Teacher Unions Under Siege

I get almost daily articles from our hard core union reps about legislation that is passing in Michigan to make our union even less powerful.  In an article from Education Week titled:  The Plight of Teacher's Unions, it states what we are all experiencing in the state.

"Teachers' unions are under siege nationwide. Criticism by political leaders and education reformers has snowballed. In recent years, government and unions have battled over tenure, teacher assessment, testing, the length of the school day, class size, school closures, and pay for performance. The hottest issues have dealt with reliance on teacher seniority as the basis for job assignments, retrenchment firing, and salaries—a traditional practice that raised few hackles in the past."  

Teachers work so hard and for so little pay, it is sad that we are being stripped of our right to bargain, keep our seniority or have decent benefits. Our government has taken away pensions for new teachers and reduced our pay while increasing our class sizes. I am so grateful to have a job, but some days I'm just dog tired.  Too tired to fight, and that is exactly what lawmakers want.