Are Today's Teacher Unions Professional Organizations?

~Professionalism, to me, implies that one acts in a matter full of integrity that displays the proficiency gained by the education and training one has received. When teachers do not display such integrity, it is my opinion that they need to be removed from the profession. The focus of our teaching needs to be on our students and what is to be in their best interests. So often I see unions and union leaders quick to stand up for their own "rights" while neglecting the needs of their students.
~Unions have certainly aided teachers and other laborers in that there is a collective bargaining agency that will be a voice to management. As Jenny pointed out in her presentation, unions were created to give a voice to the laborers. She mentioned that teacher unions provide many positive attributes such as professional development, a collective bargaining voice, and legal representation. But the teaching profession is more than just a "labor force" working with machinery and the like. We are working with the children and all that we do must be for the best interest of those children.
~As stated in "Union Bashing Won't Reform Our Schools", "the fact is that many American school districts and their local teachers' unions have formed a symbiotic partnership in mediocrity." The adversarial relationships between administrators and teachers do not help the children. All should work together to "clean house" and remove ineffective teachers. Did anyone notice the inset picture in the Plain Dealer article? There was a van with "Vote for the Worst Teachers..." and a web site entitled "www.teacherunionsexposed.com" at the bottom of it. I went to this link out of curiosity and found some interesting comments from teachers concerning the teacher unions. Jeralee Smith shared that she does not feel that the adversarial relationship the unions bring is beneficial to the children, teachers, or the districts. Ken Shelton echoed her thoughts, adding the idea that as we are all adults, we should be able to work out our differences in a professional conversation, one to one. Yet, this is discouraged by our unions which say that "you must not go into a meeting with an administrator unless you have representation with you". The other issue with unions is that much of the money that goes beyond funding the local needs is put to use in political arenas, many of which the majority of union teachers may not support themselves. Personally, I would not want my hard earned money going to support some of the causes endorsed by the NEA. If the union is indeed a representation of its members, it should consider the members' desires as to where the money should be spent.
~It seems that Tom Mooney, as reflected in the articles "Mooney Institute Tries to Blend Unionism, School Reform" and "The Power of Progressive Thinking" has indeed sought to reform the idea of unions so that they are able to be agents of collaboration, working with districts and administrators to unify them in order to "improve the quality of teaching and learning". When districts and unions work together, the "initiatives gain credibility", solving problems with instructional issues, teacher compensation, and teacher quality. Peer evaluation is also stated as a way to "develop good teachers and weed out ineffective ones."
~ We as teachers need to be reminded that we are indeed educated professionals, experts in our field, and should present ourselves as such to our children, parents, fellow staff, administrators, and the community as a whole. As my school district posted a strike this past fall, I was faced with the decision of 'crossing the line' (by the way, I am not on contract). I was told that it was not "about money", but I later found out that money(salary/insurance) was indeed a main issue; I felt lied to by my coworkers. As the date of the strike neared, it was apparent that neither side acted professionally. There was a lot of 'mudslinging' from both sides. While I appreciate the fact that the union is there to represent the teacher in the case of a charge of misconduct or to protect against unreasonable demands, I am not always in agreement with the "collaborative" requests. I am there for the children. If there is an issue that concerns the children that is not being addressed properly, I will be there to support the children. We are coming into difficult time economically. There are many out there who do not have a job or the security of health benefits. As Dr. Scott addressed in class, we may be coming into a time that the membership may "fall out". Our school survived the strike and settled two days before the scheduled walk out. The teachers demands were met and they got their raises and their lowered health care payments as they wished (for example, payment from $45/mo. for a family to $20 - I wish I could pay $45 for my private insurance!) Yet now we are faced with Reduction In Force as the school district cannot afford to keep a full staff.
~Can unions be professional? Perhaps they can, but they must be reformed to be a true representation of the professionals they serve. Unions should promote more collaboration between staff and administration. The leaders in the unions seem be a product of the generation of people who believe they are "due" certain "rights" and monetary benefits and wish to promote their own political agenda. The union should strive to truly represent all teachers, not be a political organization using compulsory fees to support their agenda.