Here’s a new way to win ten thousand dollars:

The Center for Union Facts argues that teachers’ unions oppose education reform, protect bad teachers and misuse teachers’ money while their union contracts “wrap school districts in red tape.”

Because of “union-defended” labor laws, however, it can be impossible to fire a bad teacher, the Center says. Therefore, the group plans to accept nominations for the “ten worst union-protected teachers in America.” It will offer to pay them $10,000 apiece to get out of the classroom for good.

“Dedicated, professional teachers have nothing to fear from this contest,” the Center for Union Facts said, adding it intends to “showcase the worst of the worst.”

The unions are not happy:

Edward J. McElroy, the president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT), blasted Berman’s “anti-union front group” for launching an “assault” on teachers.

A more persuasive response would be to explain that unions don’t protect bad teachers, or that the Center for Union Facts has a lousy way of picking out bad teachers.  Bad people often make good points, and these points have to be answered if you want to win the argument.

But, what do I know?  Center for Union Facts website here.  AFT website here.

Joanne Jacobs is sceptical.  And it’s getting a lot of attention generally.  Instapundit links to this.

Personally I prefer helping to create keenly priced alternatives to state education to just yelling about state education.  It’s in the nature of state services that they get captured by incompetents and maniacs and eventually degenerate into being beyond redemption.  Which is yelling, I suppose, but of a different sort.