You give Unions a bad name

A rather revolting look at what our society has become:

From the Houston Chronicle:

Ninety-nine HISD teachers who received performance bonuses are being told this week they have to pay back an average of $745 because the district accidentally overpaid them.

...

Although this affects less than 1 percent of HISD's 12,500 teachers, the error should not have been made," HISD spokesman Terry Abbott said in a written statement. "We regret it and apologize to those instructional staff members."

The head of the HISD's largest teachers union, however, is advising her members to keep the money.

"If it's the district's error, then the district should bear the loss," said Gayle Fallon, whose Houston Federation of Teachers represents about 6,500 employees.

"If you tell someone they deserve money and put it in their bank account, you've got a helluva nerve taking it back."

Fallon said she is encouraging teachers not to sign the form authorizing the district to deduct the money from their paycheck. Without the signed form, the district can't take back the money, Fallon said.

"And if they direct them to sign it, we'll see them in court," she added.

Asked to respond to Fallon's comments, Abbott said simply, "The money will need to be returned.

Good, honest, and for fairness for all doesn't describe unions anymore. In fact, it hasn't for a while. If a mistake was made, then I would encourage the people to pay it back, if at all possible. I know that it may be impossible for a couple of people but I would definitely encourage them to try.

And I'm not just preaching like a hypocrite. I'm sure that's the first thought that many people will have as they read this post. I had the opportunity last week to return a check to Walmart that the cashier had rung up improperly. I could have kept the money. After all, it's just Walmart, another global coorporation without a face already rich beyond comparison, that isn't going to miss my hundred bucks. But there was a great amount of thanks in the face of the manager and I'm sure that the cashier, who I found out was just out of training, is thankful too. She was a nice girl but she messed up. There are in fact, many faces in a global coorporation.