Letter to the Editor: Public employees not 'monsters plotting' to bankrupt communities

I LOVE TEACHING.
I'VE BEEN DOING IT FOR 26 YEARS. I DID NOT GO INTO TEACHING FOR THE MONEY, BENEFITS OR RETIREMENT. I TEACH BECAUSE IT IS A WORTHWHILE, NOBLE PROFESSION. I TEACH BECAUSE I LOVE KIDS. I TEACH FOR THE EXCITEMENT I SEE IN STUDENTS' EYES WHEN THEY GAIN REALIZATION OR COMPREHENSION OF A CONCEPT.
When I graduated near the top of my Stow-Munroe Falls class in 1980, no one told me to go into teaching so that I could make "exorbitant" salaries and benefits. In fact, most friends told me that I should go into some field where I could make some "real money." I chose to go into teaching anyway.
Now I am hearing that teachers are some of the highest paid, most extravagantly benefited employees in the state. If this were true, I would expect to see prospective teachers lining up to get into this profession. I believe half of all starting teachers leave the profession within five years. Programs like "Teach for America" are using interest-free loans and cash bonuses to attract young people into the profession, especially in urban and rural settings.
Why aren't we hearing parents tell their children, "Go into teaching -- you will be one of our most highly compensated workers in society?" We all know the answer -- because it is simply not true. Teachers, firefighters, nurses and policemen make a decent living.
Much has improved in the last 28 years due to the collective bargaining laws which Senate Bill 5 now wants to remove. But we are the middle class. We are not monsters plotting to greedily drive our communities bankrupt. We public employees strive to make our communities better and safer every day. Please don't shut down our voices. Vote "no" on Issue 2.

David Stebbins, Stow

Thank You, Mr. David Stebbins of Stow, Ohio for your service.

Now for the big question, Why is it shocking and horrible 'Class Warfare' when it is the Middle Class and Working Class dare to fight back against the Upper Class? But when it is the Middle and Working Classes who work non-Union jobs versus the Middle and Working classes who work Union jobs--then that becomes Okay--down right socially acceptable???  Is this not the very definition of the double-standard, this hypocrisy must end!