What are Illinois Teachers Getting from the IEA?

The following letter, from the Illinois Education Association reflects the fears of that organization’s officials about a recent National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation radio ad advising teachers of their right to resign union membership.  A good union does not have to force teachers to pay up or be fired.  A bad union should not be allowed to do so, but the Illinois Education Association takes advantage of state laws allowing for exclusive representation and collection of forced dues from those who do not wish to join.  Where’s the “fairness” in that?

The letter provides an interesting contrast to the NEA survey’s realization they are not serving members’ needs.

From a Guest Columnist at the Rock River Times:

Illinois Education Association e-mail

Colleagues:

Your organization is under attack by groups intent on taking away your collective bargaining rights.

IEA members in several districts have been receiving e-mails in their school mailboxes, and at home, from groups urging our members to withdraw their support from IEA and from IEA’s political action committee, IPACE.

There has also been a statewide radio ad campaign in which an actress poses as a teacher and claims she wants her union dues back because she doesn’t support the issues the “union bosses” give money to.

To be blunt about it, these organizations — the Illinois Policy Institute and the National Right to Work Foundation — want to kill off IEA.

If these folks had their way, those who work in our schools would have no voice over teaching and learning conditions. Employees could be fired at the whim of supervisors without a hearing. There would be no pensions.

That’s not hyperbole. That’s a fact.

This most recent effort to kill off your organization uses lies and other misinformation to try to convince IEA members to defund their political action committee, IPACE, and to drop their membership and become fair share fee-payers, if fair share exists in their locals.