A2: Teachers Union

Washington Post opinion writer Charles Lane says a proposed federal bailout to prevent teacher layoffs is a bad idea. He cites recent concessions by Ann Arbor teachers to support his view that the threat of layoffs has been overstated: “Chicago, with help from the state of Illinois, has managed to reduce teacher layoffs from a projected 2,700 to about 1,200 and maintain class sizes at normal levels. Even more jobs can be saved if teacher unions will forgo a scheduled 4 percent pay increase, a modest sacrifice in a time of near-zero inflation. After all, just up the road in Ann Arbor, Michigan, 191 layoffs have been canceled because teachers accepted wage restraint to save their colleagues’ jobs.” [Source]