On Saturday, I mailed off a resignation letter to the California Teachers Association. I had previously mailed an application to the Association of American Educators (www.aaeteachers.org), which is a professional organization for teachers that provides legal representation and insurance but doesn't spend any of my dues on left-wing politics (or any politics for that matter) like the NEA/CTA does.
Every year, I have read articles about how the NEA and CTA spend their money, and about the stupid resolutions that are passed at their yearly conventions; resolutions that have noting to do with education (minimum wage, gay marriage, the Iraq War, etc.). I couldn't stand it anymore.
There is a famous quote attributed to Thomas Jefferson. He said, "To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical." As long as I was a member of the Teachers Union, I was being compelled to furnish money for beliefs which I do not share or support. That is now coming to an end. From now on, the CTA will be required - by law - to return to me all of the dues I pay that would have gone to political activism on their part. With that returned money, I can easily pay my $150-per-year dues to the AAE. Not a bad deal.
For more information about Teachers and the role of the Unions in their profession, visit the site for the California Teachers Empowerment Network (CTEN) located on my blogroll at left.
Good Day to You, Sir
"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free... it expects what never was, and never will be." --Thomas Jefferson
6 comments:
You're a good man, and thanks for the CTEN plug!
Welcome to the AAE club, a hefty cash rebate this fall, and one step toward freedom from the despicable stranglehold of the CTA/NEA!
Teachers unions should have total power to run the schools, rather than the corporate buffoons who do it now.
Which "corporate buffoons" would that be?
Doesn't your district take your union dues each month, whether they go to the union or not? Conscientiously, you may be farther ahead by withdrawing from the union, but not financially. Or maybe your district is different...
Withdrawing from the Union doesn't mean I won't still pay Union dues. According to CA state law, if I want to be a public school teacher in this state, I HAVE to pay Union dues whether I want to or not, or whether I am a member of the Union or not. The difference is that now, I will only be required to pay the amount that is used for contract negotiations and such. Any amount I was paying that was going to be used for political activism on the part of the Union now has to be refunded to me. From what I have been told by others who have left the Union, their refund check is usually in the neighborhood of $350. That is more than enough to pay my dues to the AAE, which is the professional organization through which I will receive insurance and legal coverage.
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