MEDFORD, Ore. – Members of the Medford Education Association like to think of themselves as “professionals,” but these days they’re actually sounding more like common, Big Labor thugs.

On Thursday, 95 percent of Medford teachers union members voted to authorize a teachers’ strike in the 13,000-student district. MEA members did so because they’re upset that district leaders haven’t met their financial demands in the ongoing contract talks – which have stretched on for nearly a year. The unionists figure the pro-strike vote will give their negotiators a handy cudgel to wield against their district counterparts.

MEA President Cheryl Lashley admitted as much in her comments after Thursday night’s vote.

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“We expect the district team to be prepared to negotiate on all issues with no more lines drawn in the sand,” Lashley warned, according to MailTribune.com. “Our members have spoken and it’s time for the board to invest in Medford teachers because that is what is best for our Medford students and the only way to avoid a strike.”

What an arrogant attitude.

Medford residents must be wondering, “Are those the comments of a hostage-taker or a union leader?”

These days, it’s hard to tell the difference.

The other big question may be, “How can a group of self-proclaimed ‘education professionals’ even consider walking out on their students and causing chaos in the lives of thousands of families?”

That’s an easier one to answer: Teacher union leaders – especially those in large districts located in “blue” states such as Oregon – are, by and large, left-wing political fanatics who have no qualms about inflicting pain on innocents in order to achieve their goals of “equality” and “fairness” for “workers.”

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It’s a disgusting attitude that doesn’t belong anywhere near our schools. A good many Americans scrimp and save so they can pay their school taxes every year. They do so because they believe in educating children, not because they believe in providing a bunch of whiny adults with permanent jobs and never-ending pay increases.

How this particular drama will end is anyone’s guess. The MEA members’ strike authorization vote does not make a walkout a certainty; it simply empowers Lashley and her fellow MEA leaders to declare a strike, if they so choose.

Last month, Medford school officials imposed the terms of their “final, best offer” on the MEA (as allowed under Oregon law), but are continuing to negotiate with the union, the MailTribune.com reports.

Union and district officials will continue their closed-door negotiations later today. All Medford parents and taxpayers can do now is wait, watch and wonder.

What a shame.