COMMENTARY | President Obama has, in the past, been very vocal about his support of teachers unions, especially in the wake of multi-state collective-bargaining battles throughout 2011. However, in President Obama's 2012 State of the Union address, he made some remarks that uncharacteristically went against core, traditional teachers union beliefs. So which side is he on? Is President Obama for or against teachers unions?
In his 2012 State of the Union address, according to WhiteHouse.gov, President Obama remarks:
"Give [schools] the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. And in return, grant schools flexibility: to teach with creativity and passion, to stop teaching to the test, and to replace teachers who just aren't helping kids learn."
According to his statements, President Obama cuts right to the heart of teachers unions and their core philosophies. In essence, he's endorsing the idea of rewarding good teachers and firing bad ones.
This goes against traditional union philosophies, in that he is proposing differentiation - or publicly calling out and pointing fingers at both good and bad teachers, with benefits or consequences for each group, employment (and salary) based on merit, and eliminating tenure as a means of continued employment or pay raises.
This being said, the pro-Obama National Education Association still supports the president, with its top headline on the NEA webpage reading "NEA President Praises President Obama's Vision for America."
According to HableDash, the NEA even raised its annual fees $10 for each of its 3.2 million members in 2011, in order to raise $32 million for its campaign endorsing the president. So if the NEA, the most powerful teachers union in the United States, is heavily-endorsing President Obama, it seems to suggest he is pro-union.
The 2012 State of the Union address, though, leaves open the possibility for debate. While his background may appear labor-supportive, Obama's carefully-crafted words in his address were meant to satisfy both those who were for and against unions. After stating firmly that teachers are important, he then backtracks and says teachers must be held accountable. In this short statement, he has made both sides of the aisle happy.
So is President Obama for or against unions? Or is he simply playing the politician, and artfully choosing the right words, with the right audiences, in order not to alienate any one group, and draw in as many votes for a re-election as possible? Is he playing both sides of the aisle?
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