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Lawmaker aims to bust unions and divide teachers in name of teacher shortage
12/23/2015

 

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UPDATE 1/8/16: Take action against this bill

 

It’s no secret that a long held goal by some is to break teacher unions in Indiana. In the last decade, a slew of out-of-state corporate funders have pushed bills aimed at weakening teachers’ voices and their ability to collectively advocate for the needs of students. One lawmaker hopes to further this agenda under the pretense of addressing the state’s teacher shortage.

 

Sen. Pete Miller (R – Avon) told the Indianapolis Star that he plans to introduce a bill in the legislative session that would allow school administrators to unilaterally negotiate individual teacher contracts in their schools, separate from those contracts negotiated for teachers in the local teachers association.

 

The idea isn’t new. In fact, Sen. Miller introduced the same bill last session. However, this time he is offering his bill under the guise of addressing Indiana’s teacher shortage.

 

The education “reform” political action committee, Hoosiers for Quality Education (H4QE), recently proposed Sen. Miller’s bill as one of their own at a recent meeting with legislators. He had a front row seat according to the group’s Twitter account. 

 

The group lists ISTA as THE problem in implementing their “corporatization of public education/anti-union” agenda. They have awarded their out-of-state cash to supporters in the statehouse totaling more than a half-million dollars in less than two years, including Sen. Miller.

 

The true political nature of the bill is exposed when Sen. Miller says his aim is to pay these non-union member teachers more, but at the same time admits schools will not be getting any more state funding to pay for these supposed higher wages.

 

Aside from the pure political agenda behind the bill, his idea exacerbates Indiana’s teacher shortage, pitting teacher against teacher, further destroying the teaching climate within schools. Teachers would be left to compete for jobs based on accepting lower wages, rather than based on their ability, experience, or outcomes. All to the detriment of our students and the learning environment.

 

Sen. Miller’s bill would create a bureaucratic nightmare for school administrators at a time when lawmakers claim they want to see more money getting out of school administrative offices and into classrooms.

 

While those promoting this agenda are rarely bothered by the facts, if unions and local teacher associations were really feeding the teacher shortage, wouldn’t the problem have gotten better, rather than worse after dramatic collective bargaining reforms in 2011?

 

It has been demonstrated that unions have a positive effect on teacher quality and supply. Studies over decades have proven this. A recent study once again finds that teachers in districts, where true collective bargaining exists, are more likely to remain in teaching than teachers in districts where bargaining is prohibited.

 

Sen. Miller’s bill is divisive, partisan, and counter-productive—all three examples of what good public policy should not be.