“Card Check” Used To Unionize Unsuspecting Mass. Teachers

[red states rule]

The union thugs doing what they do best




Now we know why unionists were fighting so hard for a federal “card check” law. Organizers can unionize private and public employees, forcing them to pay hundreds in union dues, before they even know anything about it.

That's the situation at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School in Orleans, Massachusetts.

Last week news broke that the reputable charter school was the second in Massachusetts to be organized by the American Federation of Teachers.

Various sources indicated that the unionization effort was somewhat less than forthright. Several teachers complained that they were never informed about the process and were never asked to vote on the issue.

"The union effort was coordinated by group of teachers and staff that did not include all employees," one teacher wrote. "In fact, a number of employees were not approached at all and found out, quite by accident, that a union had been formed without our input.

"A full vote of the faculty and staff was never taken and plans to unionize went ahead, anyway."

Unionization without a vote of the staff? That sounds like the nasty little practice of "card check," which allows pro-union employees to gang up on co-workers and pressure them to sign a union membership card. Once 50 percent of them do so, the union is automatically certified.

There are no private ballots involved in the process. Those who refuse to sign are exposed to all the pressure and intimidation that the union can muster. Under those conditions, it probably doesn't take very long to gain 50 percent approval.

http://townhall.com/columnists/kyleolson/2011/06/02/%e2%80%9ccard_check%e2%80%9d_used_to_unionize_unsu specting_mass_teachers/page/full/

[Kathianne]

One of the training videos I had to sit through during the Walgreen's training was on 'beware of unions asking you to sign cards' that give them the right, regardless of what they say, that give them the power to represent you if you need them. It's a back door to unionization. I of course realized it was 'card check' the video was referring to.

I am in general against unions in both education and service industries. I think they've driven costs so high as to make the businesses unprofitable, while amassing wealth for union officials. With that said, what happened to me and many others at my past school would NOT have happened with fair representation. For that reason I'm bringing up some of the end part of that article you posted:


...Gary Beckner, executive director of the Association of American Educators, summed up the situation in an editorial written for CapeCodToday.com.

"Sadly, with the union's lengthy contracts, contributions to partisan politics, and their ability to create an adversary relationship between faculty and staff, there seems to be no faster way of stifling the progressive environments of charters than to unionize.

"Teachers and administrators need to be mindful that the union will come knocking, especially in times of transition, and inevitably undo the innovative culture of their beloved charter school. Don't let it happen in your school."

Beckner suggested that his organization is a solid alternative for any group of teachers that desires a degree of unity, without all the bombast and complications of full unionization.

“What teachers should know is that they have a non-union option in the Association of American Educators, the country’s premier national alternative,” Beckner wrote. "AAE supports teachers, both in charter and traditional public schools in all 50 states, providing professional benefits like liability insurance and legal counsel at a fraction of the cost.

“The non-union option provides a modern approach to teachers without the stifling contracts or partisan politics associated with the union.”

Education is a tricky industry since without a strong district leader, (which independent and parochial schools do not have), the principal for better or worse is the sole authority over both students and staff. A good one makes the school and a bad one can destroy it.

[J.T]

It's not even unionization, as a realunion is controlled by its members. It's a trap to get you to agree to having yet another boss constantly trying to fuck you.

The unions betrayed the workers in America a long time ago.