Democratic Congressman George Miller of California is chairman of the House Education and Labor Committee. As a Democrat in charge of an education committee, one would think Miller would be cozy with teachers unions.  Recently, however, he has sponsored a proposal that has the unions up in arms.

Miller hopes to convince Congress to revise the No Child Left Behind law to allow federal grants for teacher bonuses for outstanding performance in low income schools.

Teachers unions claim the proposal would undermine their ability to negotiate and would unfairly evaluate teachers based on student test scores.  Since the proposal would allow teachers to opt in to the merit pay system and out of the traditional union-negotiated pay contract, unions see it as a threat to their protected right to mediocrity.

Supporters of “merit pay” bills argue that such measures will encourage excellence and attract better and brighter teachers with the option to be paid based on performance. 

Representative Miller’s proposal is only one of many “merit pay” measures being considered in states and school districts across the country.  Hats off to Miller and other lawmakers who are facing down the teachers unions in a fight for the countless American children who will benefit from excellence in the classroom.

For a glance at the union opposition to the proposal see: http://www.mercurynews.com/alamedacounty/ci_6958238