Teachers like me deserve a vote on union representation

When I became a public school teacher, I resisted the pressure to join a union. My personal views don’t align with many of the positions held by teachers’ unions, and I didn’t want to pay dues only to have that money given to organizations and causes I would never personally support.

Even though I exercised my right not to join a union, I am still represented in my workplace by labor organizations I consider political and contentious, because in Pennsylvania public-sector unions have the government-given power to represent all employees in a bargaining unit whether they are members of the union or not.

Most teachers’ unions were first certified by teachers in the early 1970s, just after the state first allowed teachers to collectively bargain. Unlike presidential or other elections we’re more familiar with, once a union is certified, it’s never again required to stand for reelection.

How many teachers are still in the classroom today who would have voted in those certification elections 50 years ago? Most — if not all — current teachers never had the chance to vote on which union they want to represent them, or whether they even want union representation.

However, I and my fellow teachers may find some relief from lawmakers in Harrisburg, who are considering legislation to allow teachers and other public employees the right to vote periodically on union representation.

Public-sector unions today are out of touch with the employees they represent. In 2016, teachers’ unions spent $32 million on politics, and 94% of that went to Democrats, according to OpenSecrets. This does not represent the diversity of political opinions held by teachers.

At a recent hearing on several public-sector labor reform bills, including the one that would allow teachers to vote on union certification, lawmakers heard from Cheri Gensel, a teacher in the North Pocono School District, who said that teachers deserve a choice when it comes to union representation. She described how her union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, sent her letters telling her to change her political affiliation from Republican to Democrat. The union also told her who to vote for.

Though I did not experience the same level of political manipulation as Ms. Gensel, her story resonated with me. This is not what educators signed up for when they joined the teaching profession. I became a teacher to be a positive influence in the lives of children and to help them achieve their goals.

Hearing Ms. Gensel’s testimony reminded me that I am not alone — there are a lot of teachers who have had the same negative experience with their unions. When teachers’ unions assert their uniformly progressive politics on teachers, they make my job harder and interfere with students’ learning.

Employees in many other professions agree that unions should stay out of politics. A recent survey of union members’ attitudes by American Compass showed that only a third of union members wanted their unions to engage on political issues.

Despite the opinions of their members, not only do teachers’ unions insert themselves into political issues involving education, they also advocate for issues like tax increases, abortion, and universal health care. These topics have little relation to what teachers deal with in the classroom on a daily basis and alienate many of us who have different viewpoints.

Union officials have also brought politics into the classroom by taking a side on contentious issues like the teaching of critical race theory in K-12 schools and school masking requirements. They speak as though all teachers agree with their policy pronouncements, but their recent actions have actually made the daily lives of teachers more difficult.

If teachers and other public employees had the opportunity to hold unions accountable through regular elections, union officials would finally have an incentive to listen to their members and become less political.

The status quo isn’t working for teachers like me. State lawmakers should give us the chance to have our voices heard.