New-York tribune., 1919-10-12
Which Sort of Union?

A Teachers Union or a Union of
Teachers. This is the problem that con
fronts the $4,000 public school teachers
of New York
At first glance there may not seem
much difference between the two. But
there is a vast difference. The Teach
ers' Union is an organization already in
being. 1t claims to have 1000 mem
bers and is admitted to have approx
mately 500. They are teachers of Red
tendencies, believers in "direct action,'
radicals and socialists, and they are
most actively seeking new members for
their organization. The Teachers
Union is affiliated with the Central
Federated Union. 1t believes in the
strike and the sympathetic strike.
Opposed to them are the vast major
ity of the teachers who, while fully in
sympathy with labor and the legitimate
aspirations of labor believe a strike Of
school teachers would be no less OBJ
jectionable than a strike Of the police
force. Yet they find themselves unable
to secure action on what they consider
their proper and legitimate demands
because of the lack Of effective organ
ization. Slowly they are drifting tow
ard radicalism. The spirit Of unrest
among the great body of teachers is
becoming more pronounced and the
leaders among them foresee a great and
powerful Teachers Union affiliated
with the Central Federated Union,
pledged to the strike and the sympa-
thetic strike, and teaching the doctrines
subversve of democracy, unless
Union of Teachers is formed to offset
the Teachers Union.
The Union of Teachers as vsualized
by the leaders of the movement would
take in as nearly as possible the entire
teaching body of the city. 1t would
welcome the radicals as members And
it would set itself determinedly against
the strike as weapon for the teachers,
while using to the full the power of a
solid block of $4,000 votes to accom-
plish what it holds to be best for the
educational interests of the city-and
Leaders. among the teachers have
been brought to see the need for some
thing in the form of Union of Teach
ers. At the present time there are
sixtythree organizations Of teachers
in the public schools of New York
Sixty of these organizations are COM
biaed in the Federation of Teachers
Associations. But the federation is for
all practical purposes a close corpora
tion composed of the presidents Of the
various teachers organizations.
There is little actual contact by the
great body of teachers with the fedora
ton. The officers of the various asso-
Citations are usually elected without con-
test A ticket is put up by the managing
group and there is formal invitation
for other nominations, but an opposi-
tion ticket seldom appears and the cleo
ton is commonly perfunctory. Presi-
dents of the association are likely to
continue in Office year after year, and
form automatically the Federation of
Teachers Associations. The great body
of teachers often learn what has been
done in their name after action has been
taken. And they are getting restive
under this regime.
The Federation of Teachers Asso-
Citations has heard the voice calling so
loudly in protest, and proposals for a
reorganization will be brought forward
at the next meeting, on November 25.
1t remains to be seen whether the stu
alton will be wisely met.