http://www.eduwonk.com/2009/07/tomorrows-debate-today.html Education News, Analysis, and Commentary Mon, 13 Feb 2012 03:45:52 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 hourly 1 http://www.eduwonk.com/2009/07/tomorrows-debate-today.html/comment-page-1#comment-86827 Steve Peha Wed, 01 Jul 2009 20:49:27 +0000 http://www.eduwonk.com/?p=3996#comment-86827 By definition, unions cannot be professional organizations. Unions must work for better wages, working conditions, benefits, and job security. Professional organizations must advance the state of their profession, control who can be a member, self-police for quality, set standards for performance and ethics, and insure that their members are paid "professionally" as in "for a fee" based on the work that they do. They cannot bargain collectively as unions must. Nor can they function by preserving jobs for the worst among them. Unions must fight for all members, even those who may not represent the highest professional ideas. Professional organizations must take an essentially opposite approach. Compare NEA and AFT with the Bar and AMA. Two unions, two professional organizations. Two completely agendas. The AMA isn't going to unionize doctors. And the NEA isn't going to professionalize teachers. By definition, unions cannot be professional organizations. Unions must work for better wages, working conditions, benefits, and job security. Professional organizations must advance the state of their profession, control who can be a member, self-police for quality, set standards for performance and ethics, and insure that their members are paid “professionally” as in “for a fee” based on the work that they do. They cannot bargain collectively as unions must. Nor can they function by preserving jobs for the worst among them. Unions must fight for all members, even those who may not represent the highest professional ideas. Professional organizations must take an essentially opposite approach. Compare NEA and AFT with the Bar and AMA. Two unions, two professional organizations. Two completely agendas. The AMA isn’t going to unionize doctors. And the NEA isn’t going to professionalize teachers.

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