The Best Explanation of Teachers Unions

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I saw the best explanation of the US teachers unions on YouTube today. Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5kxc6kzH-uI The description says: A supporter of the teachers unions is questioned about her belief that the unions need more money and power. Sadly, this video is quite true. When you ask a teacher about teaching, they all have the same talking points and you can tell that they've been given these talking points. For years, they've been telling us that they're underpaid and don't make even as much as their neighbors. Thanks to the Republican governors who are trying to balance budgets, we learned that is not true. In Milwaukee, for instance, the average teacher earns $56,000 (and with benefits it comes to over $100,000). Meanwhile, the average person in Milwaukee only makes $19,000 and the average couple earns only $46,000. So, the teachers in that area are making much more thn their neighbors. Not only that, but in Milwaukee, the teachers were paying nothing toward their health care insurance. And they were paying nothing toward their pension. And, get this. They had city, county and state pensions to which they paid nothing. There are examples of this all over the country. They also only work 9-10 months of the year, while their neighbors earning less are working all year long. They get a break in the winter and in the spring. (No, it's not as long a break as the kids.) And they get 10 paid sick days and 2 weeks (or more depending on how long they've been teaching) paid vacation. When I was a kid, the teachers took their vacations in the summer when they were off, not during the school year when they have to provide a substitute. I'm sorry, but the credibility of teachers has gone waaaaaaaay down. Need more? Teachers will tell you that you certainly can get rid of bad teachers and that it's the "lazy administrators" who don't take care of that. I've had them tell me that very thing. And when you provide proof that in some cases, it costs taxpayers as much as $300,000 in legal fees to try to get rid of bad teachers, they ignore the facts. (See: http://prospect.org/cs/articles?article=bad_apples). Or if you ask them if they've heard of the rubber rooms in New York, again, they ignore the facts. (See: http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/Rubber-Room-Doc-Reveals-Teachers-Paid-For-Nothing-90804024.html) The YouTube movie above shows how the teachers have been brainwashed. And how they respond to people depending upon whether you're with them or "against" them.