It’s normal for union members to be unhappy with their employer, but it’s unusual when that employer is a union itself.
Mike Antonucci at the Education Intelligence Agency news site points out a clash between the North Carolina Association of Educators and its employees. The employees, who are members of the North Carolina Staff Organization, say they haven’t received salary increases in eight years. “Our staff is under constant pressure to do more with less,” a petition on coworker.org says. “Thus far we have been flexible, collaborative, worked overtime, lost sleep, picked up second jobs, lost time w/family, watched friends/colleagues retire, and changed our personal schedules in an attempt to stop/slow the bleeding of the association.”
Despite the staff’s efforts, membership in the teachers’ union is down 38 percent from 13 years ago. The union’s $711,000 deficit is more than a tenth of its annual revenue.
The employees hope to get 300 signatures on their petition. They’ve collected 206 signatures since the online petition went live last week.
“When it comes to finding creative solutions in a budget crisis we are, in fact, strong together,” the petition says. “But the budget should not be balanced on the backs of the staff that provide quality services to our members.”
Jason Russell is a commentary writer for the Washington Examiner.
