LOS ANGELES – The California Federation of Teachers has once again shown its hand – the union prioritizes progressive politics and social agendas above educating public school students.

In a March 22 speech at the union’s 72^nd convention, CFT President Joshua Pechthalt identified the union as “a beacon of progressive, social justice unionism” advocating “single payer health care reform and progressive tax reform measures” and “committed to the vision articulated by the civil rights movement and efforts to ensure class, race and gender equity and the just demands for comprehensive immigration reform.”

Pechthalt added: “We understand that central to the mission of public education is the need to advocate for a different kind of society.”

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In other words, teaching students in the traditional manner is low priority for the 1.5 million member union.

CFT is a co-defendant in Vergara v. California, a case currently under consideration by the Los Angeles Superior Court. Plaintiffs in the case are nine public school students and their parents who contend California laws unfairly protect teachers proven to be ineffectual. The plaintiffs argue the state’s statutes violate “substantially equal opportunities for learning.”

In an April 23 essay for the Foundation for Economic Education, “A Teachers Union Speaks Power to Truth,” author Wendy McElroy notes: “In short, the legislature and teachers’ unions are accused of putting the interests of their members above the educational interests of their members as encoded in law.”

Citing a Washington Post article, McElroy states California has stringent laws regarding the hiring and firing of teachers, including granting tenure to teachers after only 18 months and retaining educators based on length of service rather than the quality of their teaching.

“Vergara has attracted national attention and passionate debate because the judge’s ruling could change the manner in which California educators are hired and fired. It could also set a precedent for other states,” wrote McElroy. “The teachers’ unions have reason to fear the ruling, which explains why the two largest ones—the CFT and the California Teachers Association (CTA)—joined the suit as defendants,” she said.

Vergara testimony wrapped up on April 1, and the court is expected to rule this summer.

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“Even though the plaintiffs are poor minority children and their parents, the unions are casting Vergara as a ‘class’ conflict in which they are the underdog being persecuted by rich people and corporate interests (sound familiar?),” said McElroy. “In other words, the unions wish to appear as David against Goliath. Who is cast as Goliath? Billionaires David Welch and Eli Broad as well as the corporate-friendly law firm of Gibson Dunn and Crutcher—all of whom are backing Vergara.”

McElroy quoted from Pechthalt’s speech:

“The super wealthy and their swollen circle of reactionary think tanks and echo chamber conservative media are committed to eradicating what remains of the labor movement … The egalitarian mission of public education that was given new life by the social movements a half century ago now stands as an obstacle to a corporate world committed to keeping wealth and education in the hands of a few … The largest corporate interests use the media and the politicians they help elect to create a narrative that attacks hard earned pensions, worker rights, including the right to unionize, and the right to vote.”

To which McElroy commented: “It is difficult to give any credence to such accusations, flowing as they do from massive, state-privileged, taxpayer-funded organizations. California’s teachers unions are among the most powerful in America, representing some 400,000 educators. The state’s statutes are so favorable to the unions that it is next to impossible to dismiss even educators who behave egregiously; indeed, the legislature is sometimes referred to as ‘union controlled.’”

According to the Washington Post, California teachers are the third-highest paid public school teachers in the nation with an average annual salary just under $70,000. The Los Angeles Times reports that the average California public school teacher retires with a monthly pension just dollars shy of $4,000 after 25 years of service. McElroy also notes that, while California teachers are exempted from Social Security, their pension exceeds teacher contributions by up to 20 percent.

McElroy concludes: “In their response to Vergara, the CFT and CTA have displayed a wanton disregard for children, preferring instead to argue for their own interests and to play ‘class’ politics to smear opponents. By contrast, the Vergara supporters have focused on the children and the quality of education. If it were up to the unions, no one would know that it was children and parents suing them for an opportunity being denied by the unions – namely, the opportunity to learn.”