I have little affection for Reason, a publication that sings the anthem of “free minds and free markets,” but this piece kind of nails it. Last Thursday New York Governor Andrew Cuomo met with the Daily News Editorial Board and lit into the UFT, which represents most of the teachers in New York City’s public schools. Cuomo, according to the Daily News, “referred to the teachers unions and the entrenched educational establishment as an ‘industry’ that is more interested in protecting the rights of its members than improving the system for the kids it is supposed to be serving.” Cuomo also maintained that“if (the public) understood what was happening with education to their children, there would be an outrage in this city,” adding, “I’m telling you, they would take City Hall down brick by brick.”
Here’s Reason:
The fact that this fiery anti-union tirade passed the lips of a blue state Democrat tells you everything you need to know about just how thoroughly teaches union have alienated many of their natural political allies. And this isn’t merely some quirk of New York politics, as the same thing has happened on a local scale in numerous cities such as Chicago, Detroit, and Los Angeles. Democratic politicians everywhere are more willing to take on teachers unions than ever before.
I suspect that’s because they recognize the long-term unsustainability of this alliance. Teachers unions have continued to extort delusional concessions from lawmakers and taxpayers, even as their leaders’ antics grow more distracting and hateful. Their demands are so unreasonable, so out of step with the very moderate package of school reforms that a growing consensus of politicians on the left and right now support, even people like Cuomo and former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg—who are not exactly friends of libertarianism—can’t help but object to the shrill divisiveness of Michael Mulgrew, Karen Lewis, Steven Cook, etc.
