Are Union leaders a new bourgeoisie, taking the surplus value from workers?:

Teachers in Washington state pay an average of $759 in annual union dues, which is divided between the NEA’s four affiliate levels. In return, teachers receive an annual liability insurance policy that costs the union roughly four dollars per member and a contract bargained by the union’s local affiliate (with some input at the regional level) once every three years.

In addition to buying self-preserving political clout, union officials pay themselves generous salaries at the expense of their captive customers. Figures obtained by the Education Intelligence Agency show that NEA officials in most states make significantly more than the teachers who are forced to pay them.

In California, a professional union staffer collects an average salary of $92,010, while the state’s teachers earn an average of $58,287. Massachusetts union officials average $89,919, while teachers average $52,150. Virginia officials get $68,660, while teachers earn $44,240. At the national level, NEA executives pay themselves as much as eight times more than the average teacher.