Lynden Professional Educators encourages exploration and discussion of the local only teacher union (LOTU) option for collective bargaining.  A local only teacher union is not affiliated with the Washington Education Association (WEA) and the National Education Association (NEA). 

 

With a local only teacher union, teachers have all the protections of the law including the right to bargain with the administration and resolve matters within that legal framework, but can keep their focus and resources local.

 

THIS WEB PAGE EXPLORES THE FOLLOWING AREAS:

 

1)     Advantages of a local only teacher union

2)     Is the current LEA-WEA-NEA unified system producing results?

3)     Local only teacher unions produce results at less cost.

4)     Where are there other local only teacher unions?

5)     WEA-NEA political spending

6)     Explore with an open mind!

 

ADVANTAGES OF A LOCAL ONLY TEACHER UNION. 

 

There are many advantages to establishing a local only teacher union with nonbargaining support services from Northwest Professional Educators (www.nwpe.org).  Some of these include: 

 

• Increased teacher participation
• Reduced cost
• Teacher unity
• Independent, local focus
• Freedom from governing control of WEA/NEA
• A larger pool from which to draw local union leaders
• Independence from Big Labor's left-wing politics
• Twice the liability coverage
• Guaranteed legal fees to help with the cost of a local attorney for job protection issues
• Legal services without district or union bias and conflicts of interest (access to attorneys at the onset of problems rather than going through teacher reps or UniServ reps)
• Increased respect from the community and school administration
• Improved professional image
• Better working relationships
• Reduction of a punishing "group think" culture
• Advancement of academic freedom
• Promotion of a free marketplace of ideas

 

Please see the following documents for additional information on the advantages of a local only teacher union vs. a WEA affiliated union.

 

LOTU vs. WEA Affiliate Chart

LOTU Teacher Testimonials

 

Northwest Professional Educators (www.nwpe.org), an affiliate of the Association of American Educators, is not a union and does not engage in collective bargaining.  NWPE provides support for academic professionals such as liability insurance, legal services, education updates, grants and scholarships, practical classroom resources, newsletters, and a voice on education issues. 

NWPE provides twice the liability protection of the teachers union for a fraction of the cost, namely $16.50 versus $72.00 a month.  See this comparison between the NEA and NWPE liability policies (http://nwpe.org/PDF/Insurance_Comparison_2007.pdf).

 

Note:  With a local only teacher union, teachers continue to have the option to join the WEA and NEA if they so wish, but they do not force their colleagues to do the same.

 

IS THE CURRENT LEA-WEA-NEA UNIFIED SYSTEM PRODUCING RESULTS?

 

Teachers should ask and answer these questions: 

 

• Are LEA members getting $115,500 worth of representation services every year from the WEA and NEA? 
• Does this expense translate into better paychecks and staff relations? 
• Who is doing the lion's share of the work of negotiations?
• Who is calling the shots, setting the tone, and putting on the pressure? 
• Is WEA representation improving relations between teachers and the Lynden community? 
• Is WEA representation improving relations among Lynden staff? 
• Is WEA representation helping teachers improve educational outcomes?

 

LOCAL ONLY TEACHER UNIONS PRODUCE RESULTS AT LESS COST.

 

Lynden teachers now send approximately $115,500 to the WEA/NEA every year (~$700 of your $800 dues x 165 members).  Teachers could keep that money in our local association or better yet, we could let teachers retain it in their paychecks. 

 

If Lynden teachers were to establish a LOTU with support services from Northwest Professional Educators (NWPE) ($100 LEA dues + $198 NWPE), teachers could retain $82,500 PER YEAR for our families while funding our local association at $16,500 per year. 

 

A new study by economist Michael Lovenheim claims both supporters and opponents overestimate the effectiveness of teachers' unions.  Lovenheim writes, "My results indicate unions have no impact on teacher pay, either in the short or long run.”  (See Study: Teachers' unions don't provide more pay and The Effect of Teachers' Unions on Education Production: Evidence from Union Election Certifications in Three Midwestern States and An Open Letter to Teachers for more information on the effectiveness of teacher unions.)

 

A local only teacher union can save school district money which makes more money available for TEACHERS.  In Riley, Kansas, the new LOTU negotiated the largest teacher raise in the state because it didn't require the expense and time of bringing in outside negotiators which drive up costs for the school district. 

 

There are other negotiating models in addition to local only teacher unions.  Local associations in Clovis, Snowline, and Warner Springs, CA, use the faculty senate model.  (See http://www.ctenhome.org/Nocontracts.htm.)  Their experiences "demonstrate that teachers, district administrators, and school board members can develop the level of trust that enables districts to operate successfully without a union contract. And teachers in these districts, even though not unionized, have not sacrificed salaries or benefits: beginning and maximum salaries are far above the state’s average. Teachers also keep more of their wages because union dues or agency fees are not deducted from their checks."

 

A study in Tennessee, Successful Teacher Negotiations, revealed that non-negotiating district teachers were paid more than negotiating districts. 

 

WHERE ARE OTHER LOCAL ONLY TEACHER UNIONS?

 

There are about 20 districts that have established local only teacher unions throughout the country with St. John, WA, being the most current.  They are:

 

CALIFORNIA

    Clovis USD, (Faculty Senate)

    HCEA, Horizon Charter School, Auburn

    Warner Springs, San Diego Co.

    Somis Union School District

ILLINOIS

    Century USD 100-Pulaski Co.

    Joppa-Maple Grove #38, Massac Co.

IOWA

     At least one LOTU

KANSAS

    Riley Co USD 378

MICHIGAN

    Burt Township, Grand Marais

    Island City Academy, Eaton Rapids, MI

OKLAHOMA

    Two LOTUs

WASHINGTON

    Sprague

    St. John

 

After establishing an independent local only teacher union, not one teacher group has gone back to the NEA and its state affiliate. 

 

WEA-NEA POLITICAL SPENDING.

 

Seattle Times columnist Bruce Ramsey rightly describes public sector unions as "bargaining agents, lobbyists, political contributors and elections staff rolled into one." 

 

The WEA has refunded nonunion agency fee payers up to 70% for nonrepresentation activities in the past.  When the stakes got higher as more and more nonunion teachers were requesting their refunds, WEA dug in their heels cut back on the rebates.  Teachers had to settle for a mere 30% rebate in their 1996 federal class action lawsuit.

 

The latest scandal to arise is the NEA's funding of ACORN.  WEA has funneled teacher dues to the Democratic Party, which then makes that money available to candidates and other political action.  This has been proven in documents filed with the Public Disclosure Commission and was the catalyst that began the teacher vs. WEA lawsuits in the 90s that eventually led to the U.S. Supreme Court case.  The Supreme Court justices decided unanimously in favor of a law requiring the union to get teachers’ explicit permission before using their representation fees for politics.  Unfortunately, Gov. Gregoire and the House and Senate gutted the paycheck protection law.  In the last election, NEA committed $50 million in teacher dues for election activities to help elect Barack Obama.

WEA's contributions to candidates come from WEA-PAC. However, mandatory union dues from the general fund are used to fund every other part of the process, i.e., staff time spent on initiative, levy, or candidate elections; staff time spent training political activists; voter list development; polling; election-related mailings; marketing policy-related messages to the public to lay the groundwork for initiatives or legislation; fundraising for political causes; WEA-paid communication systems for regional and local union officials at their home or workplace; wages and benefits for all staff involved in organizing or combating opponents; travel, hospitality, and other expenses for all staff involved in outreach to journalists; staff time spent organizing political volunteers, etc. Funding for these political activities does not come from voluntary contributions but from the mandatory dues in the general fund.  Additionally, the WEA and NEA contribute teachers’ mandatory dues to OTHER organizations having nothing to do with education and workplace issues. 

 

Here are some links that reveal NEA spending and priorities:

 

NEA Shares Teachers Dues
Politics & NEA Dues

NEA and ACORN

Disturbing 5- minute Video of NEA Attorney’s Address to NEA Delegates

I Choose Charity

 

EXPLORE WITH AN OPEN MIND!

 

We encourage Lynden teachers to explore and discuss our professional representation options with an open mind. 

 

Northwest Professional Educators is available to help teachers understand their rights and options so that teachers are fully informed and empowered to make the decision that is in their best interests.  NWPE is not a union and cannot collectively bargain in accordance with their bylaws.  However, NWPE can help educate teachers and direct us to bargaining and nonbargaining resources.