By Ben Velderman
EAGnews.org

NEW YORK – It took a New York billboard from the clothier Kenneth Cole to expose a truth about the nation’s teacher unions.

Recently, teacher union supporters took to the “Twitterverse” and blogosphere to denounce one of the company’s billboards, which featured a woman wearing a red pants suit, next to the caption: “Shouldn’t everyone be well red?”

MORE NEWS: From Classroom to Consulate Chef: Culinary Student Lands Dream Job at U.S. Embassy in Paris

What made this particular billboard so scandalous, according to the teacher union community, is that it dared pose another question: “Teachers’ Rights vs. Students’ Rights … WhereDoYou Stand.com.”

Savvy readers will notice that the billboard wasn’t taking a position on the issue; it simply posed a question. But apparently the mere suggestion that students have rights that might take priority over union demands caused labor bosses to flip their lids.

“Don’t pit teachers against students, and take down your hurtful ad, Kenneth Cole!” tweeted American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, according to GothamSchools.org.

New York’s United Federation of Teachers issued a statement, taking a swipe at the company’s unsophisticated approach to “complicated educational and political issues.” A New York teacher wrote that the ad was an attempt to “trash” the teaching profession, the news site reports.

The pressure proved too much for the Kenneth Cole company, and it folded faster than one of its stylish pant suits.

“We misrepresented the issue – one too complex for a billboard – and are taking it down,” the company tweeted.

MORE NEWS: Know These Before Moving From Cyprus To The UK

“Misrepresented the issue”? Maybe the company is suggesting that students don’t have rights, after all? Oh well, there’s nothing new about corporate cowardice.

But this little billboard kerfuffle is instructive, because it illustrates what really causes outrage among the nation’s teacher union leaders.

It’s not the alarming number of students trapped inside failing schools, or the potentially dangerous or predatory teachers who use tenure laws to remain in the classroom.

And it’s certainly not the many young teachers who get pink slips so their veteran colleagues can keep their automatic “step” raises.

It’s the mere suggestion that students have rights, and their needs might be more important than union salary and benefit demands. Very instructive indeed.