UEA robs teachers of options

As every teacher can tell you, knowledge is power. In Utah, teachers may soon have some knowledge that the union would rather they didn't.

For decades the Utah Education Association has enjoyed monopolistic control over teacher representation to the detriment of thousands of educators who are not inclined to embrace partisan politics or support a controversial social agenda. This monopoly may very well end with a piece of legislation that promotes equity and fairness in teacher representation.

A bill currently being considered by the Utah Legislature would allow all teacher associations equal access to teachers in the state. Without this legislation, the UEA is the only organization that is allowed unfettered access to teachers' mailboxes, contact information and teacher orientations. Other teacher associations that wish to represent teachers are often shut out from communicating with them, essentially robbing teachers of the knowledge of their options for professional representation.

Stories of strong-arm and coercive tactics to pressure teachers to join the UEA are becoming more common. Teacher-rights advocates are also concerned that the UEA has used its position of power to promulgate biased rhetoric that lacks the scrutiny of opposing viewpoints. Many teacher-rights advocates believe that UEA has misused teacher money "living high on the hog" for far too long. They believe it's time for teachers to have a fair opportunity to evaluate their representative options.

The bill in question is simple: If one teacher association is allowed any type of access, then all other teacher associations must be allowed the same access. Therefore, if one organization is allowed to place information in teachers' mailboxes, then all other organizations must be given the same opportunity. If one group is allowed to recruit teachers at new teacher orientations, then all groups must be allowed the same chance.

This bill protects teachers from being unfairly coerced into membership of any given association, and allows information to be promulgated to teachers in a fashion that maximizes their options for professional representation. It allows teachers to make an informed decision in choosing the representative option that more appropriately reflects their values, morals and beliefs as a professional educator in Utah.

Because of a lack of free flow of information, most teachers are unaware there is a choice in front of them regarding who represents them. Most teachers believe that their only choice is to join the UEA or nothing at all. The union leadership does not want teachers to know about their options, because they fear that many of those teachers would then choose to join another organization.