Monday, November 28, 2005

I Resigned From My Union Today

Using the information on this page as a template, I mailed my resignation to my union(s) today.

The die is cast.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Bravo!!!

Elizabeth

Darren said...

To what end, Walter? No one is required *not* to shun me on the job, or *not* to look at me crosswise, so I cannot imagine any monetary damages from those.

Can you give a few specifics of things I *should* sue for? And are there other ways of "wacking" than just small claims court?

Dan Edwards said...

Congradulations on following up with what you said you were going to do. Too many people today just shrug their shoulders, mutter complaints and resign themselves to just 'taking it'.

Enjoy your extra time not spent attending union meetings and the money you'll get back from the Vampires of Burlingame.

EdWonk said...

It will be very interesting to see how this works out.

As for us, we'll continue to try to affect democratic reform of our corrupt local chapter of NEA/CTA from the inside, at least for the time being.

Anonymous said...

>yawn<

I know you had a moment when it seemed like the union was "begging" you not to use your nuclear option, Darren. It seemed like you enjoyed the attention while it lasted. But now that you're gone, do you really delude yourself into thinking anyone really cares?

Skip the "Well, if more people did as I did" angle. Anyone who ever wanted to already could. The reality that they haven't is one you're going to have to get comfortable with. Apparently they're all just lefties or lemmings or both--not courageous individuals like you.

Cozy up to the fact that they're happy with the representation (all of it) they get from the union.

Kinda gives you a warm fuzzy feeling all over, doesn't it?

Darren said...

Ah yes, I felt that I could change the CTA by threatening quitting.

No, nothing quite so dramatic, Anonymous. If I cared about your feelings at all, which by this time in our "relationship" I don't, I'd be sorry to disappoint you.

Surely you can't be serious that every single member of CTA supports it 100%? That *is* what you said, just a few lines above. No, I assert that you know *nothing* about which you speak on this topic. And it would be better for you to be silent and to be thought a fool than to speak and remove all doubt.

You often like to quote Bible verses at random. Find that one :-)

Darren said...

There was a lengthy comment added here by one of the teachers who sent out the Prop 75 emails I wrote about before the election, but I don't know what happened to the comment! I don't think I deleted it, because I "mass-published" all the comments that were awaiting moderation.

If you read this, please post again if you have the opportunity!

Anonymous said...

Hi Darren...its Lillian Perry and I thought I had saved my comments, but I'll have to look around for them.
The main thing that I want your readers to know is that Larry Sand and I are REAL teachers and we teach everyday in the public schools. Also, our 90,000 email addresses were found through public records by a team of interns working in the PROP 75 office.
We would have sent out more, but 90,000 was all that they could dig up. We did not BUY the list. We didn't have the money to buy one, not the money that the unions had, as we had to raise our funds through donations, rather than using dues from union members.
We were basically outspent, which is why we were not able to aggressively begin the TV ads until a month before the election.
The attack was on our Governor, who sincerely believed that the status quo could be changed in a dignified way.
The other thing is that Larry and I have only received 30 hateful letters from teachers all over the State, but I received literally hundreds of supportive and 'like-minded' letters from teachers who were glad to receive our LEGALLY sent emails.
I believe I also wrote that Prop 75 didn't do too shabbily throughout the State, and in my own neighborhoods of Orange, San Bernardino, and Riverside counties, it passed. It would seem that the unions would have won BIGGER, since they spent $120M as compared to our $34M. As a result of our TWO emailings, more teachers are aware of their options and they also need to know that opting out is NOT a bad thing. Of course, the union wants you to think that it is a terrible thing to become an agency fee payer, because they don't want to lose the $300+ coming out of your check...especially the money that they used to obtain their loans and lines of credit.

Please visit the National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Inc. website at www.nrtw.org, and get the legal notice that the CTA refuses to send out to it's members.
However, remember, you can only opt out and receive your refund between September 1 and November 15 each year. A phone call won't do it, and filling out a little card and giving it to your union rep won't do it. You have to become an agency fee payer and resign from the union in a specific way, and the CTA will not tell you how to do it. Go to the above website a.s.a.p.

Don't be fooled by the idea that your dues are supposedly transfered over to the General Fund. This is a 'soft' money fund and can be used for politics. You want your money back in your hand, so you will KNOW that it is not being used for things you don't believe in...or even know about in the first place.
Trust me, I learned so much through this campaign. I am shocked and disappointed in our union. I feel like an ATM machine.
Also, there is another organization that will give you twice the liability that the CTA/NEA offers ($2M), and it is not political at all, and costs far less than the unions to belong to. The American Association of Educators is a great alternative for the so-called losses involved in becoming an agency fee payer (AAE).

Our monies have been used to support the Same Sex Marriage initiative, which the Governor vetoed. Our dues were used to fight the Three Strikes initiative. Why? Beats me.
Our dues were used for the Kerry and Gore campaigns, (and both candidates are in favor of getting rid of tenure altogether, so go figure, why did the CTA resist Prop 74?)
Only one-quarter of one-percent of the 335,000 members make these decisions (800 reps).
I think the two emailings made a dent and got people talking about these issues. We sent out the second email in response to the threat by Barbara Kerr to put us in jail for exercising our freedom of speech. How else would teachers know? You're right about email being far more cost efficient.
It's encouraging to read your comments and the comments of your visitors.
I'm sorry I am so long-winded, but there is so much more to tell you. First of all, spread the word about the website and that will prepare people to be able to make a wise decision as to whether they want to continue to be 'pimped'. We have until September 1, so we have time.

You might THINK you have resigned, but if you didn't do it according to the way it is outlined on the above website - www.nrtw.org - it was a waste of time. Wait until September 1, as your money is already spent for the 2005-2006 year.
I've just set up a blog, and I'm putting it together as I can find time....please visit when you can. I'm calling it - Lillian Perry Is RIGHT - and it is also on this blogspot. (I have only posted one commentary so far, and that is on the Tookie Williams fiasco.) I'm still learning how to put it up and I want it to be as nice and informatice as yours.

Thanks for listening and for letting me join in your discussion. I've been taunted, threatened, screamed at, cursed out, and belittled. I do not personally feel defeated, though. I feel stronger than ever! I am empowered with information, and I want to get it out to my fellow teachers. Once they get both sides, then they can decide whether to accept it or reject it, and then make an educated choice. The idea of educators making an educated choice is scaring the poo poo out of the CTA...!
Just because we've lost a battle does not mean we have lost the war!

Lillian Perry, M.A.T.

Darren said...

Lillian, thank you for posting again. I'm sure the error with your last post was *mine*, not yours--or at least it was Blogspot's! Thank you for posting again.

I *did* follow the instructions on the NRTW's web site, even though I did it after the specified date.

If you would, please email me personally at the address in my profile. I have a couple questions I'd like to ask you.

Darren said...

Larry, feel free to email me; my address is in my profile.