Candidates Contribute To Union And Do As Told

Most candidates for local office in Montgomery County covet the endorsement of the county teachers union more than any other, and all of them know the drill. Appear at union events, fill out the union questionnaire, submit to the union interview.

The union, representing 11,000 teachers, helpfully provides a road map to candidates seeking its blessing, including 11 criteria spelled out in painstaking detail online. Just one thing is missing from this handy guide: Candidates who receive the union's stamp of approval are also then expected to pay.

Such is the overweening power of the teachers union in Montgomery that the usual rules are turned upside down. And it's no coincidence that the union's toxic influence in local elections is matched by its success in squeezing unaffordable concessions from the county in contract negotiations, at taxpayers' expense.

In the latest elections for the Montgomery County Council, in 2006, most candidates on the union-approved (and trademarked) "Apple Ballot" coughed up the maximum contribution allowed by state law, $6,000, to a PAC run by the Montgomery County Education Association, as the teachers union is known. Union-backed candidates for the Board of Education also paid handsomely. Supposedly, these funds covered the cost of the union's mailings to constituents and other activities on behalf of its anointed candidates, although there is no real accounting on a campaign-by-campaign basis.

 Several sources told us that the MCEA's chief political strategist, Jon Gerson, made it clear that he expected candidates, once endorsed, to pay what they "owed" for the union's campaign on their behalf. One candidate, asked to explain the decision to pay, answered concisely: "Fear." 

 A case in point is Nancy Floreen, the current County Council president, who suggested, during a budget crunch in 2003, that the union make some concessions on compensation. That probably cost her the MCEA endorsement in the 2006 primaries, in which she barely managed to retain her council seat. This year, facing reelection and even more dire budgetary circumstances, Ms. Floreen has been quiet as a mouse on the subject of union concessions, even though negotiations on a new contract for teachers are underway. 

 The MCEA planted yard signs, bought advertising on the radio and at Metro stations and deployed teachers to every key county polling station, where they handed voters sample "Apple Ballots" of endorsed candidates bearing the words "Teacher Recommended." Of the 47 "Apple Ballot" candidates in 2006, 42 won their races for county and state legislative offices.

This is corruption at its worst.  The teachers union is running the county.   The candidates pay the union so that they can win their election.  Will any of these elected officials stand up to this corrupt union?  No the union tells their bosses what to do.
Join with us America to protect your rights and  your country.  We are ready to defend our rights and tell the truth the elitist progressive main stream media won’t tell you.  Comment here and email us at YourVoice@speaknowconservatives.org . Help us and be part of bringing our Great Christian country back. 

Moms, Dads, Grandparents we started a forum just for you!! Visit MomsandDadsBeHeard.Orgsoon! 2010 is a MUST year to be involved. No longer can we sit back and allow our rights to disappear. The 2010 elections will be the deciding factor. Get involved, speak out!

You might also like to read this article: Socialist Obama Democrats Have Plan To get Obamacare