Part 7 of 7
SALT LAKE CITY – We have no doubt that there are thousands of absolutely terrific teachers in Utah public schools –even those schools with teacher unions and collective bargaining agreements.
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As Salt Lake City attorney Blake Ostler told EAGnews, “I believe the teachers we have in Utah are the best in the United States. Given the size of classes and school budgets, the results we get from teachers are unparalleled.”
But there must be at least a handful of not-so-great teachers in the union districts, as well. If there weren’t, we wouldn’t find the kind of language that we found in several district collective bargaining agreements.
One contract provision in the Nebo district says:
It is deemed to be professional that an educator put in enough time to do the job effectively.
A similar provision in the Weber contract says:
Teachers are expected to devote the time necessary to meet their responsibilities.
Then there’s this from the Granite contract:
The board and the association recognize that a teacher’s primary responsibility is to teach.
Do some teachers really need to be told in writing that they, as degreed professionals, are expected to perform their duties in a serious and thorough manner, particularly when crucial student learning hangs in the balance?
Even more frightening is the fact that Nebo school officials felt the need to include a provision in their teacher union contract that reminds educators to act as “reasonably and prudently to protect the health, safety and welfare of students when they participate in school-sponsored activities.”
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Such an obvious moral responsibility has to be spelled out? If so, there are more problems with the teaching profession than anyone ever imagined.
The above are just a few of the more disturbing provisions we came across in our recent inspection of teacher union collective bargaining agreements in nine Utah school districts.
There are more where they came from.
Union power, guaranteed in writing
A few bizarre contract provisions give us a hint about the true nature of teacher unions, and the degree of commitment they have to student learning.
For instance, the Weber school district contract says:
The association shall use its best efforts to correct breaches of professional behavior by teachers when so notified.
“Breaches of professional behavior” generally means that students are being shortchanged in one way or the other. Do the unions really have to be prompted with contract language to assist in keeping their members dedicated to the best interests of students?
We suppose that is understandable when you consider the number of documented incidents over the years of teacher unions throughout the U.S. going out of their way to help sexually abusive members slip out of trouble.
Teacher unions are also famous for wanting to keep collective bargaining negotiations with local school boards behind closed doors, with no nosy reporters or taxpayers around. That’s generally because union bosses don’t want the public to see how self-serving they really are.
Unions in some districts address this concern by demanding contract provisions that keep the doors of the negotiating room locked, and the stream of released information tightly controlled.
For instance, the Granite contract says:
The (collective bargaining) negotiation teams will meet in closed sessions, unless otherwise agreed upon mutually in advance.
The Logan City union contract says:
Information (regarding negotiations) is released to the news media only when jointly prepared releases are mutually agreed upon.
Then there is the matter of union greed. Union contracts are supposed to be negotiated based on the amount of money a district has at any given time to invest in labor. Sometimes that means the unions have to settle for significantly less than what they wanted.
The Logan City teacher union obviously wanted to make sure it didn’t get shortchanged if more money became available before a new contract is adopted:
In the event funds for school operation and maintenance are made available during the year from state or federal sources which are in excess of the amounts anticipated at the beginning of the year, the salary schedules may be revised and the amount of individual contracts adjusted in such manner as the board and the association may at the time determine.
A lot of school board members and administrators complain that teacher unions have gained so much power that they play a large role in governing school districts. Just how much power do they have? Check out this provision from the Granite district contract:
Faculty meetings shall not exceed more than one per month, except when cleared by a school accountability director and/or in the event of an emergency.
A lot of employees in a lot of professions hate staff meetings, but we have to attend because they’re required. It must be nice sometimes to be a teacher.
Teacher unions have also been notorious over the years about demanding the exclusive ability to communicate with their members. The Granite teacher union was very explicit with the following contract provision:
The association shall have the right to post notices of Association matters on a bulletin board space no smaller than 12 square feet established for the association’s exclusive use in each school.
Parking privileges, mileage reimbursement to ride the bus
We came across a handful of contract provisions that were eye-openers, if only for their absurdity.
The Davis school district contract says:
A principal may recommend to a teacher that he/she should consider a transfer if serious public relations problems are evident.
Why should the boss of a school need contractual permission to say something like this to a troubled teacher who is causing unnecessary problems?
The Nebo district contract says:
Each school will be provided with well-ventilated, clean, adequate separate restrooms for men and women educators.
We would like someone to name a school district that does not offer separate restroom facilities for men and women. Or dirty, unattended restrooms, for that matter. That would be a story.
The Nebo contract also says:
Educators should be given preferential parking privileges wherever possible.
Why? Just because they are teachers, and they shouldn’t have to walk as far as other people when they park their cars?
The Rich school district union contract says:
Coaches/advisors who ride the bus will be compensated at a rate of ten cents per mile.
Why? The school district is paying for the gas and the maintenance of the bus, and the coach/advisor is already being paid for the extra-curricular service.
The answer to that question would require a logical answer, and as we’ve seen, logical, student-centered policies are definitely not the norm for teacher union collective bargaining agreements.
Part 6: Lazy, apathetic school boards allowing teacher unions to ignore verification rules
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