School unions are the bullies in the community

This Covid 19 Pandemic might signal the beginning of the end for the all powerful teacher unions which control every aspect of K-12 education in this country.

For decades, the teacher’s union, nationally The National Education Association, statewide the Washington Education Association and various local unions in every school district in the country, with a few exceptions have controlled education in this country.

No one gets elected to a local school board if the local teacher’s union objects.  No one gets elected to the top education spot in the state – Superintendent of Public Instruction – without the support of the state teacher union, and very few Democrats get elected to a state office without the support of the teacher’s union.

The power of this particular association of teachers is accomplished by members of the union – teachers.  Their dues support the union and a significant portion of those dues go to political action.  Teachers are encouraged to donate time and energy to political activities such as doorbelling, making phone calls, waving political signs and engaging in  fund-raising activities for politicians they support – who are then beholding to this particular constituent group.

Lets bear in mind that the teachers unions don’t care about the children.   Individual teachers do, and they care about the education students receive.  But the unions only care about their member – teachers.  And teachers support their union as long as it gets higher salaries, shorter working hours and school policies that favor teachers.

The Democratic party, locally, statewide and nationally is controlled by the teachers unions.  In the 2016 National Democratic Convention a full 40 percent of the delegates were educators.

But now, the Pandemic is casting an eye on the union’s power.  They are resisting sending teachers back into the classroom until everyone of them has been inoculated against Covid.  Despite that fact that Science says there is very little danger for teachers and students to resume in person education.

Many of the largest teacher unions in the country are in Democratic cities and states.  While parents scream for a return to classroom instructions, the union uses its political sway over mayors and governors, to resist the desire of the parents and the students.

This Pandemic, for the first time, has exposed the teacher unions as bullies.  For the first time, parents have begun to see how the education system operates – and they don’t like it.

I don’t know if parent anger at teacher unions will continue once all schools are re-opened.  We’ll find out when it comes time to pass school levies, vote for school board members and support Democratic candidates for state offices.