You talk about how you as the tax payer pays the union's salary. So what? The union worker provides you a service. You should be paying their salary. It doesn't make you any more educated to decide what that salary should be. It's laughable how people have turned unions (and specifically teachers) into the everyday scapegoat. We didn't cause any of the problems in the country, and just because our organization has allowed us not to suffer as much as everybody else, doesn't mean we should be held directly responsible.