Montana labor news., 1946-06-06

Of education and make things uncom-
Portable for the administrators. whom
the boards employ. A separation Of la
Dor and management is necessary i'll
educational organizations if they are
to become effective agencies for i'm
proving the lot of teachers.
A separation would be helpful to
administrators as well as to teachers.
Whenever groups Of teachers find pay
or working conditions unsatisfactory,
the administrator is in the middle. AS
al employee of the board, he is expect
ed to manage the schools so that they
operate smoothly. AS a member of the
same organization as the teachers, he
is expected to support their activities.
He cannot do both.
A frank recognition of the fact that
the job of the administrator is not
compatible with many of the demands
with them for the purposes of nego-
tiation and bargaining without the
presence of hampering obligations on
either side. This would lead to better
relations in the long run. since they
would be based upon realism.
Should Secure Adequate Operating
Funds
Teachers organizations should set
the AMOUNT of the annual dues to a
far higher sum than Is required at
present. An annual payment of $50
for local. state and national member
ship in a professional organization
might be ain adequate minimum. Much
of the failure of educators to be ef-
fective lobbyists for appropriate leg
wislation comes from the pitifully in
adequate funds which they have at
hand. The dues should, in the long
run. reach the level of those paid by
members of the skilled trades to their
unions. The money from this source
could be used to get things done which
have needed doing for a long time.
Teachers organizations. having set
up high qualifications for membership
in the profession, having divorced
themselves from the dominating in.
fluence of administrators and having
established appropriate membership
fees and annual dues should then
organizations should be chartered by
the national organization and should
be responsible to it. The procedure
for establishing local. state and ma
tional policies should be stated in de
tail. They should be democratic. When.
ever policies have been established
they should be followed. Failure to
follow important policies should even.
tually lead to revocation or suspension
Of the charter OF the offending organ
ization.
At the local level. the teachers or
CARNATIONS would negotiate for bet
ter salaries. for smaller classes, for
better working conditions and the like.
These negotiations would result in
some type Of agreement. Such an
agreement should be in writing, should
be specific and should be for Il def
mite period of time.
Teachers Must Keep Agreements
The procedure for renewing the
agreement or for renegotiating ii
should be included within it. The To-
cal organization should then make
sure that its members stick by this
agreement during its life. 1t should
restrain them when they wish to show
bad faith by threats of expulsion or
suspension.
Teachers in the United States are
a conservative group. They tend to
identity themselves with the people
on the right side of the railroad tracks.
They are members of the better" or
CARNATIONS, societies and churches.
They will probably continue to do all
OF these things which they now d.
for some time to come. Their organize
tions will remain the nice Intellectual
groups which they are now.
The proposals made here will sound
unattractive to them because they
smell unionism. because they call for
higher dues, because they ask fol
higher standards for admission to the
profession and because they call fol-
controls. There is little hope fol
changes in pay and working conditions
which are needed sorely.