Roper wrong about CMNEA positions

Sunday, October 9, 2011

Columbia Tribune

Editor, the Tribune: I appreciate Bob Roper’s comments about Columbia teachers being “dedicated, professional and hardworking under increasingly difficult circumstances.” I am constantly inspired by the work my colleagues do. I wonder whether he is aware all 600-plus members of the Columbia Missouri National Education Association, which he criticized, are the same people he praised.

It’s disappointing that Roper’s method of debating an issue was to make false statements. He announced CMNEA’s position and intentions without contacting CMNEA to find out what these are. CMNEA is the local chapter of the NEA. It has never bargained a contract, has never contributed to a school board candidate’s election and has absolutely no intentions of pursuing “fair share” fees.
CMNEA favors the exclusive representative policy because it is how bargaining is done throughout the country. No contract has been successfully bargained using multiple representation.
Roper questioned how CMNEA as an exclusive bargaining agent could help schoolchildren. Next to parents, our students’ best advocates are teachers. They work with students daily and know their needs. Teachers have successfully bargained issues such as textbooks, proper lunch times and recess breaks, technology, lower class sizes and increased services to special-needs students. Achievement is higher in states where teachers bargain. The top states in the areas of graduation rate, SAT scores, ACT scores and NAEP reading and math scores have all been bargaining for 30-plus years.
Columbia educators deserve a voice at the decision-making table — they deserve collective bargaining and have a right to representatives of their own choosing.
Kathy Steinhoff
membership chair, CMNEA
301 Fredora Ave.