I have family that live near Grand Rapids, Michigan. And when it comes to teachers unions, you might say my research interests and writings have not exactly put me very high on their Christmas card list.
Take these two things together, and I found this story from last Friday rather interesting:
In Grand Rapids, the school board today took a no-confidence vote in the leadership of the district’s teachers union.
The board also said it will no longer deduct and transmit dues for teachers’ paychecks, effective May 30, the next pay period.
Ladies and gentlemen, for the uninitiated, please understand that union leaders surely view this action by the Grand Rapids school board as equivalent to a nuclear weapon detonation. Ending automatic payroll deductions dries up a major source of funding that subsidizes union coffers.
But if the teachers whose paychecks are affected overwhelmingly support the union, shouldn’t this be no big deal? Arrange for private banking or credit card transactions from members. A few minutes of paperwork. No cost, very little time. Union leaders should not have problems collecting from loyal members.
Maybe it’s the precedent that’s so frightening.
Regardless, Mike Antonucci has some terrific advice (see Item #2):
Note to local Grand Rapids news: Send TV crews along with the union reps as they perform this task. I promise excellent footage.
I look forward to seeing the footage on YouTube.
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