The link below is to an article from Thomas Sowell in last week’s Wall Street Journal about the efforts in New York and elsewhere to thwart the growth of public charter schools. The article makes a very persuasive case that charter schools are doing better overall, even when occupying the same building as a unionized public school. It shows to be fallacious the often used criticism of charter schools skimming off the top. Anyone who is familiar with the sector knows the lengths to which the teachers’ union in California went last year to try to decapitate charter schools in that state. And, California Democratic Party politicians couldn’t wait to take the political contributions and do the unions’ bidding for them. The case for charter schools is well documented thanks to the fact that they are public schools taking the same standardized tests as traditional public schools. By and large, charter schools do particularly better with low-income and minority students than their traditional public school counterparts. And when they don’t, there is a mechanism by which to close them.
Those of you who have read my posts in the past know I have been particularly critical of the teachers unions and the politicians who purport to support low income and minority parents, but who in actuality work against the interests of those without the resources to help themselves. It is very evident that the purpose of the unions is to serve the interests of the adults in the building even when it means working against the interests of the students whose life trajectory is being diminished by that very purpose. And, I’ve concluded the purpose of the teachers unions has run its course, and they are now serving to reduce the effectiveness of our public schools system on which we depend for an educated populace, and for which we pay dearly, and to inhibit the ability to provide needed reforms. We simply cannot justify the disservice to society represented by putting the interests of the employees before the interests of society. Certainly, that doesn’t mean employees don’t have rights, etc., but it does mean that we need to be able to manage a workforce providing public goods for the benefit of the public.
The murder of George Floyd by an often-cited police officer has put this criticism in a new light. There have been numerous reports of problems with this officer, with eighteen complaints on his official record. If I had eighteen traffic tickets, they would take away my license. Numerous articles report on the difficulty in getting rid of bad actors in the police department, with resistance by the police union. Arbitration called for by collective bargaining agreements often results in overturning the decision to terminate employment in those instances when the system allowed officials to even go as far as recommending firing. I am not trying to damn the police as a whole. I suspect the vast majority were repulsed by the actions of Derek Chauvin and others. I personally know many police officers who are good people who put themselves in harms way on a daily basis. I know their kids, who have grown into wonderful adults, and it seems to me that would be difficult if their parents weren’t also wonderful people. I know who I’m going to call when the fit hits the shan.
Similar things can be said about most public school teachers. Nonetheless, the article focuses on problems with teachers unions, and the events of this summer, and other prior but similar events, only serve to broaden the necessary scope of examination. As citizens, we deserve a competent and unbiased public sector workforce providing public services. The focus needs to be on the services provided to the public, not the union members. Unions have become so powerful that, on top shielding their members from being held accountable, those public sector employees will also have a better retirement than many of you reading this, and at your expense. In some cases that’s justified: if you run into a burning building or into a bank being robbed, those are defensible. But, a retired LAUSD teacher has to pay zero medical expenses for life. Get ready for it to become even worse when the unfunded pension liabilities and OPEB of many state and local governments means cuts to current services AND a raise in your taxes.
Its time to re-think the purpose of public sector unions of all types, and whether they have gone too far in protecting worker rights at the expense of the society they serve. I think they have, and I suspect that, if asked, many of the folks in the streets this past month might also agree to a certain extent.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/charter-schools-enemies-block-black-success-11592520626?mod=searchresults&page=1&pos=2