One of the reasons that I absolutely cannot read the comments below the Seattle Times or other newspaper-website education articles is that inevitably some poster will sweep all logic and truth to the side and state that the single greatest threat to public education is the evil teachers’ union.

Yes, I will admit, we teachers are an evil bunch and should be prevented from assembling in groups (such as in a “teachers’ lounge”) and are thus forced into isolation in our separate classrooms lest we communicate with one another and scheme out ways to improve the system. We’re all in it for the power, fame, and glory, of course.

I will admit that I do not always agree with my union, its positions, or its tactics. I have also been a building rep for my local for as long as I can remember: I’ve sat at the table to craft contract language that is fair for both labor and management, and I’ve helped to ensure that due process is provided to teachers both in need and under investigation.

Like every holiday from Christmas to Memorial Day, Labor Day has been reduced to an excuse for mass consumption and “slashing prices!” at retail outlets everywhere. It’s easy to forget the roots of Labor Day, and despite the name people often confuse it to be a holiday honoring our military (like Memorial Day or Veterans’ Day). The reality is, Labor Day celebrates and honors the efforts of early workers’ organizations to ensure fair and reasonable workplace practices.

Workers’ organizations (aka “unions”) helped to influence legislation that guaranteed weekends or other days of rest from work, reasonable working hours, and standards for employment that included eliminating the ability of employers to exploit kids as young as 5 or 6 as workers in factories or mines.

There are countless benefits that non-union workers now enjoy as a result of the efforts of unions. Benefits that non-union workers may take for granted (such as getting a day or two off each week, or the normalization of a 40-hour benchmark for “full time”) became broad practice as a result of the efforts of unions.

It always bothers me, then, when I hear about teachers’ unions “protecting bad teachers” or being “greedy and selfish” when working with management. Unfortunately, there are plenty of examples in the media of the former, where teachers get placed on paid leave or simply get to claim a paycheck for inhabiting a desk in some warehouse somewhere. Situations like this don’t help the union image. What doesn’t make the news, however, are the times when unions help defend a teacher that has been wrongfully accused of misbehavior (yes, students will make false accusations of “inappropriate touching” to seek vengeance for getting a B+ instead of an A… I’ve seen it with my own eyes) or when the union assists a district in the removal of an ineffective teacher by helping ensure the mutually-agreed upon contract is followed and no steps are missed. Those aren’t the kinds of headlines that fit the cultural narrative about teachers’ unions in America today, but such partnerships likely happen more frequently than anyone would guess.

Unions are not perfect, but they have helped to bring about forward progress on many important issues.

In my current role as a new teacher mentor, I have run into many new hires wary about joining and participating in their teachers’ union. I understand, absolutely. I tell them, though, that if they have concerns, they need to realize that they can get involved in their union and shape the way their union operates. I’ve done that, as have many other teachers dissatisfied with the directions and tactics of the past. When a teacher doesn’t like what the union says or does, the worst thing he can do is remain silent. Just as a union advocates to management to make a change, individuals should advocate to the union to correct its course.

That, after all, is how unions started in the first place: a small but dedicated group of people wanting to see a change for the better.

A couple of quick links about the history of Labor Day from the U.S. Department of Labor and (of course) the History Channel.