J.P. Hoornstra: Why we need a union

My mother was a public school teacher in California for more than 20 years. The teachers’ union here is a strong one. They negotiated a pension plan for retirees that pays well. How well? My mother can make more than twice what SCNG pays me without working a day all year. God bless my mom, but hot diggity what’s wrong with this picture? Growing up, I was led to believe that teachers and journalists have one thing in common: no one goes into either profession for the money. I was comfortable with that. Nobody told me about the stark difference between a unionized profession and a non-unionized profession until I lived it, one paycheck at a time. Let’s fix this.

J.P. Hoornstra is a reporter for SCNG.