SACRAMENTO, CA – Steve Jobs may be CEO of Apple, but his expertise extends far beyond the business of computers. Last week in Texas, in a speech about education reform, Jobs referenced the security that teacher unions provide, even for teachers who fail to perform well in the classroom. 

 “What kind of person could you get to run a small business if you told them that when they came in they couldn’t get rid of people that they thought weren’t any good?” he said. 

Jobs answered his own question, asserting that in such a system it would be challenging to hire good administrators, because smart people would realize they couldn’t “win” against the unions. Thus, according to Jobs, the problem with America’s schools is “that they have become unionized in the worst possible way. This unionization and lifetime employment of K-12 teachers is off-the-charts crazy.”

Unsurprisingly, his remarks elicited angry responses from Edward McElroy, the President of the American Federation of Teachers, among others.  According to McElroy, “Steve Jobs was dead wrong to disparage the hard work of educators and their union.” During his speech, Jobs shared the floor with Dell founder Michael Dell, who defended unions, claiming they were created because “the employer was treating his employees unfairly and that was not good.”

Though Dell is right that unions have played an important role historically, teachers’ unions in California have expanded into powerful political lobbyists with large war chests and considerable power. Over the years unions have poured money into political campaigns to ensure their continuing influence. Teachers unions especially have tugged at the heart strings of California voters by claiming that kids would suffer if teachers weren’t unionized.

These clever advertising campaigns and strategic political ploys have obscured the truth from California voters for decades. The people unions are hurting are the very people they claim to serve — the students. 

As Steve Jobs pointed out, many union contracts prevent principals and administrators from firing teachers, regardless of performance in the classroom. Guaranteed yearly raises eliminate incentives for teachers to improve, innovate, or shoot for better results. The system rewards mediocrity and underperformance

Despite these disincentives, many teachers do strive for excellence. As a former teacher, I understand the demands and difficulties of the job. I do not, however, feel entitled to union privileges that the vast majority of employees in other professions do not enjoy. Like most people in the workplace, teachers should be rewarded for their success and held accountable for their performance. Job security for poor teachers means kids who are poorly educated. 

Teachers’ unions further deceive the public by claiming that unions are necessary for combating underpay.  A 2003 report by the Hoover Institute challenges this mantra. Using data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the report calculated the hourly wage for a number of white-collar jobs. Teachers made a little more than thirty dollars per hour, out-earning accountants, computer programmers, and many engineers, architects, and surveyors. While yearly salaries might seem low, teachers get far more vacation time than other employees, and consequently enjoy a higher hourly wage.

Steve Jobs was right to target unions as the single biggest problem facing the nation’s education system. Unions encourage and protect mediocrity. In the process they deprive California schoolchildren of access to consistently high quality teachers who are accountable for their classroom performance. Voters and politicians should look beyond the expensive advertisements and vast lobbying campaigns to the real picture. 

Teachers, voters, and politicians should join Steve Jobs in focusing the education debate where it matters — on how to get the best teachers into classrooms. The unions might suffer, but the students will benefit. 

Rachel Cheney is a public policy fellow in Education Studies at the Pacific Research Institute. She can be reached via email at rchaney@pacificresearch.org.