Schwarzenegger and the teachers union
Re “Powerful Teachers Union Is in the Thick of Ballot Battles,” Sept. 28
A perfect example of why teachers are fighting so hard to defeat Gov. Schwarzenegger’s propositions regarding education and public employees’ rights landed in teachers’ school mailboxes Wednesday. A personalized letter from Richard Riordan, former mayor and state education superintendent, was waiting for every teacher at my school. A patronizing plethora of propaganda urged a “yes” vote on Proposition 75, the very proposition aimed at taking away public employees’ ability to mobilize quickly and apply political pressure on issues that affect both their jobs and their constituents.
If passed, the money Riordan and his fat cats can spend won’t be altered, but the voices of teachers, firefighters, nurses and police officers will. The “Yes on Prop. 75” supporters can spend huge amounts of money sending letters to public employees at their workplaces, but if this passes, public employees will be unduly hampered in their response. How fair is that? Of course we’re mobilizing to defeat certain measures proposed by Schwarzenegger and his cronies. Our professional survival depends on it.
CAROL SPECTOR
Ventura
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Can someone please answer this question: If the teachers union is so powerful, how come teachers are paid so little?
JANE WILLIAMS FLEMING
Belmont Shore
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