Earlier this week, the Denver Classroom Teachers Association (aka, the Denver teachers union) voted to strike after reaching an impasse in compensation negotiations. According to the union, the two votes, which occurred on Saturday and on Tuesday, resulted in 93 percent of members voting in favor of the strike scheduled to start on Monday at the earliest.
We get it. Everyone wants to be paid more for the work that they do; however, the most disingenuous spin the teachers union has spit out thus far is that somehow this strike is for the kids. Here’s what teacher and member of the union’s negotiation team, Rob Gould, said about the impending strike, according to Chalkbeat:
“They’re striking for better pay, they’re striking for our profession, and they’re striking for Denver students.”
Let’s be real here. In no way does a teachers union strike benefit students now or in the future. That’s just a bunch of baloney. First, when teachers walk out, they are replaced by substitute teachers. Do those substitute teachers actually teach? No, not really. Most of the time, substitute teachers put on a video or engage in some other activity that doesn’t advance the lesson plan. Second, teachers typically want increased pay for things like masters degrees, which don’t necessarily ensure that the quality of teaching is actually better. Third, such raises are almost never tied to pay-for-performance, meaning “if you’re a better teacher, you earn more,” so the lack of positive outcomes is pretty unimpressive.
PeakNation™, if you think teachers should be paid more and should go on strike to demand as much, that’s great. But don’t buy the line that this is somehow benefiting students. It doesn’t (teachers and unions on the other hand…). It’s just a lame ploy to garner sympathy for their obvious money grab.