Maine Gov. doesn't "get it" again

[UMaineTeach]

bangordailynews.com/2012/05/25/politics/lepage-blasts-teachers-union-for-endorsing-same-sex-marriage-question/

I'm really not too focused on the articles main content of the teacher's union supporting same-sex marriage, more that the Gov. doesn't seem to understand that unions are meant to be a political and legal resource for their employees and not really involved in how the employee betters the world though his work.

Students aren't meant to benefit directly from the union and the union is not supposed to be 'thinking of the children'.
You don't see people saying that the meat packers union should 'think of the cows'

Article (bold is mine):

AUGUSTA, Maine — Gov. Paul LePage on Friday criticized the Maine Education Association for its endorsement of the same-sex marriage question on the November ballot.

LePage said in a press release that the organization’s support for the referendum was an example of the “political game this union plays.”

The 150-year-old organization represents more than 24,000 active and retired teachers.

Its endorsement of the referendum question was announced Thursday by Mainers United for Marriage, the organization campaigning for its passage.

In a letter to MEA President Chris Galgay dated May 24, LePage “reiterated his challenge to the MEA to partner with the State to improve professional development opportunities,” according to the press release.

“In Maine, we are blessed with many great teachers. Too often, however, union bosses worry about a wide variety of efforts — political campaigns, lobbying, protecting bad teachers, insurances sales, and providing golf and skiing discounts — which are not related to furthering the education of our children,” LePage said in the letter. “I believe that by re-focusing your union’s energy on professional development, students will dramatically benefit.”

Efforts to reach Galgay and other leaders in MEA were unsuccessful as of 6 p.m. Friday.

David Farmer, spokesman for the Mainers United for Marriage, said Friday that MEA was one of more than 50 organizations that have endorsed the effort to allow same-sex couples to marry in Maine. Given the organization’s previous support on the issue, MEA’s stance on the referendum was not surprising, he said.

“It is in their organization’s ethos to support issues of fundamental fairness,” he said.

Farmer said the campaign “is actively reaching out to the labor community seeking support” for the referendum.

In his press release, the governor said that he has not yet received a response to a similar challenge he issued last year.

“The union is failing its members if it’s not offering opportunities for them to improve their craft,” LePage said Friday. “We must always put our students first and the union has clearly failed miserably to acknowledge this.”

He promised to budget state funds to match dollar for dollar increases in professional development funds offered to teachers by the MEA.

“We agree with the governor but recognize what a great challenge it is to be in education,” Carroll Conley, head of the Christian Civic League of Maine and the Protect Marriage Maine political action committee, said Friday. “We think it would be better if the MEA would focus on academics rather than social engineering.”

Conley was the principal of Bangor Christian Schools in Bangor from 1992 to 2000.

To view the letter LePage sent to Galgay, visit bdn.to/meagov.

[StrawberryBlondie]

May 26, 2012 12:40:17 GMT -5 UMaineTeach said:

“In Maine, we are blessed with many great teachers. Too often, however, union bosses worry about a wide variety of efforts — political campaigns, lobbying, protecting bad teachers, insurances sales, and providing golf and skiing discounts — which are not related to furthering the education of our children,” LePage said in the letter. “I believe that by re-focusing your union’s energy on professional development, students will dramatically benefit.”

Isn't this precisely what unions are supposed to do? Well, maybe not explicitly the "protecting bad teachers" part...

[overture]

The union is there to ensure the working conditions, salaries and benefits of the teachers. Professional development and furthering the education of the children is the job of....the state government. It's part of your job, bro.

It's not the job of the union to make sure the quality of the product is good. That's management's job.

[ttt]

To be fair, I don't really get why a teacher's union is endorsing same-sex marriage. Seems kind of outside their scope.

[basilosaurus]

May 26, 2012 13:57:09 GMT -5 ttt said:

To be fair, I don't really get why a teacher's union is endorsing same-sex marriage. Seems kind of outside their scope.

perhaps bc there are teachers in same sex relationships who face a discriminatory work environment? Or because their partners don't receive benefits?

[rugbywife]

I agree with sibil and I would also argue that unions, good unions, do care about more than their member's rights, they care about the product/service they provide because it reflects on their members.

The following is from the Action and Advocacy section on our elementary teacher's union in Ontario:

ETFO is a leader among teachers' federations on equity issues, particularly in its support for women's participation and leadership. The ETFO Executive has adopted this definition of equity:

"ETFO recognizes that we live in a society characterized by individual and systemic discrimination against particular groups. Within this context, ETFO defines equity as fairness achieved through proactive measures which result in equality for all."

ETFO members are involved in their union, in education, in the political world, and in the world around them. ETFO members are dedicated to making this a better world for their colleagues, for their students, and for others in their communities here and around the world.

ETA: here is a list of the priorities from our union...they are pretty far reaching in terms of the areas they focus on:

ETFO PRIORITIES FOR 2011-2012

To protect the collective bargaining rights of all members.
To defend publicly-funded public education.
To serve the needs of the membership.
To provide for the professional development of members.
To promote social justice in the areas of anti-poverty, non-violence, and equity.
To support international assistance and co-operation.
To promote the care and protection of the environment.
To actively engage members in the Federation.
To promote and protect the health and safety of members.


Now, anyone could easily argue that these go beyond the scope of a union I guess, but our union aspires to more than just looking out for our pay; they want our profession to be perceived as being forward thinking...(which I would like to think it is).

[LoveTrains]

May 26, 2012 14:05:21 GMT -5 basilosaurus said:

May 26, 2012 13:57:09 GMT -5 ttt said:

To be fair, I don't really get why a teacher's union is endorsing same-sex marriage. Seems kind of outside their scope.

perhaps bc there are teachers in same sex relationships who face a discriminatory work environment? Or because their partners don't receive benefits?

Exactly.

This issue seems just like something that a labor union would support, just so that members can have access to benefits for same sex partners.

[whitewolf]

I am fucking dead at Sibil's signature.