Biting the Hand that Feeds

One could make the argument that the current sorry state of unions in this country began when the air traffic controllers went on strike.  They counted on being able to ground the nation's airlines, causing an uproar among air travelers, particularly business travelers, and they in turn would bring pressure to bear on the government to settle.  What they didn't factor in was Ronald Reagan.

You know what happened next.  Rather than allow air travel to be brought to a halt, President Reagan fired all the striking controllers and brought in military controllers until civilian replacements could be hired and trained to take over.  Not only did the Gipper keep 'em flying; he emboldened others to stand up to union blackmail.  Union membership and relevance have been declining steadily ever since.

Recently, Wisconsin teachers tried to have their Republican governor recalled when he sought to restore fiscal sanity to the state's economy, partly at their expense.  The result was that the governor was retained in office with an even larger majority than when he was first elected.  Perhaps more importantly, other governors who knew that economic responsibility trumped union greed took heart in their own confrontations with teachers' unions.

You would think, then, that unions would begin to read the writing on the wall.  Well, teachers' unions, anyway.  I know for a fact teachers can read.  I have serious doubts about Teamsters.

But no.  Of all the cities in all the country, Chicago is beset by striking teachers.  This is sublimely ironic on so many levels, not the least of which is that Chicago is a Democratic enclave.  Candidates who have union support are shoo-ins; without it they are also-rans.  Unions always support Democrats.  Conversely, unions have heretofore always had the support of those whose elections they have enabled.

Chicago teachers are the highest paid in the country, with an average salary of $76k per school year (a school year is typically 180 days).  The median wage in Chicago fell 6.9 percent since June, 2009, to $49,909 per calendar year.  Moreover, property values have been steadily declining.  So, what we have is a teachers' union expecting those who make $26k less than its members for double the amount of workdays to pony up more in property taxes than their homes are worth so that teachers can make twice as much as they do.

How does the union justify this exorbitant demand?  "You have a situation where the teachers feel totally and completely disrespected," explained Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers.  Yeah, I can see where there may be a self-esteem issue, here.  I mean, your current graduation rate is a whopping 55 percent.  In other words, 45 out of every 100 of your students drop out.  And your argument is, gee, if we could just get closer to that $100k salary mark, why, our teachers would feel so much better about themselves?

In spite of this utter nonsense, school officials have offered teachers what would amount to a 16 percent increase over four years, despite what is expected to be a $1 billion deficit in the system's operating budget.  Hey, no problem.  China already owns much of our national debt; why not sell it Chicago's as well?  How culturally diverse, rickshaws being pulled around The Loop!

Union officials have said that a 16 percent pay raise simply isn't enough, that there are other issues related to benefits--they want more--and teacher evaluations--they want none.

The union strategy is clear.  The union hopes that parents, faced with having to find "alternate child care" for 350,000 students who are shut out of classrooms, will bring pressure on the city to settle.  Right now Chicago's Democratic mayor and former Obama chief of staff Rahm Emanuel is hanging tough.  Smart money says he will eventually cave rather than permanently alienate the teachers' union.  Like that could happen.  To whom would an alienated union turn, the Republicans?  As if!

There was a time when parents thought of schools as centers of education.  That they now think of schools as "child care" centers is unsettling enough on its own.