The Real Face of the Evil Union

In one form or another, most people have pretty strong opinions about unions. They either love them or hate them.

Behold, the evil UNION!

The Union: guardian of the little people.

As soon as contract negotiations caught the public's attention this summer, people (and by "people" I mean PSD and their ever forth coming Q & A  messages) began shouting these warnings:



"We don't want the union taking over our schools."

"The union wants to decide what books your children read."

"The union is using scare tactics to stir up public anger against the district."

"There is no problem with curriculum. The union has tricked the teachers into striking."

"The union is trying to make an example of PSD as part of a national power grab."

"The union has taken over Pasco."

"The union ate my baby."

Eventually things settled down. The district agreed to resolve the curriculum issue, and teachers went back to work. That should have been the end of it.

But it wasn't.

Strangely enough, there are still board members bemoaning the evils of the union. Still.  Now it'd be one thing if an average uninformed citizen was spouting off about how unions are the devil. But a board member isn't just anybody. They are elected to represent the public and inform decision making at the highest level of the school district. So when board members (yes, more than one) talk about he union like it's some type of evil boogie man, that is something worth noticing.

Is the union the root of all evil in Pasco? Has the union been sent by the devil himself to stir up contention and unrest? I decided to take a closer look at see exactly what kind of devil we are up against here in Pasco.

Behold, the face of EVIL!

The evil union in all it's might!

Ahhhhh!!!!

Pretty hideous right? I mean could anything be more frightening than a smiling, young woman wearing mittens and a mid-calf length skirt, spending her free time out on the street corner encouraging voters to support a school levy?  GROSS!

What about these monsters?

Wow, showing up to work and pretending to be happy. What Creeps!

Attending a community prayer meeting and praying with school board members.
Where does this kind of scum even come from? Seriously!

Oh gross! Not more levy supporters. These monsters just don't know when to quit.

So are unions really evil? The fulfillment of prophecy sent to usher in the apocalypses?

?????

Here's the thing about things: they are just things.
Things aren't good or evil, they just are. A blanket isn't inherently good or evil. It can do good things, like warm you up when you are cold. It can do bad things, like transmit disease to susceptible populations. A blanket is just a blanket. It's what you do with it that matters.

A union is just a union. They aren't inherently bad or good. The people in them may do bad or good things. But the thing itself is just a thing.

So let's not talk anymore about whether unions are good or bad (let the politicians duke that one out). Instead let's talk about whether PAE (the Pasco Association of Educators) is good or bad.  Let's judge it by who is in it and what they do.

Well, we all know who is in it. Teachers. These loving, smiling, amazing people who take care of our children every day, and who even take time outside of the classroom to fight for what's best for our kids (even if it's so cold you need mittens).

And what has PAE done? I mean besides come to work every day ready to do their best to love and teach our children and prepare them for the world ahead of them?

• They participated in a number of activities including a state-wide walk out in hopes of persuading our legislator to fully fund our schools and stop over-testing our children.
• They shed a giant spotlight on Pasco's atrocious lack of curriculum forcing the district to finally take action on an issue they've been avoiding and denying for more than a decade. Although the district continued to try and persuade teachers with money, the union held strong and refused to return to work until the district agreed to a contract that included books for all children, in all grades, in all subjects.
• They worked side by side with parents to help pass a much needed levy.
• They demanded (and are getting) much needed repairs to schools such as New Horizon's High School, as well as getting hot water back on in the bathrooms at Pasco High.
• They fought to keep the heater running in the winter and the air conditioner running in the spring in classrooms where children were being forced to learn in nearly uninhabitable classrooms (yeah, that really happened).
• They have been strong advocates fighting for safe and age appropriate playgrounds for students.
• They are continuing to fight the district on a number of issues including using our children for guinea pigs to line the pockets of researchers (Literacy Squared) and to fight illegal hiring practices that can lead to huge disparity in quality between schools (like when administrators narrowly tailor job listing in order to hire their unqualified friends instead of hiring actual teachers with job appropriate qualifications).

So the next time you find yourself face to face with that awful scary evil union, be sure to thank them.  After you, they are your child's greatest advocate. They are our partners in educating our community. 

So to all my friends in PAE, thank you.