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.

Health Insurance for Vermilion Parish Teachers

This link is worrying--it's about the financial distress that the Vermilion Parish School Board is in because of high health insurance claims. That means that every employee of the VPSB is in danger of losing health insurance or getting much more expensive health insurance due to the financial problems that exist. 

It is easy to connect the dots here--the teacher's union contract is massive. I'm sure there are plenty of other reasons why the VPSB is in dire financial straits, but the teacher's union contract is definitely contributing. It includes all sorts of perks for union officers and officials. If the teacher's union contract in Vermilion Parish were to be looked at critically, I'm sure there are reasonable cuts that could be made in order to ensure the VPSB has the money to pay health insurance. 

If health insurance costs rise, is anyone under the impression that the union is going to lower their dues to compensate for the expense? To make it easier on their teachers? I sincerely doubt it. 

If They Knew

I am already receiving a lot of support from teachers in Vermilion Parish who want to know more about the teacher's union contracts. I am pleasantly surprised that people actually care about this issue--especially teachers, who want to know where their money is going.

In the coming weeks, I'll be exploring other parts of the union contract. One thing I can tell you is that I know very few teachers in Vermilion Parish who would support this contract if they knew what was in it.

This Is Why I Am Anonymous

I wanted to try to push information to teachers in Vermilion Parish about their union and the contract that was negotiated on their behalf. I did so anonymously because I feared that there might be repercussions if local union officials and other teachers knew I wasn't 100% behind the union.

Today, I saw one of those repercussions. Someone reported my Facebook account and I have now been locked out of it because it did not use my "real name". I am going to work with Facebook to see it restored--but in the meantime, please like my new page.

This fight isn't over. I'm committed to seeing teachers in Vermilion Parish get the support they deserve, instead of seeing a contract that only benefits the union officials and their bosses. They think they can shut us up, but they can't. We're going to keep speaking out!

So God Made A Teacher

Thank you to whoever made this video. It is a brilliant illustration of how much work a teacher does and what sort of impact we can have.