This August, at a back-to-school night at Thomas Star King Middle School in Los Angeles, parents were eager to hear about the progress of their children’s education, but instead were bothered to hear a union representative agitate about labor issues and imply there would be a teachers’ strike if the issues were unresolved.  

Parents reminded the representative that this was not right moment to mention a strike, and mentioned that the very thought of one infuriated them.

This entire fiasco occurred before the school year even began.

According to an article in the L.A. Times, teachers’ unions face opposition from parents and their own members alike because of complaints about aggressive tactics, as well as an unwillingness to make reforms on salary negotiations, tenure, student testing, and teacher evaluations. Parents also complain about the lack of quality parent outreach and engagement.

The United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) lacks effective parent outreach and engagement skills. Tom O’Grady , a Thomas Star Middle School parent, admits he would feel “betrayed” if the teachers go on strike because the district has not delivered any other options.

Members of the Wisconsin Education Association Council (WEAC) are feeling dissatisfaction with the union as well. According to a Fox News article, the WEAC has been accused of forming a partnership the Democratic Party in the state and supported a  failed recall against Governor Scott Walker, who signed the Wisconsin Budget Repair Act in 2011. This Act requires the WEAC to annually recertify, and also prohibits automatic dues collection. Unions often use dues money for political purposes.

 “It’s important to have a choice, because we are all professionals," Michelle Uetz, a special education teacher at Prescott High School told Education Action Group news site. "We shouldn’t be pigeon-holed into contributing to politics we don’t believe in.”  Amy Rosno, a virtual-course teacher for Waukesha School Systems, says, "I realized that [unions were] all political and not about teaching.”

The WEAC has lost nearly a third of its membership since the passage of the Act, while a smaller union, AFT-Wisconsin, has lost over half its members. Many teachers faced repercussions for their decision to leave the union or for supporting Governor Walker. No wonder teachers jumped at the chance to leave the union.

Parents and teachers are tired of unions coming between children and education. Even still, unions refuse to reinvent themselves. Unions, like companies, who refuse to innovate will eventually parish.