From news service reports

ROSCOMMON, Mich. – Jim Perialas, president of the Roscommon Teachers Association, writes in the Detroit News that his union’s decision to leave the Michigan Education Association because it is a “bureaucratic behemoth with poor customer service.”

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More from The Detroit News:

With the recently passed legislation allowing Michigan employees to choose  whether or not to join or pay money to a union, teachers are at a crossroads.  While a lot of my colleagues in the profession feel disenfranchised by the  state’s largest union, the Michigan Education Association, they are worried  about striking out on their own.

Most feel that they have only two options: Stay with the group in the union; or leave the union individually. But there is another choice.

Last year, Roscommon became the first teachers union in decades to decertify from the MEA and recertify as a local union — the Roscommon Teachers  Association.

Forming a “local-only” union, away from the MEA/NEA, allowed Roscommon  teachers to immediately cut our annual union dues from just under $1,000 per  member to $600. With those dues, we purchase liability and litigation insurance  privately and have hired our own attorney to replace the uniserv (grievance  advice) functions of the MEA. Our union negotiates our contract with the  district — which we have been doing on our own for years.

Why did we do this? Because the MEA is a bureaucratic behemoth with poor  customer service.

The union paid its president over $280,000 in 2010 and $270,000 last year. In  2011-2012, while the National Education Association and American Federation of  Teachers were shedding members, both unions gave their national presidents  raises: AFT President Randi Weingarten had her salary increase to $407,323 from  $342,552, while NEA President Dennis Van Roekel’s salary jumped to $362,644 from  $298,387.

But education employees don’t have to put up with it. Competition drives  innovation and change. Moving to a local union has allowed Roscommon to cut our  dues nearly in half while banking over $25,000 this year alone. Some of that  money will be kept in a contingency fund and some will go to provide local  scholarships for our graduating seniors.