What About a Local- Only Union?

Dear Editor,

In their periodic collective bargaining sessions, our School Board and the Walla Walla Valley Education Association (WWVEA) determine the quality of our schools, the services to be offered for children, and the priorities for levies funded by local taxpayers. Typically, the union works to reduce accountability, increase costs, and control service levels.

For that service, the union requires all teachers to either become a member or pay a representation fee deducted automatically by the district. If the teacher elects to become a member, they not only pay dues to the WWVEA, but also to the regional Uniserv, the Washington Education Association, and the National Education association. All told, teachers in Walla Walla pay nearly $1,000 in union dues every year. Should teachers choose not to join the union, the school board still forces them to pay a fee to the union, but they get a refund of around $225. The only other way out is to claim a religious objection. But even then, teachers' dues amount is merely redirected to a charity the union helps select.

It doesn't have to be like this. There are two ways this can change. First, the School Board can negotiate to remove the "agency shop" clause from the collective bargaining agreement that forces teachers to pay dues. Because an agency shop fee is permitted - but not required - by state law, districts can decide whether they will require teachers to pay union fees in order to keep their job.

Second, periodically there's a season when teachers can call for a vote on who - if anyone - represents them. The WWVEA needn't have a monopoly on teacher representation. A better option is for teachers to form a "local-only union" where union dues would be kept for local leaders to allocate or return to teachers. This would translate not only to more empowered local school leadership, but would also create a union much more attentive to members' interests. Teachers in Waterville recently decided that this was the best way to go.

Teachers in Walla Walla shouldn't be forced to pay dues to a union that doesn't always have their best interests at heart. The quality of our schools needn't be dictated by a union unaccountable both to its members and to local taxpayers. There are other options. Please do your research and then begin a conversation about these possibilities with Walla Walla School Board members and our teachers. Lucy Henderson Coralee Mackey Walla Walla