Doubling Down on Injustice

Teachers unions have long put members’ interests above those of kids, yet one in Minneapolis just made some members more important — though still at kids’ expense.

The Minneapolis Public Schools district and local union agreed that “educators of color” would be exempt from seniority rules: Longer-serving whites could get the ax before black hires. This aims “to remedy the continuing effects of past discrimination” and boost teaching staff diversity.

The “last in, first out” rule has long forced schools to let good, younger teachers go to protect the older ones — just because unions won’t recognize anything but “time in the union” as a fair distinction. But Minneapolis would decide on the basis of skin color, which is illegal under the Civil Rights Act, plus the state and federal constitutions.

The only possible silver lining here: When the courts strike this madness down, at least a precedent’s been set. One union, at least, can no longer pretend that “last in, first out” has anything to do with justice.