Incivility, Thy Name is Union

February 17, 2008 | Filed Under Business, Crime, Democrats/Leftists, News, Publius Contributor, Society/Culture, Unions, Warner Todd Huston |

-By Warner Todd Huston

Rhode Island resident Bill Felkner is wondering why Pat Crowley, “the $84,000 per year Assistant Executive Director of the RI affiliate of the National Education Association and the Lincoln Democrat Party chairman,” feels it necessary to give his opponents “the finger” as he protests in public to enlarge union power? At a recent Tiverton teacher contract negotiation protest, Crowley is pictured giving his … um…. civil reply to those who stand against the union.

This fits in nicely with the incivility and general ignorance that so typifies union thuggery, but this particular incident is all the more sad because this ignorant behavior is on behalf of a Teachers union. You know, teachers? The ones to whom we entrust the care and education of our children?

On his blog, Felkner wonders aloud about the propriety and practicality of the current union goals.

Crowley and the NEA published in the Westerly Sun recently, trying to tell us that RI’s welfare system is just fine and we should continue business as usual. First you may ask why is an organization that represents public school employees lobbying for the welfare industry. For that answer you should know that the SIEU (another union) is very hard at work trying to unionize welfare workers, including day care providers. And who could forget the connection between the NEA and the AFL-CIO. Frank Montanaro is the President of the AFL-CIO and also the Chairman of the Board for Blue Cross Blue Shield (BCBS). Could that be the reason that most teacher contracts in RI are REQUIRED to only provide BCBS insurance for teachers? Chariho even gives a bonus to employees if they use that carrier.

Felkner has also written a fine letter detailing the good reasons to resist the union thuggery in Rhode Island. Go on over and read the whole thing at the Chariho School Parents’ Forum.

I’d say that with the low character of the teachers union representatives in RI, the state may earn its Revolutionary War nickname back. In those early days of the Republic, Rhode Island was filled with so many crooks and troublemakers that the entire place was called “Rogue’s Island” by the rest of the colonies.

Pat Crowley is certainly living up to that epithet!

(By the way, look up the name Aleister Crowley and wonder if he and ol’ Pat are related!?)

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Warner Todd Huston is a Chicago based freelance writer, has been writing opinion editorials and social criticism since early 2001 and is featured on many websites such as newsbusters.org, townhall.com, New Media Journal, Men’s News Daily and the New Media Alliance among many, many others. Additionally, he has been a frequent guest on talk-radio programs to discuss his opinion editorials and current events. He has also written for several history magazines and appears in the new book “Americans on Politics, Policy and Pop Culture” which can be purchased on amazon.com. He is also the owner and operator of publiusforum.com. Feel free to contact him with any comments or questions : EMAIL Warner Todd Huston