An Interview with Linda Chavez: About Betrayal and Teachers Unions
Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Cynthia Kleyn-Kennedy
Michael Shaughnessy
Senior Columnist EducationNews.org

Linda Chavez is the co-author (with Daniel Gray) of Betrayal: How Union Bosses Shake Down their Members and Corrupt American Politics . This book was published by Crown Forum in 2004. In this book, she presents a scathing attack on unions and discusses the political skullduggery that transpires behind the scenes via political action groups and union dues.

Linda Chavez is a Fox News political analyst, a syndicated columnist and has a syndicated talk radio program . She is the author of two other books, " Out of the Barrio " and " An Unlikely Conservative ". She is also president of Stop Union Political Abuse .

1) What are you currently working on/researching/writing?

I am currently researching a book on immigration assimilation. I am interested in determining why some groups seem to integrate quickly into the mainstream (most Asian immigrants, for example) while others (Hispanics e.g.) seem to take longer. I am also going to look at different measures of assimilation; for example, some groups move into the economic mainstream quickly (some Moslem immigrants) but may resist cultural or political assimilation

2) Who are or have been the greatest influences on your thinking?

I've been influenced most by two of my previous bosses: President Ronald Reagan and former American Federation of Teachers president Albert Shanker. President Reagan influenced my thinking most on economic issues. Al Shanker influenced my thinking on issues from affirmative action to foreign policy and defense. Although he was an active Democrat and union president, Shanker was a committed anti-communist and believed in a strong America. He was also an early and consistent critic of racial preferences in education and employment.

3) In "Betrayal" you indicate that unions no longer serve their purpose, nor do they represent their constituents. How has this change come about over the past 50 years?

Much of the change has come about because of the shift from private sector to public employee unions. Unions now see their primary aims being achieved through political action rather than collective bargaining, which is a natural outgrowth of the movement toward public employee unionism. Since public employee unions have a direct role in electing the management with whom they then sit down to bargain, most of their resources now go to politics and lobbying. In return, their elected patrons reward them at the bargaining table with contracts that drain public treasuries and often hurt public services.

5) How do you see the role of schools changing and what role have the unions played in this change?

Unions have been in the forefront of pushing for larger expenditures in public education and smaller classrooms, neither of which has contributed to higher achievement. The NEA (and, to somewhat less extent, the AFT as well) has resisted efforts to measure achievement and hold schools and teachers accountable for student performance.

While some of the Bush reforms have reversed this trend, they are being fought every step of the way by the unions, which have found allies among school administrators and state officials worried about the potential loss of federal funds in poor performing school districts.

6) Since the death of Albert Shanker, who has become the main figure in teacher unions leadership?

There is no single person who has emerged as a natural leader among the teachers unions. Sandra Feldman held the potential to become Shanker's successor, but a bout with cancer forced her early retirement. The NEA structure makes the emergence of a clear leader with staying power less likely.

7) How are the Democratic Party and the NEA linked? What does this mean for the average classroom teacher?

The NEA's UniServ program is the single largest source of manpower for Democratic political campaigns. UniServ directors and staff working as "volunteers" (extremely well remunerated volunteers) provide tactical and strategic services in political campaigns. Although federal law restricts union staff operating within political campaigns (for federal office seekers) to contact with union members and households, this is widely ignored in practice. In addition, the NEA is one of the largest donors to the Democratic Party and to Democratic candidates through its political action donations and its independent expenditures.

8) Bob Chase has frivolously attacked the Boy Scouts of America during his tenure. Where should he have concentrated his efforts?

The NEA leadership has focused on issues far afield of education, basically signing onto the entire agenda of the left-wing of the Democratic Party. In recent years the union has adopted resolutions on everything from barium emissions to a nuclear freeze, while resisting reforms to improve the quality of education.

9) What factors played a role in your transitioning from a Labor Union official to your present leanings to the right?

I was always conservative on foreign policy, defense, and most social issues. I became more conservative on economic issues as I saw the failures of the Great Society programs and witnessed the disastrous economic policies of the Carter Administration. My reading-of Adam Smith, Frederick Hayak, and Milton Freedman, in particular-also deeply influenced my understanding and thinking on economic issues.

10) What is your opinion of vouchers, particularly for racial, ethnic and minority group children whose parents are seeking an excellent education?

I think vouchers are a good alternative for parents whose children are trapped in failing public schools. I do not think they will ever replace public education-and I would not necessarily advocate that they do so-but I think competition is healthy for all institutions.

11) In Australia a few years back, in response to a one hundred dollar cut in supplies monies, the entire nation's teachers threatened to strike. What would happen in the U.S. if the entire nation went on strike?

A national strike would not be possible in the American system because education is organized  at  the  local level.

11) What changes could take place in the future that would improve American education (in spite of the unions?)

Introducing competition both in the public schools and in private education through vouchers and tuition tax credits will have more of an impact than any other reform I can think of. Eliminating racial preferences in college admission might also apply more pressure on public schools to improve the performance of minority students.

12) No Child Left Behind ( NCLB)- How would you modify it and why has there been little apparent teacher union response to it?

Actually, there has been a fair amount of teacher union resistance to NCLB.   Several pending suits have either been initiated by the unions or unions have been in the background fomenting opposition.

13) IDEA ( Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) has recently been reauthorized in 2004rs Unions seem to be simply perpetuating the status quo with IDEA and NCLB in a proverbial "clash of the titans". Why have the unions failed to react/respond to these issues?

I am sorry, but I haven't kept up on IDEA, so I can't really respond to this.

14) Millions of dollars are spent on education yet, how can the average taxpayer ascertain that these funds are appropriately utilized? What is the unions role in this regard?

Unions are interested in only four things: better pay, benefits, and working conditions for their members, and the ability to collect dues from them. There is nothing particularly surprising in this-unions are motivated by self interest. But the best interests of teacher unions should not be confused with the best interest of education, much less students or taxpayers.

15) In your latest book " Betrayal" on page 25, you indicate that " spending on education, adjusted for inflation has tripled since 1960 but we have witnessed a steady decline in results as demonstrated by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. What has caused this? The breakdown of the family? The Unions? The mainstreaming and inclusion of students with disabilities and exceptionalities?

All of the above, plus the negative role that unions have played in fighting merit pay and accountability for teachers. There is simply no correlation between better performance and more money in education today.

16) Should unions be allowed to contribute members union dues to political campaign coffers?

No, unions should be allowed to collect voluntary funds from their members for use in political campaigns. Unions dues should be used exclusively for collective bargaining and administration of the contract.

17) In your book on page 134, you indicate "Teachers unions.... have done little to improve life in the classroom for most teachers" What recourse do teachers have in 2005?

Teachers in some states have formed alternative organizations to unions, but many state laws give exclusive representation to teachers unions and force all teachers to pay dues (or, in some states, so-called agency fees). Unfortunately, short of changes in federal and state laws, teachers have little recourse to this sorry state of affairs. Teachers can request that that portion of their dues that is used for politics be returned to them under a Supreme Court ruling in the Abood decision, but this not widely enforced.

18) Barbara Bullock seems to personify your concerns about union leadership. For those who have not read your book Betrayal, briefly, what happened and is this typical or " business as usual".

Bullock and several union officials with the Washington (DC) Teachers Union stole more than $5 million in union dues to buy everything from mink coats and designer clothing to silver tea sets and plasma screen televisions. Although some members complained to the national AFT about what was going on, their concerns were ignored until the Washington Teachers Union became delinquent in paying their national dues. By then the FBI was investigating the corruption.

19) How do we end what apparently is a cycle of corruption with the teachers unions and unions in general?

We need the same kind of laws for unions that we have for the corporate sector concerning finances. Union finances should be independently audited; union presidents should be held accountable for the veracity and integrity of union financial statements, suffering criminal penalties for violations, and all union financial documents should be publicly available.

20) Are teachers unions, to use your words, "deep pocketed protectors of mediocrity"?

Teachers unions stifle innovation and resist rewarding merit.

21) This question you may choose to ignore, but why have the teachers unions done so little to assist teachers with the vast ever increasing number of students with disabilities who are being inappropriately mainstreamed into regular education classes?

Again, I have been gone too long from the union movement to answer this.

22) What do you see the NEA currently doing for teachers? Not much.