Tom Curtis re: Tim Myers' 'Talking Points'

From Tom Curtis, May 11, 2008
Subject: 051108 Re: Tim Myers / CORE

Hello Ryan,

The comments about CORE in Tim Myers' "Talking Points On STRS Campaign," certainly do not surprise me. Most union leaders rarely have anything positive to say about anyone and/or organization that does not belong to and/or represent that Union. Most union leaders are totally about themselves and their own ambitions.

The one exception I know of, being OFT Past President, Tom Mooney. God rest his soul! He was a very rare individual. I do not recall of any OEA leader that could fill his shoes, as far as being a true advocate for the educator, over his/her own ambitions.

What does surprise me is that educators, a group of highly educated individuals, do not have the good common sense to realize that the 2 unions representing teachers in this state have outlived their need and usefulness.

Those unions today, in reality, are nothing more then highly paid parasites living off of the dedicated flow of income supplied by educators.

Educators are either too naive and/or totally ignorant of this fact and simply do not understand the true situation. They are obviously willing to throw their hard earned money at them and get little in return. Go figure? Simply ask yourself, what has your union done for you? The vast majority of teachers will receive little, if any benefit from the gross amount of dues they pay to the OEA/OFT throughout their career.

Further, after they retire and stop paying dues, they are totally abandoned by that union. Those that do continue in the OEA-R, have almost no representation, as the OEA-R is only permitted one representative seat on the OEA board. What difference can one voice make on that board? Absolutely none!

In the end, educators that support these two unions probably get what they deserve, which is nothing. I supported the OEA my entire career and received little for having done so and wish I had never done so. In my opinion, local unions, yes; state unions, no way!

Unfortunately, educators are too busy to realize that it was Dennis Leone, John Lazares and CORE that caused the corrupt past OEA controlled board and their executive director to be removed from their posts. Ultimately, they were all found guilty of ethics violations in a court of law. What did the OEA leadership do to support educators concerning this problem, ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Further, the OEA has never been held accountable for their lack of support. In my opinion, the OEA is like the wolf guarding the hen house.

By the way, when Tim Myers takes his seat on the board in September, the active seats will once again, all be filled with union people. Isn't that a reassuring thought? NOT!

Tom Curtis

From Ryan Holderman, May 10, 2008
Subject: Tim Myers / CORE

Dear One & All:

The attached .pdf file was posted by the Whitehall Education Association on the Internet at:

http://whitehallea.com/files/Talking_Points_on_STRS_Campaign.pdf

I think you'll find the section "Dan Vincent’s supporters are attacking OEA. How do we respond?" very interesting.

At least we know where Myers stands in relation to CORE!

Later, Ryan