Getting the Message
Teacher union spokespersons are usually true believers, but they are also professionals trying to do a difficult job, which is to paint their organizations in an appealing light. A good communications director, when confronted with the information that the sun will rise in the east, will earnestly explain to you that it simply depends on your point of view.
Unions also have to deliver two messages: internal and external. They are often at odds. The union needs to convey to the public that it is not hidebound and unyielding, while conveying to the membership that it will not yield. This can lead to some headshaking comments.
For example, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged voters to reject school budgets in districts where teachers have not accepted wage freezes (which were most of them). He was criticized for doing so. New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian called the move “irresponsible,” and claimed Christie “wants to make a bad situation even worse by starving schools of the resources they need at the local level as
Unions also have to deliver two messages: internal and external. They are often at odds. The union needs to convey to the public that it is not hidebound and unyielding, while conveying to the membership that it will not yield. This can lead to some headshaking comments.
For example, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie urged voters to reject school budgets in districts where teachers have not accepted wage freezes (which were most of them). He was criticized for doing so. New Jersey Education Association President Barbara Keshishian called the move “irresponsible,” and claimed Christie “wants to make a bad situation even worse by starving schools of the resources they need at the local level as
