How about these union apples?

Julia Steiny wrote a nice little piece on the change in A.J. Duffy from his role as union boss to charter school founder. The crux is that Duffy, who formerly fought tooth and nail for the traditional union values of seniority and making it tough to fire teachers, now opposes seniority and long processes for firing teachers.

She quotes an interesting Harris poll about Americans' opinions of unions. It's not surprising that a large number of Americans are becoming anti-union. Fewer people are members and unions interfere with many rational processes. The truly salient statistic is that "well over half – 60 percent – of the union households themselves feel similarly. Only 47 percent of union members believe they’re getting their money’s worth for the dues they pay."

Funny that 60% of the people who benefit from these organizations still think that they aren't really doing what they are supposed to be doing. In a nation in which a newly elected president takes 53% of the vote to be a "mandate" from the people, perhaps unions ought to listen to Americans, perhaps even their own members.

Go, Mr. Duffy. I don't know if you are a true convert or you are a chameleon, but get those charter schools going and promote and pay based on competence and assist those who aren't good teachers to find other forms of employment.