Editor: Public sector unions (“collective bargaining”) are a fraud against the taxpayers. The Loudoun Education Association is working tirelessly against the taxpayers and against the children of Loudoun County.
The union parasites are now making their big push to insinuate themselves in our public schools in a way that will have an incredibly negative effect into the foreseeable future. I would like to urge the people of Loudoun County to resist. I especially urge all teachers and other LCPS employees who have already signed cards calling for collective bargaining to rescind their support by formally withdrawing their signature.
Teacher unions are big businesses whose highest purpose is padding their own pockets. They ultimately do not care about the kids or about the teachers, and they certainly don’t care about the value to taxpayers. Collective bargaining in Loudoun will bring layers of negativity, harm to kids, waste, and inefficiency.
I listened to every pro-collective-bargaining speaker last week at LCPS, and not one made a valid case. Their arguments were non-sequiturs. I heard several say that collective bargaining would “enable LCPS to compete for (or retain) the best teachers.” Excuse me? What is preventing LCPS from doing that now? The answer is: Nothing. The School Board is completely free to adjust pay and benefits as they see fit to be competitive in the marketplace. No union is needed to “help” them do that.
I heard others claim that collective bargaining would give employees or experts a “seat at the table.” What? Every employee already has a seat at the table. Every employee already has the full right to negotiate their contract with LCPS. And, as above, nothing prevents the LCPS board from calling any expert they wish. How a teachers’ unions would be required for them to do so is beyond me.
A couple pro-Union speakers claimed that collective bargaining would “give workers a voice” or “allow” them to influence working conditions. Once again, these are old, tired union slogans. Nothing prevents any LCPS employee from having a voice or seeking improved working conditions. My goodness, they were expressing these concerns publicly.
If employees leave for greener pastures, the market will naturally require LCPS to increase pay or offer greater incentives to employment. This is how a just and fair employment system works. There is no need to entrench and empower a union to sap resources, harm kids, create an adversarial working environment, and otherwise work against the taxpayers. Collective bargaining in LCPS is exactly the opposite of what the people of Loudoun County need. It would be the very definition of injustice.
Daniel Brubaker, Lovettsville
(6) comments
Speaking for myself, I'd rather see Loudoun County tax dollars finding their way into the pockets of hard-working teachers and firefighters instead of seeing yet another giveaway to a business interest or developer. Not sure why that would strike some as a left-wing idea. Maybe the "right to work" crowd is really saying, we support the "right to work for nothing"
So you're admitting that this is simply about money. Thank you for the transparency... it sorely lacking when it comes to union advocates.
But you've got some serious tunnel vision when it comes to where the money is going. Union execs and politicians will taking more than their fair share of taxpayers' money. That's how this scheme works. A little for the worker... a lot for everybody else.
And, as always, the Loudoun taxpayer is the big loser.
Well said.
Teacher’s unions are a plague on society.
The teachers union negotiates lucrative pay and benefits from politicians (democrats) , then the union reciprocates with campaign cash and support to elect the democrats.
Union officials get rich by siphoning dues from teachers.
It is a cycle of corruption that eventually bankrupts the county. And of course, none of this helps students education.
Teacher unions are not a plague. Many things people take for granted about education come from teachers unions: class size limits, equal pay for all teachers, meal breaks for students, basic classroom safety, adequate instructional materials all come from unions.
If you think limiting class sizes doesn't help students, then you need to try and teach 60 middle school students at a time. We'll wait on the SOL results from your efforts.
Funny how when unions support certain candidates it's corruption. But when businesses and the wealthy do it, it's democracy.
You don't think the US Chamber of Commerce isn't collecting dues and using it as campaign contributions for politicians?
Oh, and teachers don't "siphon" dues. Dues is totally voluntary. So guess what teachers can spend their hard earned pay however they want.
Citizens of Loudoun are entirely capable of influencing class size , teachers pay and almost every aspect of public education through their ELECTED representatives on the school board and board of supervisors. Teachers unions are self serving entities that are not advocates for parents or students. Your comparison of the inherently corrupt public employee unions rewarding politicians that support them to the chamber of commerce is ludicrous. The chamber of commerce and its constituent businesses are not county employees. They are private businesses that have every right to petition the government. The government does not control the compensation of private companies, nor does it compensate businesses with public funds.
As to the voluntary union dues: that is only true in right to work states. Unions have been fighting relentlessly with their democrat Allie’s to eliminate workers rights to not join unions. Unions have a variety of ways to coerce union participation. Union participation across the country is historically low because their usefulness and value to workers is diminished.
The current board’s approval of collective bargaining for county employees will be saddle Loudoun with higher costs and worse services for years to come.
Daniel Brubaker is being too harsh vis-a-vis collective bargaining. I've followed the debate at Loudoun school-board meetings. One speaker in particular really made an impression on me. She said many LCPS workers don't make a living wage (a minimum of $24 an hour). I think a union could help with that situation. Are unions perfect? Of course not. But the days of wildcat strikes & rampant corruption are long gone. I believe the improved pay & working conditions brought about by unions outweigh the drawbacks. Simply put, unions are inevitable in Loudoun Blue. And that's a good thing!
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