By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

LANGHORNE, Pa. – The Neshaminy School District needs a new motto.

Instead of its current slogan – “We build futures!” – the district should tout its most defining characteristic: “Home to the most selfish teachers union in the nation!”

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The Neshaminy Federation of Teachers earned that distinction by waging two teacher strikes against their students during the just-completed school year. The union’s second strike nearly delayed graduation ceremonies for high school seniors – that’s how classy the NFT is.

But the union isn’t one to rest on its laurels.  The NFT has just prevailed in one of the pettiest labor grievances ever filed.

It all started in March of 2011, when Neshaminy High School Principal Rob McGee wanted to spend 45 minutes of the teachers’ in-service day to train them in proctoring the state’s math and reading tests.

McGhee pointed out that the training was mandated by the state of Pennsylvania, and that the district’s other schools had already completed the training.

The NFT was unmoved by McGhee’s common sense arguments and wanted to spend the in-service day on other things. When McGhee insisted on the training, the union complained that he “pulled rank” instead of engaging in a “marketplace of ideas” collaboration with them. The union claimed this violated the “equal voice” guarantee in their contract, and filed a labor grievance, reports the Levittown  Patch.

The cash-starved district actually had to send an attorney to argue the matter before an arbitrator, who – fifteen months after the fact – issued a 20-page ruling in favor of the NFT.

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It seems clear that the NFT used this trumped-up training dispute to poke a finger in the district’s eye, just out of spite. Union and district have been locked in a bitter contract dispute for several years, and this grievance was the NFT’s way of flexing its muscles.

The district may have lost the grievance ruling, but it did win a couple of real-world victories.

First, this silly incident confirms for taxpayers how petty and destructive the NFT truly is. The contract dispute is still going on, and this arbitration ruling might help tip public opinion away from the union.

The other good news: Neshaminy School Board President Ritchie Webb told the Levittown Patch that the district will not allow an “equal voice” guarantee in the next teachers’ contract.

If the school board is serious about reining in their power-mad teachers union, maybe changing the motto won’t be necessary after all.