This week marks the beginning of a series of meetings between teachers and officials from The Washington Teachers’ Union meant to clarify the much-discussed performance pay plan at the center of the ongoing teachers’ contract negotiations. D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee has said that initial coverage of the proposal included some incorrect details, and promised to speak with union members during a Q&A at each meeting, telling the Post she plans to offer, “some solace and evidence that we are not going to be making these decisions capriciously or placing them solely in the hands of school principals.”

However, WTU Vice President Nathan Saunders and board member Candi Peterson objected to WTU president George Parker’s invitation to Rhee, arguing in an email to local and national board members that “These actions appear to be disguised opportunities for Mr. Parker and Ms. Rhee to jointly sell performance pay, void or modify teacher tenure and seniority and otherwise destroy” the Washington Teachers’ Union. According to the Post, Saunders even promised “civil disobedience” should Rhee speak.

Two local bloggers, who are both teachers and WTU members, feel differently. Ms. Angala detailed her reassuring exchange with Rhee at an informational session last night, and DC Teacher Chic worries that Rhee won’t be present at her session later today because of the union complaints. “If Rhee isn’t there, the BS will be flying,” she writes.

To be fair, the WTU has come a long way in a few years time, and is charged with representing a diverse group of educators – no easy task. Union president George Parker has his critics, but he’s also doing more than anyone else to keep the WTU relevant and bring it into the 21st century through cooperative reform. Keeping teachers informed and providing them opportunities to question the Chancellor is an important responsibility of the union. However, any progress made is threatened by the childish antics we’ve seen from Saunders in the last few months, including his almost fanatic opposition to a voluntary proposal that would pay teachers significantly more for doing a good job. As Rhee quipped before the House Committee on Education and Labor last week, “It puzzles me that the issue of rewarding teachers for success rather than seniority is a controversial one.”