from high school.
So what is the teachers’ strike about, exactly? In a new Heritage video, we present some statements from the Chicago Teachers Union and other teachers’ unions about what exactly their goals are. Are they on strike for the students? For the schools? For themselves? If you have not viewed the video, you might be surprised.
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Additional Articles:
- WSJ: Paul Moreno: How Public Unions Became So Powerful
- Steven Greehut: Chicago Strike Shows How Unions Stifle Reform
Tags: Chicago, schools, teachers strike, unions, real reason, power, video, Heritage Investigates To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the ARRA News Service. Thanks!
Posted by Bill Smith at 5:03 PM - Post Link
1 Comments:
I think a voucher system might just wake them up. Give the students and teachers the ability to choose which school they want to go to. Any School, private, charter, or other wise. The best schools will attract the best teachers, and will attract the most vouchers. Union dues must also be paid by each member, not automatically deducted from a pay check. Choice, all the way around. Buses should also be privatized and paid by each school from the vouchers received with no Government control or restrictions. The schools would shop for the most efficient bus choices. Free market using the money already being spent (and much of it wasted) on public education. No Federal department of education and no more Government paid schools which simply get paid based on head counts.
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