Fair Compensation

July 31, 2012 By Kyle Olson

Unions manage to suck money out of schools, one way or another

Reason #54,678 why teachers unions are the enemy of students and taxpayers: They sue school districts over “unfair working conditions,” then agree to a hefty raise as a settlement.

That’s exactly what happened at Redford Union, a financially struggling school district in the metro Detroit area. The district has been fighting Big Labor so long that collective bargaining battles have become as common as varsity football games.

The Redford Observer reports that the union recently took the district to court “claiming unfair working conditions pertaining to health insurance costs.” That’s because the district had imposed health insurance cost-sharing on employees (something that’s becoming common in districts across the nation) and somehow the union considered that “unfair.”

For those taking notes, the district lost. It lost on appeal, too. According to the latest superintendent, the school board finally pulled the plug on the fight because legal costs were “getting into the neighborhood of $3 million.”

One wonders how many teachers that could have retained with that money. But who cares?  The current ones got a raise.

As a settlement, the district agreed to add two steps to the top of the salary chart, thereby granting a very expensive raise to older employees.

The superintendent, Ron Stoneman, said it was cheaper to offer the raises and settle the suit than it was to continue spending money on legal fees.

This is how corrupt the collective bargaining process is. It’s a racket Al Capone could only dream of running.

Redford Union has long been a leader in spending money it doesn’t have. It’s been plagued by seven-figure deficits for years. Like so many other public school districts, Redford Union has operated with little concern for taxpayer money or operating with its means.

Needless to say, its teachers union has been a full partner in driving up the deficit spending.

One final thought about the settlement with the union, which resulted in the big raise. Frequently union negotiation teams are comprised of veteran teachers who benefit from big raises.

Coincidence?

• public unions

• deficit

• Education

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