Forfeiting The Final Paycheck For Union Dues

Sorry for the lack of updates lately, folks! Going into the holidays (including hosting family Thanksgiving at my home) has left me with a little less time to go through teachers union contracts. Every time I go to comb through the files something else comes up. Anyway, enough about me and my excuses!

One of the more ridiculous portions of the Vermillion teachers union contract is a provision that states that if a teacher leaves Vermilion Parish, retires in the middle of the year, or resigns, their annual dues will be deducted from their final paycheck. If you think this is done to protect and meet the needs of Vermilion teachers, then I have beach-front property in Nebraska I want to sell you. Why should teachers be compelled to pay six months worth of Union dues they won't use if they are retiring? And largely forfeit their final paycheck in the process? It's done purely to benefit the union. 

VAE President's Special Privileges

Part of the contract that VAE has made with the Vermilion Parish School Board concerns special privileges for the VAE President. It's the second part that's more concerning. I'll let you read it from the contract yourself.

5.19 VAE PRESIDENT RELEASE TIME Any member of the Unit who is elected President of the VAE will, upon proper applications, be granted a one (1) year leave of absence without pay for the purpose of accepting the position. Such leave shall be renewed from year to year during the life of this contract upon written request. Upon return from such leave of absence, members of the Unit shall be placed on the step of the salary schedule they would have attained had they remained in service and shall be returned to their former position or if such leave exceeds one (1) year, its equivalent. 

VAE Serves Itself, Not Teachers

The Vermilion Association of Educators' contract is a mess of legalese and is intended to be that way. It's confusing to read for the average teacher and I'm guessing some teachers approve of it largely because they think it was designed to benefit them. However, there are two important points worth considering in relation to that.

The first is that the VAE only allows individuals to opt-out of the union before August 1st (which means that it must be done prior to the school year, making it even more difficult). The second, and worse, issue is that if a teacher leaves the parish for some reason, retires mid-year, or resigns--the annual union dues come out of their final paycheck. So, if Jenny retires mid-year, her final paycheck will be deducted several months worth of dues. That is not only not fair, it is clearly designed to benefit the union, not the teachers the union is supposed to serve.

Yes, I Do Have the Vermillion Association of Educators Contract

People have been making comments and sending me email suggesting I'm making this up or that I haven't really seen the contract. Not only have I seen it, I have it in my possession and will even show it to readers. If anyone wants it, the contract between the Vermilion Association of Educators and the Vermilion Parish School Board can be obtained by just emailing me--my contact info is found on this page.

I will continue posting about these issues in order to bring them into public spotlight. I hope it will encourage my fellow teachers to at least talk about these issues, if not change the contract to something that benefits all of us, instead of just a select few.

Vermilion Teachers Union Officials Get Twenty-Five Days Off!

One of the hallmark signs of an agreement or contract being unfair is that it gives special treatment to those who created the agreement. That's exactly what I've found in the union contract for the Vermilion Association of Educators.

In the contract, it stipulates that the VAE is able to send representatives of the union to attend conferences, conventions, workshops, or committee meetings that are conducted by the local, state, or national Associations. Nothing wrong with that right? Except that the contract stipulates that the School Board of Vermilion Parish is to provide professional leave for these activities, without loss of salary, for a total of twenty-five aggregate days per fiscal year.

When the union officials get their 25 days off, that means we have to pay for substitutes. And when we can’t find substitutes, we have to watch their classes and their kids. This simply isn’t fair to the rest of us! 

LAE Cozies Up to Pro-Abortion Groups

I've received a few emails wanting me to expound further on the connections between the National Education Association (NEA) and various abortion groups. At first I thought this might not be worth my time--I don't have a great deal of time this week for research and digging through to find the needle in the haystack. But, as it turns out, you don't have to look very hard to see evidence of NEA's connections to abortion groups.

For example, in 2008 the NEA hosted a conference at their headquarters at which Dr. George Tiller was invited to speak. Dr. George Tiller was a late-term abortionist who has made many inflammatory statements about his pro-abortion beliefs.

Randall Moody was formerly the Chief Lobbyist of the NEA, he was also on the Board of Directors for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Board of that organization's political wing, the Planned Parenthood Action Fund. So the NEA's personnel were inescapably intertwined with the largest abortion provider in America. Did I mention Randall Moody was previously Co-Chairman of "Republicans for Choice" as well? He was.

Not all of the connections are just by people, the Fund for Children and Public Education, a PAC run by the NEA, has given money to a number of organizations dedicated to supporting only pro-abortion women running for office, including both the Democratic "Emily's List" and the Republican "The Wish List". This is money being contributed directly from the NEA to pro-abortion election groups.

This should be an important issue to teachers here in Vermilion Parish because dues for the union are being divvied up between the Vermilion Association of Educators, the Louisiana Association of Educators, and the NEA. I have not met many teachers in Vermilion who would want their dues going toward supporting abortionist organizations.

Vermilion Teachers Are Unwittingly Supporting and Funding Abortion

The teacher's union that has a monopoly agreement with the Vermilion Parish School Board is the Vermilion Association of Educators (VAE), as I've discussed previously. They're a local chapter of the Louisiana Association of Educators (LAE), which is a state chapter of the National Education Association (NEA). The VAE and LAE, local and state chapters respectively, like to pretend that they only focus on education issues. However, their parent organization doesn't even pretend. I'd like to bring some attention to the NEA's platform, where they state:

i.      “The National Education Association supports family planning, including the right to reproductive freedom [abortion]. The association urges the government to give high priority to making available all methods of family planning to women and men unable to take advantage of private facilities. The association also urges the implementation of community-operated, school based family planning clinics that will provide intensive counseling by trained personnel.

It's not the only evidence of their pro-abortion policies, but it is the most clear, written right there in black and white. That is not in line with what teachers, parents, or students in Vermilion Parish believe. I don't know very many teachers in Abbeville, Kaplan, Gueydan, Erath, or anywhere between who would say they support abortion with no exceptions.

The NEA, and many of its state affiliates, also donates to many pro-abortion organizations. That includes giving money directly to pro-abortion political action committees, supporting pro-abortion candidates all over the country, and even inviting Dr. George Tiller, an infamous late-term abortionist, to speak at their headquarters. That means that every time a VAE member pays their dues in Vermilion Parish, part of that money is going to organizations who support abortion. Some might like that, others might not--but I thought everyone should know.