This post is for teachers, paraprofessionals and others who have recently started new positions in education. Readers, please forward this to anyone you know who might be questioning whether or not to add union dues to their paycheck.

I have been seeing social media posts from new hires asking whether they ought to join the union. Yes, union dues cost more than mere pocket change. However, paying your dues is exactly like purchasing homeowners insurance. You may never use that insurance once in your life. But if the house burns down, your homeowners policy will be invaluable. Insurance can save your retirement funds and, in a larger sense, your future.

Not all evaluation systems provide an honest reflection of an employee’s performance. I have seen numerous people whose entire year’s performance was assessed based on less than a half day of actual in-person observation. Not all evaluators know what they are seeing in those scant hours of observation. And teaching has its own unique hazards. Students and others have been known to lie about teacher performance, for example. Early on, adults are usually warned not to be alone with students in closed rooms. I know one woman who essentially had a group of girls gang up on her to deliberately sabotage her evaluation, too.

Added to the above, every so often, the wrong administrator or teacher simply takes a dislike to someone. The wrong teacher can make a parapro miserable all year, acting as a stream of negativity and a source of unfair evaluations. The wrong principal may try to push a teacher out through harsh evaluations and other dubious tricks like assigning his or her target the too-hot room over the noisy boiler. Education is not free from nepotism and favoritism either. Sometimes when Ed just doesn’t like Harry, Ed may decide to get Harry replaced with someone more to his own taste, such as his golf buddy’s newly graduated son.

Reader, maybe you will never encounter any seriously unjust treatment in the your workplace. Ever. You may be lucky enough to work for “Mike” or “Carly,” who are trying to build their best team possible and who only want to provide a school where you can learn and grow to become the best “your-position-here” possible.

But I believe fiercely in the old proverb, “Trust to God and row for the shore.” Sometimes I’ve heard, “Trust to God and keep your powder dry.” You have to take care of yourself. Your union is part of that self-care. If ever that kid does lie, or Ed decides he needs to open up a social studies position for his golf buddy’s son, or any of the many, many reasons why good teachers have found themselves fighting to hold onto their positions, having a union rep in the room can help you keep your position. Union reps remind districts of their promises and ensure due process does not get ignored.

The alternative to the union is trusting your administrators to be wise, honest and fair, even when under heavy pressure from outside forces such as angry parents, angry or frightened* students, other teachers, social media campaigns, and inadequate budgets.

Join the union.

Maybe it’s covid, I don’t know, but anger’s just popping out all over right now as frustrated people look to vent. protect yourself, reader.

Hugs! I wish everyone a great day. Jocelyn Turner

* Those lying students may have absolutely nothing against their teacher. But let’s say “Marigold” has a “D” or “F” to explain to her scary parents. The blame has to be placed somewhere away from Marigold. Once a lie has started, too, a child may not know how to walk away from the lie due to fears of embarrassment or punishment.