Without a doubt, there should be recognition – and appreciation – of the many teachers in our public schools who perform their important duties with excellence.
They deserve good compensation.
But it is appropriate that both houses of the Tennessee General Assembly have voted by strong margins to eliminate a “right” to collective bargaining by teachers unions in Tennessee.
Gov. Bill Haslam plans to sign the bill.
When approved by the free choice of employees, unions are and should be permitted in the private sector. But it is not in the public interest for government employees to challenge the citizens who employ them as to the compensation that must be provided by the taxpayers in general.
Private-sector workers may negotiate for wages, benefits and such with the companies for which they work. But it is improper for employees of government to be in adversarial relationships with the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
Under new rules approved by the General Assembly, there can still be payroll deductions of teachers’ union dues, but not for the portion of dues that would be used to make campaign contributions to political candidates. While teachers are free to donate to candidates and causes of their choice, voluntarily and personally, there should not be a government payroll deduction for partisan politics.
Teachers in unions – or not in unions – will have, under the new rules, the opportunity to engage in talks with local school boards on pay, benefits and other terms of employment.
“We do believe that the stakeholders, the teachers, should have input into the process,” said Sen. Bo Watson, R-Hixson. He’s right. Under the revised rules, however, school boards appropriately will have the final say.
The bill passed by Tennessee lawmakers was not quite so strong as an earlier Senate proposal, but it is better than a diluted House version.
It is vital to put the educational interests of our state’s schoolchildren first. And there also always should be fair consideration of school employees and taxpayers alike.