DFER-NY Chair Craig Johnson released the following statement regarding NYSUT’s million-dollar ad buy attacking Gov. Cuomo:
“The sad reality is the teachers’ union has become a political operation committed to protecting the status quo rather than an education organization committed to protecting the interests of students.
“The union’s true concern is money for its bosses rather than empowering great teachers and pushing for the continued improvement of our education system. The union’s salary structure itself is rather shocking. While the average New York classroom teacher makes on average $73,000 per year, union boss Karen McGee makes nearly $300,000 while the top union political staffers make well over a quarter of a million dollars annually. Hard-working, dedicated teachers don’t make half those salaries, especially in upstate New York.
“The teachers union is one of the largest political pay-to-play machines paying politicians, contributing over $10 million to candidates and causes. Unions in this country have been vital–they’ve long served as the voice of the underdog–and have pushed for fair wages, civil rights, and even basic protections like the 8 hour work day and the weekend. Whatever happened to union representatives who represented the collective good–in this case, the individual teachers and the students–rather than themselves? It’s an outrage and it must stop.”
###