[etni] Fw: unions (and disunity) -- a personal story
- From: "Ask_Etni" <ask@xxxxxxxx>
- To: "ETNI" <etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 21 Feb 2010 18:50:17 +0200
----- Original Message -----
From: sbshai - sbshai@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: unions (and disunity) -- a personal story
Hello fellow teachers in ETNI-land,
I am alternately sympathetic and bemused by the recent discussion about
unions and how we (English teachers) might hope to make them more effective.
Some provocative ideas have been mentioned, but I wonder how practical they
are. For example, I like the suggestion to stop paying our dues to the
established irgunei hamorim -- but of course, this will only get a reaction
if we do it en masse. And therein lies the problem.
Alas, most of us seem to be creatures of habit: we do things simply because
they're generally done and/or we don't have the time or inclination to think
deeply about them.
When I started teaching here and questioned other teachers about the
benefits of union membership, no one had a really satisfying answer (and now
I know why!); still I joined because everyone else belonged -- a classic
case of follow the crowd mentality, which the Irgun and Histadrut apparently
count on.
Having been a member of the powerful UFT in New York, I quickly grew
disenchanted with the workings (I'm sure they work, even though some of us
don't think so!) of the Irgun, but I told myself that it's not fair to
compare; no one else seemed annoyed by the deduction of union dues from
their paychecks, so I thought I must be in the wrong.
With the mishandling of the project sanction issue, however, I realized that
I could not follow the Irgun's directives (such as they were) and remain
whole with my conscience, so I chose the latter over blind faith in the
union -- and (though it isn't comfortable to feel like a scab) I can't say
that I regret my decision.
After losing confidence in the Irgun, I subsequently registered for the HOTS
in-service course -- not to add another 'sin' to my lack of allegiance, but
so that I could see for myself what the new literature program was all
about. As it turned out, many of the participants were fellow Irgun members
who felt much as I did about the union's inadequacies. (To those who will
shout that a union is only as strong as its supporters, I ask: What is a
reasonable amount of time to expect your union to take clear action on a
significant issue? Sure, English projects are not the only burning item on
the Irgun's to-do list, but one can't help wondering exactly how they
arrange and handle their priorities while we and our students are left
waiting in the lurch!)
Taking the course actually put those of us who object to the program (or
parts of it) in an advantageous position as far as the Inspectorate was
concerned because they couldn't pull their trump card -- doubtlessly
prepared when the Irgun extended sanctions to include the HOTS course -- and
say, "What exactly are you complaining about? You don't have inside
information about the program because you haven't taken the course!" (The
fact that the course itself [not necessarily the instructors] was something
to complain about is another story!)
We had learned from experience that the help we could expect from the union
was limited at best, so that if we wanted to get something done we needed to
take matters into our own hands. (Hence, the first round of petition
letters was started by a lone teacher in Jerusalem, and the rest, as they
say, is history!)
So I applaud the suggestion to form a union of English teachers that will
actually be empowered to look out for our interests. But, for starters,
setting up such a huge venture takes a great deal of time.
Who would be qualified AND willing to lead such an alliance? Leadership
could be shared, perhaps to prevent (as has been described) the human
tendency to abuse power, and should probably come from within our midst
(otherwise, what will we have accomplished?) -- but the position/s is/are
obviously full-time AND untenured.
These considerations needn't prevent us from taking the initiative to
improve our lot, but the real-time situation is such that I can't help
wondering whether this isn't a mere pipe dream.
Are there any activists out there?
Though nothing may get going until after I retire, I'd still like to see my
colleagues deriving real benefits in exchange for their union dues.
"Better late than never!"
Batya
-----------------------------------------------
** The ETNI Rag **
http://www.etni.org/etnirag/
Much more than just a journal
** Etni homepage - http://www.etni.org
or - http://www.etni.org.il **
** for help - ask@xxxxxxxx **
** to post to this list - etni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx **
-----------------------------------------------
Other related posts:
- » [etni] Fw: unions (and disunity) -- a personal story - Ask_Etni