Teacher Unions Need to Go the Way Of the Dodo Bird

For organizations that claim to speak for teachers, Louisiana's teachers unions sure seem to spend a lot of time fighting against things teachers actually want.

Governor Landry's proposal to increase teacher pay through the Minimum Foundation Program should have been an easy win. Higher pay. More money in educators' pockets. Less political drama. Instead, the unions dusted off the same tired playbook of procedural complaints and political posturing, proving once again that protecting their own influence matters more than protecting teachers' paychecks.

At some point, you have to ask what purpose these unions still serve.

They consistently oppose education reforms that give parents more choices. They resist accountability measures. Now they're throwing punches at a proposal that would increase teacher compensation. If they aren't leading the charge for higher pay, what exactly are they collecting dues for?

Their reaction says more than they probably intended. It suggests they're more concerned about preserving a seat at the political table than celebrating a raise for the people they claim to represent.

It's also no surprise they fight so hard against making union membership easier to leave. If members could opt out with minimal hassle, many might start asking whether they're getting anything in return for their dues besides press releases, lawsuits, and opposition to popular reforms.

The irony is hard to miss. The organizations that insist they are the voice of teachers are actively criticizing a plan that puts more money in teachers' bank accounts.

Maybe that's because today's unions aren't really in the business of serving teachers anymore. They're in the business of serving themselves.

Teachers deserve better than organizations whose first instinct is to oppose rather than improve. They deserve advocates who celebrate raises instead of finding reasons to complain about them.

If the loudest objection to a teacher pay raise comes from the groups that claim to represent teachers, perhaps the problem isn't the raise. Perhaps it's that the unions have simply outlived their usefulness.