The suit filed Thursday by 15 Ohio teachers against the state’s largest teachers’ union is important in two ways. The first is obvious: if the Ohio Education Association (OEA) is using fair share dues – mandatory fees paid by non-members – to fund their political activity, the OEA is even worse than I thought.
At second glance, the case also gives union apologists an excuse to tell us what they really think about Ohio teachers. Here’s Modern Esquire, whose day job is to pretend Progressive policies are viable and who frequents Third Base Politics comment threads:
Fair share exists because people shouldn’t get the benefits of collective bargaining benefits without compensating the unions for their costs in obtaining them for even non-members. It’s about fairness against freeloaders who want the benefits but don’t want to pay the costs to obtain them.
They HAVE a choice. Fair-share fees, by definition, are paid by people who AREN’T members of a union.
I hesitate to quote a Plunderbund Pal, but the sad reality is these guys drive talking points for the Ohio Democratic Party. Visit Plunderbund, and you’ll learn that Ohio leftists are protecting teachers, students, and the entire public education system from a ravenous horde of corporate interests. They even superimposed a “no SB5” thingie over their Solidarity FistTM logo!
And yet, teachers who don’t want to join the OEA are freeloaders according to Modern Esquire, champion of The Working Class. “They HAVE a choice” …they can pay the OEA dues, they can pay the OEA even more dues, or they can choose another career!
Ohio’s professional Left cares about teachers insofar as “teachers” equal “the teachers’ union,” which devotes millions of dollars and countless hours to leftist causes. Individuals? Pfft – what are you, some every-man-for-himself capitalist nut? Next you’ll be saying the quality of someone’s work should have an impact on their salary!
As a parting shot, consider this insightful response to the lawsuit story from Join the Future, a union front group “Promoting public education and the people who work in it.”
If you’re a public school teacher you should have unsustainable benefits, be nearly impossible to fire, and get regular raises just for sticking around. Unless you’re in cahoots with union-busters, in which case shut up.
Follow me on Twitter: @jasonahart
Cross-posted at that hero.
