Reply #6: I see that a lot among the folks I work with ...

[NewHampshireDem]

I used to be the membership chair for my NEA local and I can tell you the new teachers were always a hard sell for that reason. Their attitude was that the union only protected teachers from getting fired and they figured that if it came down to that they'd just go work someplace else.

Then they'd give me some bullshit about not being able to afford the dues ... which came to a *whopping* $450/year! :eyes:

What I tried to convince them of (and it often worked) was that the fact that they were making good money as a first year teacher was only because I, and others, had literally paid their dues and negotiated their contracts for them. I pointed out that they were making some $5000/year more than I had as a first year teacher (less than 10 years ago) because I had somehow been able to find the dues money on considerably less salary than they made.

Sorry ... didn't mean to get off topic here, but when I see workers refusing to organize--against their own best interest, no less--it really fires me up!