Teachers’ Unions Are Washington’s Fat Cats
by Kyle OlsonWe know how liberals, particularly those in the education establishment, like to say that Corporate America dictates public policy through campaign contributions.
A new report, prepared by the Center for Responsive Politics and the National Institute on Money in State Politics, does a good job of dispelling that myth.
As it turns out, the National Education Association was by far the nation’s biggest political contributor during the 2008 election cycle. The NEA dropped a cool $56.3 million on its list of favored liberal candidates at various levels of government, which was about $12 million more than the runner-up contributor spent.
The American Federation of Teachers was also busy writing contribution checks, to the tune of $13.8 million. And the two unions joined forces to contribute about $3.3 million to various campaigns in a handful of states.
What was that again? Our government has been bought and paid for by Corporate America?
The Education Intelligence Agency summed up the true situation this way: “America’s two teachers unions outspent AT & T, Goldman Sachs, Wal-Mart, Microsoft, General Electric, Chevron, Pfizer, Morgan Stanley, Lockheed Martin, FedEx, Boeing, Merrill Lynch, Exxon Mobil, Lehman Brothers and the Walt Disney Corporation combined.”
That’s ironic when you consider what the unions got in return for their huge investment. We’re certain they were excited on election night last November, with a Democrat headed to the White House, big Democratic majorities taking over Congress, and Democrats controlling statehouses across the nation.
But alas, Democratic officeholders at every level have turned on the unions, despite their generous campaign gifts. The President is demanding Republican-style education reforms through his “Race to the Top” initiative, and state officials across the map are scrambling to cooperate and quality for federal money.
So I guess we can’t say that the teachers unions are dictating public policy with huge campaign expenditures. They certainly tried, but their pet politicians ate up all the treats, then turned around a bit their masters.
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61 Comments
I'm a public school teacher. I hate teacher's unions. I would never have joined one if I had a choice. I was pressured by the union rep at my school until I finally caved. I spent months trying to stop them from taking my union dues for political purposes with which I disagree. I finally ended up quitting to raise kids and do not look forward to having to deal with unions when I go back to work. I love teaching kids and cannot imagine any other career, although I'm trained as a chemist. Guess I get to fight that battle again when I go back to work next year.
UNIONS SUCK!!!
great article….but, you need to dig much deeper….note that over 400 employees in these two unions make about 200,000 or more per year in income. Does that seem right for a teacher to make that much?? especially with the poor math test scores and low graduation rates in most major cities?? They do not want to be held accounatble. These teacher unions foster Sal Alinksy and socialist/green agendas to all our children More recently, we are now seeing gay sex classes and materials for our kids. Where are the school boards? why are they allowing the brainwashing of our children??? You need to look at both unions LM-2 2008 Financial reports, and note Presidents salaries at both NEA and AFT unions….dispicable. Now they want taxpayers to fund the bankrupt pension plans and medical healthcare plans. why???????
check out these two sites………………
http://www.neaexposed.com/index.htm
http://www.aftexposed.com/
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check out these two sites………………
http://www.neaexposed.com/index.htm
http://www.aftexposed.com/
so our tax dollars pay theri salaries, and their saleries contribute to the union which lobbies to get them a bigger cut of our tax dollars, thats just friggin great, BUT they public schools have done a great job of educating our future citizens. Do they have an implicit agreement with the democrats to produce unthinking morons so the democrats can have voters?
There was a time in the US when unions had their place. Clearly that time has passed. The idea that we have teachers, municipal employees, and others holding the economy is absurd. We need to abolish political contributions of any type or amount from anyone; give candidates a flat amount to spend for campaign expenses and let the chips fall where they may.
[...] From: BigGovernment.com [...]
Someone needs to ask Obama about this lady at AARP making $400,000 per year !!!!
http://hotair.com/archives/2009/12/18/hot-air-tv-...
From your lips (or keyboard)…
ask the people @ Saturn in TN (NOW CLOSED)
I guess unions still have some pull because they moved he jobs back to Michigan
TN (Lower wages and would have worked without any UNIONS)
No Child's Behind Left Alone.
I equate what the NEA does the equivalent of molestation of the child's mind.
http://www.cafepress.com/rightwingstuff
You can bet they all have Jennings books in their classrooms!! Teachers today have no desire to actually teach children, they are there on a political agenda only!!!!
I think your numbers leave out donations by individuals employed by these companies, which are likely to be particularly large for Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Merrill Lynch. The numbers probably also leave out donations by individuals who are also NEA members, but I think those amounts are likely to be less.
We pay these guys too much if they have a spare $56M to drop on campaigns…
I give you alot of credit…do teachers at private schools unionize I wonder?
I give you alot of credit…do teachers at private schools unionize I wonder?
Kind of. That is the Progressive agenda and the dumbing down of America ensued. People are so much more malleable when you can distract them with shiny objects.
And strict term limits. I will take inexperiened integrity over well experienced chicanery.
Very funny and witty. Kudos.
you may be interested in knowing this: In the late 80s I was involved in a lawsuit with the teamster's union over compulsory membership. I won, they lost. The ruling (which is a picture frame on my wall) states: "The teamster's union (and the contractor that I worked for) shall not discriminate against me, OR ANY OTHER EMPLOYEE by making compulsory membership in this OR ANY OTHER UNION a condition for employment. I was awarded sanctions. Anyone in the country can now cite my case and demand equal protection of the law. I don' remeber the case cite off hand, but contact the Right To Work Organization, they may have records. The case arose in Duluth, Minn in 1986 or 7. But you have to have the courage to stand up to them. They'll try to bully you.
No one that I know of belongs to a Teacher's Union at my school. There may be a few but I am not close to those who "may" belong. Most of us are very conservative and know better. Sorry, but that is not the case across the country
Liberal acedemia at is best. My seventeen year-old doesn't even know who John Hancock is but can tell me how carbon is choking the world and we are the cause of it. She knows some Spanish but can't name all the states. I am 20 years older and know states, capitals, and definately know who JH is. I asked her if she knew who General, MacAuthur, General Bradly, Pres Eisenhower, and General Patton was and of course I got "I don't know". Looks like the greatest gerneration is becoming the lost generation.
I work for a public university and I hate them too!!! And, I feel the same about them spending the money that they take from me in dues to give to their democratic friends. I still work there because I like what I do, but after our new governor comes in January, I'm going to try to decertify them. People are so clueless about what the unions do with their dues money. Just think what teacher's could earn if the good ones didn't have the unions holding them back with across the board raises and the unions taking their money in dues. Good luck to you when you get back to teaching….maybe you can decertify them too? If you need any help with ammo, go to DOL.gov, type union reports in the search box and you can look up the union and where the $$ goes.
Good points! Right now, the Teacher's unions have to report where they spend the dues, but I think Obama is overturning that. Taxpayers have the right to know because the $ initiates from the taxpayers. Unions DO NOTHING to earn money, but take the money from the workers that they claim to represent.
Teachers Unions are probably the biggest long term threat this country faces. They buy political influence through forced "donations". In turn, they either directly or indirectly control what our upcoming generations are taught. What those generations are taught influences how they vote. How they vote influences whether or not we will become a communist nation. Education vouchers would counter this, but the Unions abhor the idea; it would take away their power.
You made my day, Kyle!!! The Teacher's unions are horrific, all they want is to take the worker's $$ and give it to their progressive friends/causes. And even worse, they push their progressive ideas on children and college kids.
Why aren't YOU filling in all the blanks for her; why haven't you been doing this for the past 17 years?
Even way back when, when I was in grammar school, I realized that I learned more at home, than in school. It's not hard to do and you need to make it fun and interesting, but it can and should be done. And before you ask, yes, I did it and my kid went to private school.
I just sent an email to my Senator, the Republican Senator, advising him that all of the teachers at my school had
recently been informed of Kevin Jennings and his perverted actions. I also told him that we read big gov. and ike-minded conservative blogs…… just before asking him if Jennings would be immediately dismissed. In my room we say the pledge, sing the National Anthem and say a prayer every morning. No union dues here. We are still teaching where I live. (Don't tell the Democrats especially the Commander in Chief. Not everyone is PC or unionized!
I recall hearing many years ago that Rush Limbaugh said that the biggest single cause of school problems was allowing teachers to unionize back in the 50's.
I am a retired public school teacher. I am also an EX-conservative. I say EX because part of the reason I left conservatism was know-nothing Right Wingers WHO HAD NEVER MET ME spitting in my face constantly. The ugly, ill-informed comments of the radical rightists in this thread are eloquent examples of this. Teachers unions are the greatest threat to America? You mean more than radical Islam? And we're turning America into a Communist state? What kind of insane asylum do you people live in? The average teacher salary is $51,000 a year. For this, according to the OECD, American students fall just about in the middle of most measures of students in the advanced nations, and yes, I have the data to prove it.
When I think of the damage that has been done to American education by idiot creationists and unreformed Confederate sympathizers, I shudder. The worst school systems in America are in the hard-core conservative states–Alabama, Mississippi, and South Carolina. Oh, and conservative "abstinence only" sex education is working out really well. Texas has just about the worst rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in America.
Finally, to the person who compared the NEA to child molesters: go to hell.
Oh, you mean Limbaugh, the guy who couldn't get through more than a year of college? The tough-talking draft dodger and drug addict? You mean him? The idiot who said President Obama governs "like Hitler"? You mean that particular intellectual giant?
[...] Teachers Unions Are Washington’s Fat Cats [...]
No, I am a private school teacher and we are hired on a one year contract but are given tremendous support with technology and educational resources. We also are encouraged to pursue courses, workshops, and projects that will improve our teaching.
By the way, my contract also stated that I would be responsible for two seasons of after school activity (coaching, community service with kids, etc.) and advising 10-15 students in addition to my courses that I taught. When I had sports our practices let out around 5:00 and if we had an away game we got back sometimes at 6:00.
But….I LOVED IT and was able to teach and learn and make an impact on the lives of young people. That is why people should go into teaching.
Might I suggest the unions take all that money they spend bribing politicians and do something constructive for education like give it to school systems so they can afford to buy books, paper, pencils, computers, science equipment, fix holes in walls, repair toilets, broken windows, and on and on. IN our town 85% of the budget goes for salaries leaving nothing for all these other important purchases and repairs.
Unions have destroyed public education. The need to protect teachers is long gone. Now they protect the ones that should be fired. State education departments have also got to take a stand and demand greater accountability which the unions cannot circumvent. That is where the power truly rests in defining the role of education and the teacher in public education. Sorry to ramble but I am passionate on this issue. And I am retired 5 years from teaching for 35 years at private schools.
Reforming the education system in the US needs to happen in two phases:
1) Get the Feds out of Education: dissolve the Dept. of Ed. and the NEA will wither. States traditionally had the role of funding public schools
2) Create an education market. Just like health care, if there is not individual choice as to where my money goes, there's no real competition and therefore not incentive to produce a quality product at a low cost. The more that parents control where education dollars go, the better the system will be.
Can I also make the claim to be a teacher and forced into a union and that union suck?
Or do I have to write the truth and tell everyone that unions suck, cause I have yet to understand the history that made union memebership needed, if not vital, vs corporate ownership that found it's natural home in the world of Charles Dickens, if they could?
yup- without the courtesy of a 'reach around'…
LOL! also the motto of the new schools czar, kevin jennings…
oh that's rich. comparing the "damage that has been done to American education by idiot creationists and unreformed Confederate sympathizers" to that done by the teachers' unions is like comparing a door ding in a parking lot to driving the whole freakin' car off a cliff.
if, IF, the 'idiot creationists' have done any serious damage to education, it has been in a very narrow area of study in a relatively tiny percentage of school districts. the unions have F___ED UP education from top to bottom, side to side, wall to wall, from sea-to-shining-freakin'-sea!
btw- just because you may have once been somewhat to the right of your union co-workers, that didn't make you a conservative. i'm also glad you're retired from your career of educational malpractice.
"Definitely", not "definately". "Generation", not "gerneration".
Studies show that high school students who have involved parents do the best in school.
I'll say it again; the "new Mob" has become the Unions, particularly, the SEIU, soon to control the entire world. This is to make the Roman Empire small potatoes!
Wow, so public education only declined under democrats? Ha! I think ALL administrations approach to public education sucks.
Yes, the same as nurses, doctors, firemen, police…. I think it's stupid to generalize an entire career.
JMiller, the truth hurts huh ?
You are just as bad as the jihadists, worse actually, at least they kill themselves after they attack you scum hide behind your worethless union after you've ruined another young mind. You ARE CHILD MOLESTERS by the way and unless each and every single one of you union scum call out that freak jennings YOU ARE ALL JUST AS GUILTY OF CHILD MOLESTATION AS HE IS.
Not only do UNIONS SUCK so do MOST TEACHERS, aS DO YOU JMiller.
There will be no improvement in education until the teachers' unions are either completely brought under control, or abolished. The sad fact is that too many parents believe their children's teacher to be a "Saint." Reality ends at the school house door. Good teachers are worth every dime they are paid, but the unions will not allow the good teachers to be the model by which others are judged. Mediocrity and sub-normal standards assure that the flow of dues will continue and that those in the "profession" who are protected by the union will continue to keep the union flag flying. Teacher unions could not care less about education. Their sole interest is in getting more and more money for their minions, for less and less work product. It will always be so. Until American parents wake up and realize that it is their children who are being sacrificed on the union altar, there is no hope for American education. We are well on our way to third world status in education, courtesy of the unions.
wow, somebody that had something intelligent to say on this site.
Thankfully you are retired. You sound very bitter. Perhaps you have many resentments.
Need a 12-step program? There is one near you.
Where did you teach?
People who never met you spit in your face? Constantly?
Idiot creationists?
Confederate sympathizers?
Teaching children not to fornicate?
Sounds like utter madness to me.
The Union leadership makes that money, NOT the teachers. These people work for the union soley and are not teachers. Look at the LM2 for 2009. The NEA gave $150K to GLSEN.
The NEA gave GLSEN $150K this year. The AFT gave them $$ too.
The NEA and the AFT are crooked to the core. Did you ever look into where they were spending your dues money? I think not.
And the teacher's unions, particularly the AFT works with the SEIU and they are just as bad.
No-one is saying that.
Yup, you nailed it. If the state controls education, then the state can forever expand its control by making sure that citizens are never educated enough to realize what is happening.
This is a prime reason why the bulwarks of freedom must be kept free from state control — and by this, I mean, the centers of knowledge and the centers of spirituality. The state should pay not a dime for education, in fact, it should be prevented by law, and also the IRS ruling that forbids pastors from discussing politics must be rescinded.
Without right to work laws, teacher union legally include paying "fair share" provisions in contracts. Push for right to work legislation in all states; if passed, teachers would leave the NEA in droves.
Want to know about the NEA…? Read " NEA, the Trojan Horse in American Education". Very enlightening!
I don't know much about teachers and what they have been teaching for t he last 20-30 years, but I do know that many of the people I meet under the age of 40 who are college graduates are pretty stupid. I don't know what they're teaching in school but it isn't American history, American Government, proper grammar and basic math without a calculator. It's really pathetic.
There's a difference between campaign contributions and lobbying.
Lobbying is defined as “the attempt to influence legislation.” Legislation includes actions by Congress or any state legislature, local council, or other similar governing body. Actions by these bodies include acts, bills, or resolutions. If an exempt organization contacts, or urges the public to contact, a member or employee of a governing body in order to advocate for or against an action by the body, it is lobbying.
Political campaign activity is directly or indirectly participating or intervening in any political campaign on behalf of or in opposition to any candidate for elective public office. This includes making contributions to political campaign funds or making public statements in favor of or in opposition to any candidate for public office.
The biggest lobbies are funded by industry:
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/top.php?indexTyp...
There are the total lobbying expenditures from 1998 through 2009. They probably don't include everything that has been spent on the Health Care Reform battle. These numbers dwarf actual campaign contributions.
IndustryTotal
Pharmaceuticals/Health Products$1,760,225,789
Insurance$1,309,425,963
Electric Utilities$1,196,876,051
Computers/Internet$984,913,181
Business Associations$918,177,226
Oil & Gas$873,467,350
Education$840,826,698
Misc Manufacturing & Distributing$791,022,874
Real Estate$781,566,950
Hospitals/Nursing Homes$775,204,790
Health Professionals$690,064,897
Securities & Investment$674,860,601
TV/Movies/Music$664,488,625
Civil Servants/Public Officials$662,416,583
Air Transport$660,687,720
Misc Issues$579,033,279
Telephone Utilities$567,853,730
Automotive$561,444,723
Telecom Services & Equipment$538,293,673
Defense Aerospace$456,977,267
I'm a teacher. Who's Jennings? Personally, I teach because of a love for children. If I had no desire to teach and merely wanted to promote a political agenda, I would be a different person–maybe a self-absorbed narcissist like the head of Enron or some of the leaders of corporate America. Open your mind, rckmom.
Thank you very much for your help, this has been a great relief from the books,
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