B LO SCENE AND NEA RESPOND TO JANUS

We've wondered about how teachers and our unions would react to the Janus Supreme Court decision making union fees voluntary. Two responses stand out for me.
One is from The National Education Association while the other is from a blogger in upstate New York.

B-LoScene from up in Buffalo makes a blunt case to stay in the union and maligns anyone who will not stay as a scab who should be publicly identified. Meanwhile, the NEA says we should treat agency fee payers as potential union members who should not be shunned but should be persuaded in a respectful way to join the union. This is kind of a little bad cop-good cop.

From B-LoScene who has been very critical of NYSUT and AFT leadership many times:

Who exactly would try to dodge out of paying their fare share to enjoy the salary raises like the one we just got for starters? Who are the teachers that would try to  take advantage of the situation where it's now technically doable to rake in the job protections, the health and dental benefits and the general peace of mind we enjoy as members of collective bargaining agreements without paying their dues? What kind of cheapskate, penny pinching short sighted shitheads would think that sitting back and refusing to pay dues while everyone around them pays dues is going to be a good move in the long term? We all have a good guess already of who these teachers are based simply on their attitudes about unions and their unwillingness to tip a server. There will be a few you can bank on it.

Big picture though I am hard pressed to imagine how anyone employed as a public school teacher in 2018 can look at the crowd funding of this awful case by entities like the Koch Brothers and the Wal Mart Waltons never mind our own Secretary of Miseducation's Betsy Devos by way of her Mackinac Center and think that these billionaire players are looking out for them by allowing them to ditch out of supporting their union with a few bucks a month. Do you really think these union busting zillionaires are trying to protect you from being bullied by Phil and Becky picking your pocket?  Seriously? If you honestly think that I have to conclude you are way too stupid to be a teacher.

I'll conclude with a cautionary tale from my earliest days teaching in Buffalo. I started at Burgard Vocational in 1988 teaching in an old woodshop in the back hallway of the first floor.  A security guard I'd worked with previously at Ken High told me where the ditto machine was, who ran the coffee club and who all the scabs were. I was then introduced to my mentor/co-teacher who told me what paper to use for plans, when IEP's were due and who all the scabs were. My first free period I went to the faculty room for coffee and they told me some guys cooked pepper and onion sandwiches on Fridays if I wanted one, also who ran the check pool and who the scabs were. Mind you the strike took place in 1976 and this was 12 years later. If you think it's going to be cool and NBD to slide along not paying your dues because Betsy and the Waltons and the Kochs bought a Supreme Court ruling to bust unions you should probably check that impulse. We have a great opportunity now to stand together and stand up against the oligarchs who want us to be paid in firewood and left hooks. If you think your union dues are too high a price to pay for benefits and protections then do right by yourself and the rest of us and go teach somewhere without a union. Let us know how it goes.

There is a less hostile view coming from the National Education Association in response to Janus which basically says it is no game changer.

This is from the NEA Explainer on Janus:

4. Given Janus, why should my union do anything at all for feepayers? 

Feepayers are potential members. Like anyone else, the union should treat feepayers with respect, engage them to help them understand how educators and students will be better off if everyone does their part. Collectively, we are stronger than any one of us as individuals. 

5. What if feepayers are willing to voluntarily pay their fees? 

Janus permits unions to continue to collect fair share or agency fees if individuals clearly and affirmatively consent to such payments. 

6. What should my union be doing in response to Janus? 

The real work of the union after Janus is continuing to re-engage existing members and organize new members. 

7. Does Janus in anyway address when members can opt-out of the union? 

No, Janus was about what fees may be charged to feepayers, it did not address union membership or payroll dues deductions for members. 

NEA, AFT, NYSUT, UFT leaders are not going to make it easy to leave the unions while the rank and file brands those who aren't union members as scabs. The unions seem ready. The Koch brothers and their anti-union friends are in for a tough fight as are the teachers who are looking to bolt.

I fully comprehend everyone's frustration with our own UFT even though we make decent wages as our rights on the job are almost nonexistent in too many schools. The UFT barely goes through the motions for many of us. However, unless you are planning on organizing a union that can do a better job at upholding our collective rights, abandoning the union will harm us all. If thousands of disgruntled members want real change, organizing from the inside might be a better way to go.