By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

WASHINGTON, D.C.  – It’s been a rough few years for the nation’s teacher unions. Not only have they suffered serious declines in both membership and dues-generated income, but the unions’ favorability rating among Americans has plummeted.

Americans view the teacher unions – namely the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers – as roadblocks to common sense education reform, because they’re more concerned about the financial needs of union employees than the academic needs of students.

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A new report about union leader earnings won’t do anything to change that perception.

Fox News reports that NEA President Dennis Van Roekel and AFT President Randi Weingarten both “saw their pay jump 20 percent last year, to nearly half a million dollars apiece.”

Weingarten’s pay “jumped to $407,323 between 2010 and 2011, while … Van Roekel got a raise to $362,644.Factor in stipends and other paid expenses and Weingarten took in $493,859 and Van Roekel $460,060 for 2011,” reports Fox News.

Just imagine what Van Roekel and Weingarten would “earn” if they were actually helping their unions grow and prosper, instead of leading them to the brink of ruin!

But they’re not the only union leaders walking in high cotton. Nearly 600 staffers from the two unions are making six-figure salaries. That’s very impressive, considering that the average classroom teacher is earning only $44,000 a year. (As one blogger noted, the average teacher salary in California and New York is about $20,000 higher than in less-wealthy states like Idaho and South Dakota).

“In terms of salaries, union executives rake in nearly 10 times the average household income and far more than any teacher,” Association of American Educators Executive Director Gary Beckner told Fox News.

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We’re not like the Occupy crowd. We don’t begrudge Americans who earn a nice living. If teachers want to pay their union presidents $500,000 a year, that’s their decision. Or to be more accurate, that should be their decision.

But average teachers are so focused on crafting lesson plans and helping students that they don’t have the time to police union leaders who live large on their dues money.

However, this new report may change that. Teachers are waking up to the racket that’s been foisted upon them for decades, according to Wisconsin educator Tracy Happel.

“It’s always about the union. It’s never about the teachers or students,” Happel told Fox News. “When you’re a teacher, you know you will not always be able to have the money for renovations on a house or go away on vacation, but it’s a tough pill to swallow when you can’t do those things when the people who are supposed to represent us get paid more and more every year.”