RAPS Teachers Leave State Union - Northern Michigan's News Leader

In a rare move -- some teachers in Northern Michigan are leaving the biggest teacher's union in the state.

Roscommon Area Public Schools teachers are now part of a local-only union.

At the start of the school year, they voted themselves out of the powerful Michigan Education Association by a 2-to-1 margin.

Now -- they're the Roscommon Teacher's Association.

The new RTA says they've improved their liability insurance and legal representation -- while slashing annual union dues for each teacher.

Only a few schools across the state have ever made this move -- but the new union says the MEA wastes money on pay-checks for big executives, instead of serving their members.

"We've exercised the death penalty. We're exercising our right to say, we're your customer and we're not buying you stuff anymore. I hope that's the message they get," said interim RTA president James Perialas.

We left several messages for the MEA, but they have not returned our calls.

9&10's Evan Dean and Photojournalist Jake Johnson have more on the decision.