Teachers Union Contract Blatantly Discriminates Against Christians

by B. Christopher Agee 

It is common knowledge among millions of Americans that the current driving force behind public education has increasingly led the charge to indoctrinate the next generation with leftist ideology. Teachers unions have amassed considerable control over the school system, using their sway to shape the direction of an institution children are required by law to attend.
One of the latest outrageous reports emanating from this bastion of leftism, however, indicates just how dedicated unions are to the cause of whitewashing America’s founding principles and values.
One Michigan school district’s teachers union boasts a contract that unequivocally states that “[s]pecial consideration shall be given to … those of the non-Christian faith” in filling open positions within the school system. It appears that this inclusion not only violates a previous passage in the contract but also a state law that prohibits religious discrimination in employment decisions.
The contact, which governs teachers in the community until 2017, guarantees similar advantages for minorities and women. Though millions of Americans consider such considerations antithetical to the selection of the best candidate, regardless of race or gender, the emphasis on hiring non-Christians is especially distasteful.

Ann Arbor’s Thomas Law Center President Richard Thompson expressed his concern regarding the contract’s language.
“Why would they be discriminating against Christians?” he asked. “They are not supposed to be discriminating against people for their religious beliefs. It’s outrageous – and I believe it’s unconstitutional.”
He concluded that the document could clearly result in a religious litmus test for current and future teachers in the district.
“Are people going to hide their faith so they can get a promotion?” he wondered. “There is a subtle persecution of Christians.”
While Thompson’s organization generally champions traditional causes, even the overwhelmingly leftist American Civil Liberties Union found fault with the contract.
Rana Elmir of the state’s ACLU chapter indicated that “public schools themselves should not be in the business of promoting particular religious beliefs or religious activities over others and they should protect children from being coerced to accept religious or anti-religious beliefs.”

The fact that Christianity is specifically denigrated in the contract offers a stark insight into the level of disdain today’s left has toward the morals and values found in the teachings of Jesus Christ.
Though this particular passage is outrageous on its own, research has shown that Michigan’s teachers unions as a whole have a long history of including contract stipulations in violation of the law. Six in 10 of these contracts reportedly contain such passages.