Propping up the Teachers Unions

James Hall / July 06, 2010

Last night, the House of Representatives passed their version of the defense supplemental bill by a vote of 215-210. The bill includes $10 billion for the “Education Jobs Fund” which Democratic leadership claims will “save” 140,000 jobs.

At that rate, each job “saved” will cost more than $70,000, which is $16,000 higher than the average teacher salary of $54,000 in 2008–2009—a cumulative difference of about $2 billion.

Data from the U.S. Census Bureau shows that the unionization rate of public school teachers in early 2009 was 57 percent. Average state union dues are approximately $300 —not including what teachers must pay to their national union affiliate—meaning teacher unions could have about $24 million in dues at stake in the “Education Jobs Fund”. (more…)