“If there were things like merit pay it would solve many problems. “
I lived in a place that 25 years ago adopted merit pay for teachers. The union even accepted the plan. But then the tax-cutters came into power and slashed everything. The merit pay was one of the first things to go. I’m not opposed to merit pay on principle, but the fact is that merit pay incentives have to be quite large to be meaningful and most government agencies don’t want to pay the bills.
BTW my private sector educational institution has no merit pay. Everyone gets the same annual pay increase.
“If teachers could be fired for not producing maybe we would higher literacy rates and better education “
Incompetent teachers can — and should — be fired for cause. Every union contract I’ve ever seen permits this. But it does require a hearing. And this is correct and necessary to prevent abuses.