Unions assure fair treatment of teachers

In the past, I have enjoyed the company of students during my instruction-free lunch period. I also appreciate and enjoy the “we got your back” feeling that my union provides, and the carefully worded contract that addresses overt and covert forms of teacher abuse.

So, I have mixed feelings about the teacher who was chastised for not taking advantage of her “free period,” instead choosing to spend time with her highly motivated and inquisitive students. (Unions don’t put kids first, July 16) The union representative who scolded, “We fought for a lunch period void of student contact” makes a valid point. Teacher contracts, though by no means perfect, offer some amount of protection from unfair practices.

If individual teachers willingly give up some of that protection (albeit “for the kids”), it cripples the union’s stance and waters down the concise wording of the contract.

Like it or not, unions are a necessary part of the teaching profession and contracts give teachers some leverage when they’re being unfairly treated. It happens. The powers that be (and they are lurking out there) could easily use one teacher’s well-meaning personal choice against hundreds of teachers during negotiations. “Well, Mrs. So and So works with students during lunch. What’s the big deal?”

Giving up an occasional free period to work with students might seem benign and praiseworthy, but it could eventually lead to a domino effect for future contracts, with even less protection for hardworking, passionate teachers who just want a fair shake. Going the extra mile for our hungry-to-learn students and being pro-union should not be mutually exclusive.

But in the teacher bashing, payroll slashing, benefits cutting culture in which we live, I worry that it is.

Valerie Goranson

Libertyville