Joel Klein included a gem of a quote from the late head of the United Federation of Teachers (UFT), Albert Shanker, in a Wall Street Journal op-ed yesterday.

“When school children start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interest of school children,” Shanker was quoted as saying.

That statement is a breath of fresh air, even though it was delivered decades ago (Shanker died in 1997.) It makes clear the priority of the UFT:  Teachers.  And there is no shame in that. Unions are supposed to represent their members.

What bothers me is when the UFT and other unions like New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) invoke children in their negotiating advertisements.  In those, it’s always about “the children” and never about the teachers.

Sample ad here.

Today, we read in the New York Post about the battle Mayor Bloomberg is having with city teachers.  He is being forced to lay off thousands of teachers because the unions will not forgo automatic pay raises mandated by New York’s pro-union Triborough Amendment to the Taylor Law.  According to the story,  spending on teachers in New York City has increased 105 % in the past 10 years because of Triborough, while increases for other city workers average 28 %.

Rather than forgo step increases to keep their fellow teachers in jobs, the UFT is demanding the automatic raises while screaming about “the children” when talk of teacher layoffs is raised. It is totally disingenuous.

I never thought I’d be saying this, but we could  use an honest voice like Albert Shanker’s today.