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| Deerfield Update: Did Union Decertification Really Have a Domino Effect on Teachers? |
| posted by: Alana | August 25, 2014, 02:58 PM |
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A year ago, the teachers of Deerfield become the second district to decertify the Kansas chapter of the National Educators Association (NEA) in an attempt to earn themselves a spot at the contract negotiation table. Union bosses like Pamela Torgerson of KNEA district headquarters warned of a post-apocalyptic profession where the dominoes would fall one after the other and teachers would be left helpless and alone without a bargaining agent to ‘protect their interests’. But were their predictions right? Doug Crandall - a key player in the historic move for teacher freedom and local control - says no. “Things are going pretty well actually. The rocky part has been the KNEA’s response following its expulsion from Deerfield USD 216,” he said. In fact, since last year’s union decertification success in Deerfield, four more districts followed in their footsteps. And Crandall has received numerous phone calls from about a dozen schools asking how to do the same. Now, the KNEA has changed their tune and shifted the prophecy from that of ‘teachers being left to fend for themselves’ to that of fear tactics for new teachers who ‘won’t be protected by the new tenure rule’ without union representation. “Teachers in Kansas and across the nation are abandoning the union because the union abandoned them,” stated Gary Beckner, executive director of the Association of American Educators. “That’s why only 5 teachers in Deerfield have chosen to maintain membership in KNEA. Those aren’t the numbers of an association that truly services their members!” Many of the teachers in Deerfield have chosen to belong to AAE for non-bargaining benefits and services including liability insurance, and professional development. Do you think districts will continue to see positive results from decertifying their union? Comment Below.
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