A Charles Spicer wrote a letter in The Sunday Age having a go at the teachers' union. It's reproduced below.
Although it does a lot of good, the Australian Education Union also does a lot of harm. I'm old enough to remember strikes they have called on ideological grounds, which have had nothing to do with teaching. I can sympathise with Charles. Because of the AEU, in recent years we have had to put up with the VIT (Victorian Institute of Leeches) and, as Charles pointed out, the appalling agreement in 2004. Like him, I voted against it, one of two in my school I believe. It was that agreement that put us so far behind. I know Charles is not the only teacher who was disenchanted with the AEU and gave them the flick.
I think one of the problems is that the union is run by non-teachers. When was Mary Bluett last in the classroom?
'Parasites' deserve a place at the table
Juliette Hughes, The Ethicist ("Should you go on strike if your union asks you?" 3/2), refers to non-union members of the teaching fraternity as "merely parasitical".
I doubt that the Australian Education Union represents half of all serving teachers in Victoria, and yet they hold all the power at the negotiating table during discussions with the government.
During the 2004 Schools Agreement talks, I contacted the government as I wanted to contribute to the discussion. I was told I had to speak to the union. I then contacted the union and they hung up on me when I told them I was not a member.
As this door closed I turned to my usual course of action and wrote letters to the minister.
Unfortunately, under the Bracks/Brumby Government, I only received the standard auto reply of "we'll get back to you", which they never do.
When it came time to vote on the agreement, I voted against it but was in the minority. I had no choice but to accept the umpire's decision, however flawed, in order to continue doing what I love.
Having been a member of a union, I believe the AEU has continually let its members down and therefore I choose not to join.
I do, however, continue to lobby the government and have been described by senior bureaucrats as an "activist", although none of these people have shown me the courtesy of actually speaking to me and finding out whether I am rational or otherwise.
It is my hope that all teachers, and not simply unionists, will be able to have more of a say in their working conditions in the future.
That way "parasites" such as myself can finally play a role in changing education in Victoria for the better.
CHARLES SPICER, Glen Waverley
Juliette Hughes, The Ethicist ("Should you go on strike if your union asks you?" 3/2), refers to non-union members of the teaching fraternity as "merely parasitical".
I doubt that the Australian Education Union represents half of all serving teachers in Victoria, and yet they hold all the power at the negotiating table during discussions with the government.
During the 2004 Schools Agreement talks, I contacted the government as I wanted to contribute to the discussion. I was told I had to speak to the union. I then contacted the union and they hung up on me when I told them I was not a member.
As this door closed I turned to my usual course of action and wrote letters to the minister.
Unfortunately, under the Bracks/Brumby Government, I only received the standard auto reply of "we'll get back to you", which they never do.
When it came time to vote on the agreement, I voted against it but was in the minority. I had no choice but to accept the umpire's decision, however flawed, in order to continue doing what I love.
Having been a member of a union, I believe the AEU has continually let its members down and therefore I choose not to join.
I do, however, continue to lobby the government and have been described by senior bureaucrats as an "activist", although none of these people have shown me the courtesy of actually speaking to me and finding out whether I am rational or otherwise.
It is my hope that all teachers, and not simply unionists, will be able to have more of a say in their working conditions in the future.
That way "parasites" such as myself can finally play a role in changing education in Victoria for the better.
CHARLES SPICER, Glen Waverley
