After 11 years as a high school teacher and ten as a member of the Chicago Teachers' Union, I have heard almost every argument for and against teachers' unions that exists. I've been accused of being greedy and my Union has been accused of protecting bad teachers. We've been told that we need to "pull our weight" and "make sacrifices". We've argued back; many of my colleagues have defended the union more eloquently than I can. However, one thing that never seems to end up on the table in these discussions is what it is that unions do that is good for our students. Here is a key way in which my union protects my students.
My union ensures that there is an appropriate review and firing process for teachers. Experienced teachers who have received high levels of education are expensive to employ, and when the budget is tight, without those protections principals might make the decision to let go of someone who has many years of experience and is an expert in their field but costs $73,000/year in favor of someone fresh out of college who costs $46,000. While it's good to bring in new perspectives, without a stable base of teachers, a school's institutional continuity is lost and kids suffer in the constant chaos and uncertainty, especially kids in low-income areas who have experience trauma. These students desperately need consistency and experienced teachers who know how interact with them in the face of the pressures of their daily lives.
Unions also protect teachers who may teach concepts like evolution! or history of oppressed people! which are not supported by a school or community. In my first year as a teacher, I worked at a charter school. Some of our students wanted to start a Gay-Straight Alliance. I, an out lesbian, championed the idea and discussed it with the administration. Eventually, Lambda Legal got involved and the kids were allowed to start their GSA. I was not invited back for a second year; I wasn't given any reason for being laid off. The school was expanding and I applied to work at the new campus and thought I was invited to teach summer school, my application for the next year was rejected. Had I been protected by a union at that time, there would have been a process before being officially fired. Those kids lost the teacher who was willing to sponsor the GSA, and legally it couldn't exist without an adult sponsor, effectively removing students' access to supports and information.
Teachers' unions protect kids by protecting teachers.
