There’s a place for unions, despite what George Will says

George Will’s opinion article of Feb. 9 revealed his myopic view of teachers and police unions, and what they stand for. He gives himself away as a political hack by using such terms as burdensome grievance procedures, labyrinthine job protections, and extortionate union demands. He probably has never watched a co-worker get humiliated and fired in front of other employees by some hot-headed supervisor for some small infraction. There is a place for unions in America, to level the playing field, to utilize collective bargaining to push companies and entities into treating their employees well, and to offer pay and benefits closer to what those employees are really worth.

Unions also insist that employers enforce safety rules, but that totally escapes George. He brings up a low firing rate among teachers/police, but totally refuses to recognize that that could be in large part due to the high quality and motivation of those Americans. Happy employees are productive employees, and they stay on the job.

George mentions one page of work rules for Harlem Charter School 2, while Public School 30 has 167 pages, but I would bet that School 2 is a place teachers voluntarily leave to teach at regular public schools. One page should not to be held up as a model.

Union dues do fund some political activities but are also used for other purposes, such as administrative, public relations, etc. It is money well spent to improve the lives of employees, and help insure job site safety.

George’s example of paint flaking in off of the top of walls in New York public schools, because custodians won’t do the painting from high ladders, is a meaningless argument. Sorry George, their job descriptions don’t include working off of high ladders. Sorry George, teachers teach, custodians maintain and clean, and painters paint.