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Unions & Education
Another Way to
Make America Great Again
By Kate Burch
Alexis de Tocqueville, in his 1835 book “Democracy in America,” cited
the voluntary association as a significant force in building and
sustaining the national character. Tocqueville noted that
Americans were committed to working together in clubs and mutual aid
societies to help themselves and their larger communities. We
were different in this regard from the typical inhabitant of Europe,
where the state had a much larger and more controlling role in the
lives of ordinary citizens. The voluntary association continued
for much of our history to serve an important role in
community-building and philanthropy. One of the examples that I
love is the construction of the Miami Conservancy District, a series of
dams and levees designed to prevent recurrence of the disastrous 1913
flood in Dayton, OH. This very successful project has a
world-class reputation. The striking fact is that it was built
entirely from private subscriptions and local tax initiatives, rather
than from federal dollars. And, just last week, the Amish in a
Pennsylvania town devastated by tornadoes worked together to set things
right, raising the demolished school building within days. These
examples demonstrate the effectiveness of involvement by those who are
closest to the problem—who care the most—in addressing human concerns.
Contrast this to the deplorable state of education in America that has
accrued since the federal government began taking a larger and more
controlling role.
A slender ray of hope shone through the clouds in December, with
passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act, replacing No Child Left
Behind. This long-overdue legislation provides for greater
flexibility and decision-making at state and local levels and
eliminates federal school ratings, federal teacher evaluation reform,
and federal programs like Race to the Top. It was accomplished
with bipartisan support and, most astonishingly, there was also support
and collaboration with the teachers’ unions! We are accustomed to
seeing the teachers’ unions in lockstep with those who want more
central control in order to protect their turf (anti-school choice
legislation and untouchable job protections, for example.)
Does this mean that the teachers’ unions are paying attention to the
desire of dedicated teachers in their membership to have more autonomy,
more personal accountability, and a stronger connection with the
community—to behave as true professionals? I certainly hope
so. Does it mean that the leadership has become disenchanted with
centralized, top-down control? We’ll see. Or, might
it be that they expect that Friedrichs v. California Teachers’
Association, challenging the right of unions to assess fees for
political advocacy from members who do not agree with the union’s
political position, will be ruled in favor of the plaintiffs?
They might foresee that they would then need to make their
organizations attractive to teachers by respecting them as
professionals or risk catastrophic loss of membership. We have
seen, in states that have removed from unions the power of coercion by
passing right-to-work laws, the unions bleed members.
Apparently, many people resent coerced union membership and do not
believe that the benefits of union membership would be worth the
expense.
Unions were necessary and served an important purpose in their
time. Fundamentally, there should be no infringement of people’s
right to create a voluntary association, in the form of a union, to
make their lives better. Conservative people have no quarrel with
unions that advocate realistically for their membership and keep a
strong focus on improving the profession or trade and the individual
member’s practice. Union activities that are problematic and
potentially disastrous, are making demands that end up killing the
business; and employing coercive practices that violate their members’
rights. If the teachers’ unions truly are moving toward a model
that is more practice-oriented and that has more of the character of a
Tocquevillean voluntary association, we could expect to see real
improvement in educational outcomes.
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