Answers:
Well, I am not against unions. However, I would look closely at what political activity the union supports to determine if they support your views, for one thing. And look closely at what amount the union will pay for "your" lawyer. My understanding is in some cases that amount is divided among everyone and not provided for you specifically. I finally dropped my membership and life went on!
Yeah, I'm not looking forward to seeing how much my union fees are going to be this year. Your colleagues are right, you do need some backing just in case. But it doesn't have to be that union. Certainly, there are other unions available to you. And I'm sure if you contacted a union that is not yet represented at your school, they might cut you a membership deal to perhaps get the word out about them at your school.
Also, there is something called legal insurance. I was first offered this when I started working for Children's Protective Services several years ago (another job in which you can be sued in your word against theirs situations). It was about $20.00 a month. When I began teaching, another company was available to me for $5.00 less a month and gave me free will services as long as I'm a member. They can also help you with just about any legal matter, not just teaching/job issues. It is well worth it to me. Talk to your benefits administrator or do a websearch. I'd feel better if you got this, especially if you chose to not renew your union membership.
Your $55 per month is worth every penny. In today's litigious society, it is a good idea to have a powerful union behind you, a union with resources that are available to every one of its members. And unions must always exercise due diligence when it comes to defending its teachers As a former vice-president of protective services for my union locally for 4 years, I have seen many teachers protected by their union. Not only does the union offer you legal services, but it can also help you in dealing with mediation with colleagues, school administration and the school board. And don't think that this insurance is only good for special ed. teachers. It is good for each and every one of you. The union is always there to answer your questions, to protect you, to give information and advice, to provide free legal opinion and defense. The union can also help with members who have personal problems and need help through employee assistance programs or long term disability advice, They also provide a lot of help which many teachers do not see because confidentiality must be maintained.
You say that certain situations are highly unlikely to happen in your mind. But you never know what a students, a group of studens, and even parents are sometimes capable of. And very often, the union will provide advice and assistance before the situation escalates. The union can often be your sounding board. It is there for you to seek help, as often as you need it.
Hope this helps. Try to learn more about your union to find out what services it offers. Apart from all of this, unions have been instrumental in improving pay and benefits through the years.
I'm from Canada, and union dues are tax deductible. So your $600 investment does not cost you $600.
I have seen many people helped by their unions. I know your union will be there if you ever need help. If they're not there for you, they can be held accountable.
Hope this helps.
It's worth every penny.
First off, your colleagues emphasized that union dues are much like home, life, health or auto insurance. The fees seem like a chore and a burden until and unless you ever need the help the union can provide. And that's not just if a student makes a complaint against you... it's also there to help if your principal or school district does not follow its own hiring/pay/personnel rules or labour law. It's also there to help if you get into a serious conflict with a colleague, and accusations are made then. (It happens more often than you think!)
It's also a small fee to pay to enjoy the contract (hiring, layoff, transfer, sick leave and other clauses) the union and its members have worked out with your employer in years past. It's also worth your contribution to have that union still working to improve the teaching conditions in your school
How do I know? I'm a Canadian teacher (18 years of experience) and former president of my union. Even 10 years after my term as president ended, I get calls from teachers in my district looking for help and advice. And, I help them, or send them to those who can.
Teacher and still a shop steward (volunteer union rep) in my school.
You might not have a choice on the money. In my school, and my former school, if you weren't a part of the union, you still had to pay into what is called the "fair share" program. Whether you are a member of the union or not, you still benefit from their activities when it comes to bargaining the contract. Your health coverage, yoru contracted duties, etc are all a part of what your union does...other than litigation insurance.
If you pay into the fair share program, you pay the same amount of dues, only your money goes to a charity agreed upon by you and the union.
Also, another reason to stay in the union is kind of petty and childish, but faculties have been known to ostracize non-union members in some places. It's stupid, but it happens.
You do need some legal protection.
However, it does not have to be through the "the union".
There are other organizations, and private liability insurance, that you can look into that are cheaper. What you often don't get is the representation for personnel matters. It is also a way to support an organization that does lobby for higher salaries, although I often agreed with little else.
(But between you and me, and I can't verify the validity of it, but someone once told me that if you do have a legal situation and you pay your back dues, the union will cover you you. But again, that is hear-say. But worth asking about.)
You do have to consider the culture of your school and whether or not it would be bad for your career. It is petty and stupid, but there are very pro-union schools that don't take kindly to those that don't join.
Once I became tenured I stopped joining the NEA. I joined another organization that offered legal insurance, but little else. But that's all I needed - I had tenure and a great relationship with administration.
It is a small price to pay. Could you afford your own lawyer that specializes in school settings? They've done this many a time, and as a long time teacher, i have seen teachers need this. (Don't think of it as just protection from something you'd never do... You cannot garauntee that you'll have administrators that are decent your entire career.
Also, that fair share is something else. Youll end up paying still more than 60 percent for no representation or other services.
I live in a state where teacher's unions are unlawful. We can belong to the NEA, but that's not the same as a union. It's an association that offers various benefits for teachers, such as insurance. I've known teachers who were sued because of accidents, two of them accidental student deaths, that occurred under their watch. They were all covered by the school system's insurance. You might want to check into this. School systems don't want the publicity of lawsuits, so they are prone to settling these things themselves.
What else does your union do for you? - - - check it out and you may be surprised!
My union is fantastic and worth every penny...
In addition to the protection that you mentioned, my union fights for better wages, benefits, retirement issues, better sick/family leave, professional development opportunities, tuition reimbursement, increased planning time, more staff for schools, new teacher training, and so on. They also are very helpful in providing information in "human language" about new laws and or potential laws that affect educators in our state.
If you are a member of NEA you should check out your member benefits. You may be missing out on some discounts that could help offset that $600 cost. The liability insurance is definitely worth it, because the lawyers you would have are experienced with the type of lawsuit you would have facing you. It isn't the same as a car-wreck lawsuit or something like that. Lawyers are like the rest of us, they know more about the things they work with the most. If you think you don't have the potential to have a lawsuit come against you in your job, you are pretty naive.
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