DES MOINES, Iowa – Teachers unions are famous for trying to get pro-union candidates elected to local school boards.

If they’re successful, they can negotiate with a friendly group that will rubber stamp most of their expensive and unreasonable demands.

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The Des Moines Education Association has taken this tradition a step further, asking all candidates who will be on the ballot in the Sept. 10 school board election to sign a written pledge of standards to follow if they are elected.

Most of the pledges involve defending union positions on controversial issues, even if it’s not obvious to the untrained eye.

For instance, one of the pledges asks candidates to promise to “avoid policies that overemphasize the use of standardized testing and rely on test scores to measure the quality of teaching and learning in our district.”

Translation – the teachers don’t want to be held accountable for their job performance.

Another asks candidates to “support staffing that allows for small class sizes where educators can provide students with individual attention and support.”

Translation – the union wants as many teachers hired as possible, to maximize the amount of dues revenue it collects from each school.

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Another asks candidates to “promote the importance of professional autonomy to create learning environments best suited to their individual talents.”

Translation – Give teachers the freedom to teach whatever they want, including left-wing political philosophy presented to naïve students as fact.

Yet another asks candidates to “advocate for reliable, adequate, and sustainable funding of public education.”

Translation – The unions want to make sure there is always enough money to meet their salary and benefit demands, even in tough economic times when budget cuts are necessary.

The final pledge asks candidates to “actively resist and work to change policies and practices that devalue or harm students, the education profession, or public education.”

Translation – Oppose charter schools, private school voucher programs and all other forms of school choice.

While this list of “pledges” is self-serving and despicable, it may prove to be of great service to Des Moines voters.

By identifying the union puppets that sign the pledge sheet, the DMEA will be signaling to voters which candidates will follow union orders, and which can be counted on to represent the interests of students and taxpayers.

In most districts it can be difficult for voters to distinguish the loyalties of low-profile candidates. Voting becomes nothing more than an attempt at a good guess.

In Des Moines, some candidates will wear white hats and others will wear black. All voters will have to do is decide who the good guys are – based on their feelings about organized labor in public schools  – and cast their ballots accordingly.