MADISON, Wis. – If union leaders want the public to see public employees as college-educated “professionals,” they sure have an odd way of going about it.

Barbara Smith is a candidate for executive vice president of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin and she recently appeared on “The People’s Mic” to discuss why she’s running.

You can listen to the entire interview here.

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Smith called for expanded union membership and solidarity with “non-members” in their “struggle” for a “fair deal,” and said public employees are “inspired” by the actions being taken by Walmart and fast food workers.

“You know, people think that public workers are not at all like retail workers, but there are some similarities. I know many of the fast food workers have been calling for $15 (an hour) and a union – and that’s actually something that many of our public workers don’t have right now.”

She said the teachers’ union is planning to “follow people who have really made great progress” in their fight against Walmart.

This is the dichotomy Big Labor has forced upon our schools.

The average taxpayer expects highly trained, educated professionals to staff public schools. They want effective educators in front of their children and expect them to be held accountable for their performance.

But labor unions have imposed a blue-collar mentality on our education system, demanding that pay be based on seniority and not performance. The unionists demand job security and bristle at the notion of being held accountable for student achievement, a key indicator of their effectiveness.

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Now their leader-wannabes are even drawing parallels between teachers and fast food workers.

Don’t hard-working, highly-educated teachers deserve better? Only if they demand it of their leaders.