Denver teacher Ronda Reinhardt urges legislators to approve a bill that would make it easier for teachers to cancel union memberships during the school year – or whenever they want.
As a teacher in Missouri, like most of my colleagues, I was a member of a non-union teacher association. We were all quite satisfied with the affordable dues and the services provided, and the non-political nature of the organization.
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When I moved to Colorado, I was shocked to encounter a new reality in which teachers’ unions are given preferential treatment and other teacher organizations are forced to take a back seat.
When I moved to Denver I was surprised while attending my teacher orientation that the union was everywhere, and presented as the only available option for teachers to join. Due to the need for liability insurance I begrudgingly signed up. Little did I know that my decision that day would eventually lead to the union taking hundreds of hard-earned dollars from me against my will.
After just a few months in the union, I learned that there is indeed a non-union, professional association available to teachers in Colorado. The Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE) is one-fourth the cost of the union and provides me with the benefits and services I need, without the politics that I don’t want to fund. I was thrilled to find an option that met my needs, and especially my budget as an educator.
What followed was shocking. I joined PACE immediately and sent a message of cancellation to the union, thinking that would be the end. I was appalled when the union informed me that they were refusing to cancel my dues payments. Apparently I was locked into paying monthly dues for at least the rest of year – and possibly the rest of my career. This was never explained to me verbally. Turns out if I want to make sure I’m not forced to pay union dues for an additional year, and every year I teach after that, I’m required to show up at the union office in person during the first two weeks of November to cancel. That was the only way. I was stunned.
I further learned that these deceptive policies exist in 20 school districts in Colorado. I could hardly believe that an organization that claimed to serve teachers would turn around and lock me, a teacher, into such a shady contract. Teachers’ unions should be accountable to members, and if they provide a service that we think is worth the cost of dues – great. However, it speaks volumes that the unions rely on these misleading, monopolistic agreements that lock teachers into unfavorable circumstances and crush our right to hold them accountable.
I wanted to call the Better Business Bureau. I felt I had been scammed out of hundreds of dollars, which is a sad way to feel when talking about an organization that is supposed to be supporting teachers.
Thankfully, brave legislators in Colorado have put forward a simple bill, Senate Bill 13-017 that would promote teacher freedom in our state. This law would grant teachers the ability to cancel their membership in any association, be it a union or some other teacher association, at any time during the year. This will put teachers back in charge of their money and make it so all teacher associations will need to demonstrate value to their members.
The question before legislators is very simple. Are they more concerned about an individual teacher’s ability to budget and decide how to spend their own money from month to month; or are they more interested in preserving the union’s ability to lock teachers into unfavorable agreements?
Teachers deserve the right to make their own decisions regarding their paychecks and should be protected from being deceived. Allowing the unions to continue misleading educators is unacceptable. It is time for legislators to stand up for teachers and not the union.
About the author
Ronda Reinhardt has been a teacher for 19 years and is currently a reading specialist in Denver Public Schools.
Ronda,
Thanks for speaking out about this issue! Teachers deserve to have control over their own paychecks!
Ronda,
It is your money and you should have control over who gets it and who doesn’t! Every teacher does.
Ronda, the money is nothing compared to the union’s exclusive right to “represent” you.
Ronda, thank you so much. We need teachers to stand up like this all over the US. We should all have freedom in the US to get out of the union if we want to.
I guess I am the first person to respond that is not a member of PACE. You guys do have your talking pints down though.
Rhonda, can you advocate the same reasoning to my insurance company that only lets me drop them on a yearly basis? Or my health club? Can you get a “brave legislator” to put up a bill that lets me opt out of my agreement with Direct TV?
Kathy, the union is nothing compared to your elected official, who you may or may not have voted for, to have the “exclusive” right to represent you.
I hope our local associations, that use it, get rid of the opt-out requirement to put this silly issue to rest.
Mark, I believe any union should be entitled to recognition by a public entity upon the affirmative vote of a majority of those being represented.
I also feel that If unions can demonstrate this occurred, they have the right to collect dues, also for some reasonable period.
It’s the first part that I would like to see first: the requirement to recognize.
Unions have annual budgets to meet. Teachers sign an annual contract, and budgets are planned accordingly. I would hope you would educate yourself about any contract you sign before you sign it, for heaven’s sakes, especially since you describe yourself as a reading specialist! Districts can only realistically negotiate with one union. Try to imagine the chaos that would result if a district tried to negotiate multiple contracts with multiple unions. Good luck trying to collect on your “liability” insurance, PACE members, much less getting representation for your salary, class size limits, or anything else. I hear there are lots of teachers not working under a contract in Douglas County. Maybe you could get a job there and not have to worry about those pesky teachers’ unions. This, as usual, is plain old union busting, all dressed up as “choice.”
“I hope our local associations, that use it, get rid of the opt-out requirement to put this silly issue to rest.”
Mark, I am sure there are other teachers that hope for the same thing. It’s unfortunate that Ronda, or any teacher, is made to feel like going to the media or requesting that a law be passed is their only outlet for help.
Oh Ronda, how I shed crocodile tears for you. You are shocked, shocked! to learn that life is different in other places. “Brave legislators”? Really? Come on, now. If you are shilling for a political point of view, why can’t you just be honest about it? Tell you what. When PACE increases my paycheck thanks to their work and protects me from frivolous legal actions or unfair employment practices, you let me know. CEA is far from perfect but your entreaties are simply weak and ideologically motivated. Don’t try to persuade me with loaded words like ‘deceive’ or other hyperbolic verbiage. I’ve lived long enough to know when I’m being played and I don’t like it.
Leigh,
“Teachers sign an annual contract, and budgets are planned accordingly…”
If only this was the case, this wouldn’t be an issue. If the union asked teachers to sign an ANNUAL contract, it would be good for a year, then it would need to be renewed each year. Right now the unions rely on frowned-upon “evergreen” self renewing contracts that catch teachers up in long term contracts against their knowledge.
“I would hope you would educate yourself about any contract before you sign it…”
Leigh, do you read your Apple iTunes agreement before clicking yes? The truth is we rarely read our contracts in this country because we have consumer protection laws that shield us from schiesty behavior. The government routinely involves itself in contracts, especially in situations when consumers aren’t being provided with choices, or organizations take advantage (think mortgage or credit card companies). Or think when signing up with a utility company, or in a case like this where the union was presented as the only option for insurance. Teachers need protection from a monopoly run-wild.
“Good luck trying to collect on your “liability” insurance, PACE members…”
The irony in your statement is that PACE members have a guaranteed policy and they receive a copy of their policy in their name. The NEA uses a non-guaranteed group policy. Call up your local, Leigh, and see if you can get a copy of your policy in your name.
“I hear there lots of teachers not working under a contract in Douglas County…”
Actually teachers in 148 school districts are working without a contract in Colorado. One would think that surely these teachers are being abused without a union, right? The truth is that Aspen, for example, has no contract and they have some of the highest salaries in the state. Or Academy district. Why are they higher paid than teachers that pay for a union? Where is the return on investment?
Tim and Leigh,
Thanks for your work on this important issue. If the teachers union had integrity and acted honestly this would not be an issue. But it uses tactics of coercion and harassment to trap educators into its fold. It’s unamerican and violates the freedom to choose.
Can we stop with the “unamerican” rhetoric please. I chose to join the union. It’s Hard to get any more American than that! Social organizations do limit one’s freedom, that’s what happens when you engage in social relations. I gave up some freedom when I got married. That’s how it works. I just happen to find more happiness in my marriage AND in my association with my association. Are you denying me my happiness? Was I coerced and harassed into getting married? Was I coerced and harassed into joining the union? No!
Should political parties be forced into coming back to me every year to see if I want to stay in their party?
I am glad PACE offers liability insurance for those who do not want to join the union.
Tim, nice try with Aspen. It pays based on its available revenues which are quite substantial. Imagine if they had a collective voice–they might be able to actually live where they teach.
These kinds of articles blow my mind–as if someone were twisting your arm. One has a choice to sign up to join an association, and if one doesn’t like the political aspects of the candidates that are supported by an association, there is a way to pay a bit less by removing the monies allocated for political candidate contributions; this is not difficult to do–just ring up your CEA branch and you can fill out a form to be reimbursed for the $7 of your monthly dues (or whatever the amount is.)
Additionally, please don’t make blanket statements about who is supported by teacher’s unions. In Colorado, pro-education candidates are supported. I know, as I was a liaison in Colorado Springs, and know for a fact that we supported some local republicans because they were pro-public education and policies that benefited students.
No one is ‘forced’ to pay dues. If you aren’t happy with any service, one can cancel said service; however, I advise everyone to always read contracts and fine print. The problem with the union-busting mentality is, namely, that more often than not, people are mis- and uniformed about exactly what collective bargaining means. Just look at many districts without strong union membership around the country–many (not all) of those districts have lower test scores and graduation rates, high levels of income disparity, and neighborhoods that are racially segregated. Additionally, here in Colorado, we have some extremely poorly paid educators thus causing high turn over rates in certain districts.
Moreover, districts with decent association membership benefit ALL teachers, including non-members, because of collective bargaining agreements. Perhaps you would prefer to try and bargain your benefits, sick-leave, salary, and working conditions on your own–good luck with that! While the union isn’t perfect, and I don’t agree with some of what they do and say, they at least represent me in supporting good, quality education for all students, and ensure more equitable work-place practices.
And to the person mentioning the ‘high salaries in Aspen’–RIGHT, because that statement was used in an honest, direct fashion. Give me a break–they have to pay higher salaries because of the cost of living.
Lastly, as someone who has studies the education systems in Japan and European countries, and has lived and worked abroad, I highly recommend that more people who lean towards the anti-public education bandwagon do some true and lengthy research on the subject; it’s not rocket science why our education system needs a make-over, and there is plenty of blame to go around between the myriad of groups and individuals involved in the decision making process.
“No one is ‘forced’ to pay dues. If you aren’t happy with any service, one can cancel said service”
C.J., again if this were true we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Ronda wanted to cancel said service and was told no. Hopefully even those who support the unions will begin to see that this needs to change. I would even propose that it would be fine to have the union membership last for at lease one year the initial year, to help with budgeting or whatever, but then transform to month to month after that, like say an apartment lease or cell phone contract. Starts long-term, then transforms to month to month.
It isn’t asking a lot, it is simply asking that teachers be afforded a basic consumer protection when joining a union. These current contracts are on their face incredibly unfavorable to teachers.
Have PACE Representatives been in the room talking with DPS administrators advocating for a pay increase for you? Or advocating for conditions that help you thrive so your kids succeed? Or advocating so that you have benefits that help ease your concern about getting sick?
I didn’t think so.
PACE is like that cut-rate insurance company that feels good to be connected to because they are cheap–which is likely the product you get–cheap.
Rhonda –
It’s always disheartening to hear colleagues show their political and historical ignorance despite their good work with our kids. Colorado allows non-union teachers such as yourself to reap the benefits of the hard work that the union does on your behalf in negotiating fair working conditions – whether you pay your fair share or not. So yes this is “representing” you – whether you’re a paying member or not. Apparently you weren’t involved in your union after joining. Otherwise I believe you would have very different perspective. I would love it if every non-member were “free” to negotiate the conditions of their work individually when they get hired in a given district. Uhh, I hate to get too “political” for your taste – but you may want to look up how women are faring, for example, in the non-union private sector compared to men. Believe it or not unions do much of the heavy lifting not just for teachers – but for districts as well as on behalf of kids on so many levels. For one – we are THE organized voice for the survival of public schools. Not sure if you’ve watched the news lately -but public schools and organized teachers are currently under attack. This IS in fact political – however “non-political” you would love to fantasize this work to be – it simply is not. Collective bargaining is a basic very American concept that is largely responsible for the rise of a viable middle class in the US beginning in the 1950′s when unions and the labor movement was the strongest in our history. For most of our history most kids simply got no formal education. K-12 teaching was considered non-professional mostly parochial child care. In short – “women’s work.” Teaching is now considered the work of highly skilled, educated professionals. Public schools in every neighborhood for every child – rich or poor, male or female, black/brown or white, etc. – are now taken for granted. Thanks mostly to work of teachers organized in unions we now take it for granted that EVERY child deserves an education and that EVERY teacher deserves respect and fair treatment.
Non members in unionized districts reap the benefits of a negotiated wage and benefit package, including personal days off, health insurance, and working conditions (how many preps you can be given, duty-free lunch, how many meetings admin can schedule, to name a few). And they pay nothing. Then they complain about the very organization that’s made their professional lives better.
I don’t understand people who just take, take, take like that, never paying anything but getting ALL the perks.
Ronda, if there’s one thing I really can’t stand, it’s a MOOCHER. If you really want to back up your convictions, turn down your negotiated contract and negotiate your own. Right now, you’re mooching.
Mary, what a great idea! Let’s pass a law that would give teachers and other school employees not only the choice to join or pay fees to a union but also the choice of who represents them. Given all the great benefits unions provide, according to some of the eloquent comments in this thread, that should be no problem at all… Right?
Oh, wait. It’s easier to taunt your fellow teacher about something that current policies won’t allow her to do. It would be something else to witness the courage and creativity would need to support a solution to its “moocher” problem that promotes more freedom rather than more coercion.
1. As a union staff, I would like to point out that union members run the union. They set policies and guidelines for admission in their organization (as long as they don’t violate state and federal law) and regularly elect their leadership. If union members really like or do not like a rule or leadership, they have the power to change it FROM WITHIN.
2. As a representative, I always recommend that individuals that I consult and represent always read any language and have a full understanding of what signing means prior to forming a legal contract.
3. What I see you asking for is preventing a freely associated group from determining how they run their own group and potentially mandating school district decisions around their contracts. You are not forced in Denver to join or pay any fees to labor unions that represent you. I support your right to voice your opinion, but a top-down piece of legislation, in my humble opinion, is not good policy.
4. As one last piece, I want to call this for what it is – union busting. The American Association of Educators and their affiliates have regularly advocated AGAINST labor rights and have funding from sources that are often seen as anti union (Walton Family Foundation – see Walmart or the funders of this website with $167 million of charter school/non-union education funding last year alone). It is interesting to see that AAE’s legislative agenda resembles recommendations from groups such as Americans for Prosperity or the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). As many people smarter than myself have stated, follow the money.
Ben – The choice you speak of exists. They’re called private schools (actually most charters also). You don’t want a union representing you? Don’t work at a union “shop.” In Colorado public schools (excluding Douglas Cnty where there’s no union contract and a mass exodus of teachers currently happening) you don’t even have to pay dues and still get your contract negotiated for you. I think that’s the kind of mooching Mary is referring to.
C’mon Ben I thought the Independence Institute fed you better talking points than that!
Ben –
Upon further thought. Perhaps Douglas County would be the perfect place for you to get some teaching experience!!! I’ll even write you a reference letter about all of your experience…..expressing opinions you have about a profession you have no experience actually doing!!