Fred,

Some of these “representatives” may be OK in your book. I don’t know many of them personally. Those I have had interaction with don’t seem to act much like representatives of the worker.

They have been on occasion belligerent, self serving, not interested in representing worker interests, and demanding of unquestioning subservience to the I.E.A. party line.

Just like you, when we questioned what we were told to do, we were called disloyal and anti-union. The merits of each directive must be blindly accepted. When our contract was settled with their involvement, we were sold down the river and our union president became a principal. Many teachers quit the IEA and the local in disgust.

Even today, the IEA party line has been harmful to our interests. I do not wish to continue to support an organization that views retirees as chips to be negotiated away. I prefer the…