More than that I was a unit representative. I was affiliated to them through their teachers unions. No, I was not an educational teacher.
The AFL-CIO and it's teacher unions has a challenge to become a part of a parent's language. I sincerely believe when the first announcements and papers are distributed the first day of school, there needs to be a brochure of the union their child's teacher belongs.
The teacher's union should also be supportive of PTA / PTO events and fund raising.
The teacher unions, not the teachers themselves, need to have outreach to parents. Not that teachers should be prohibited from participating with parents, but, they should not have to talk about their union affiliation with parents.
The establishment is giving teacher unions a bad name. The teacher unions should have outreach to Boards of Education, both local and/or state depending where the contract lies. There needs to be a provision in the contract that defines seniority, how it is earned along with a "Teacher/Parent / Child Bill of Rights."
The unions have to provide for complaints about their members and the gathering of the facts around those complaints. There should be legitimate ways of addressing grievances by parents, not just grievances by school systems.
I would think teacher unions would like to see public funding remain within the public schools and to that end I am confident they can find common ground with parents. I honestly see union representatives being available for comment during PTA meetings as a RESOURCE to protect the quality of education. It is the teachers that provide quality education, not the Boards that buy the books and ask parents to buy their own child's supplies.
The tone of the nation regarding public education is hostile. Everyone knows the public schools are not filled with "The Monster Teacher." But, because education has taken a nation political tone, many people are willing to believe it to break unions.
