Paying unions dues is a waste?

Paying unions dues is a waste?
A person claiming to be a retired CTA teacher posted to a thread on the North County Times blog, he claimed he was "forced" to pay union dues for years and never got anything for his money. Below is my response to his entry:

(1) No one has to join a teacher's union. Any public school teacher is free to quit and go to work at a private religious school with no benefits, at half the salary and with no job security. Any union member can even donate his or her dues to charity.

(2) So the CTA never did anything for you? Have you checked the salary and benefits at a non-union school? The HUGE difference is the result of the CTA constant work and efforts.

(3) You have retirement income. Without the CTA I doubt you would have any.

Only due to constant vigilance on the part of CTA is there any retirement for public school teachers. Our STRS funds would be stolen away to pay state budget deficits without the CTA. Many governors have attempted to do so in the past—Pete Wilson George Deukmejian, Gray Davis and even our current governor.

If you are not informed enough to know how many times the CTA has protected your retirement, I am sorry for your ignorance. But you are welcome anyway. The CTA protects the rights and retirement benefits even of the uniformed and ungrateful.