From the San Jose Mercury News:

The 335,000-member California Teachers Association began assembling a $60 million war chest to fight off Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's anticipated actions on school funding guarantees, teacher pay and tenure.

More than 800 state union reps gathered over the weekend to discuss raising dues by $60 a year -- a three-year, 7 percent increase that would raise $54 million if approved. Members will vote in June.

In my town, we had to close a beloved elementary school because the local budget was about half a million dollars short. Just mentioning it.

Of course, I've know for years that the teacher's union leadership wasn't about education, but political power. The only real function of the teacher's union is to hire and pay union members. Education is irrelevant, except in producing enough results to prevent outright revolt.

This article describes a couple of the governor's proposals:

The governor's other remaining constitutional proposal, which has particularly raised the ire of teachers unions, would revolutionize the way public school teachers are paid and promoted.

Their income would depend on how their students perform, not on a teacher's seniority. The notion sparked the fury of the 335,000-member California Teachers Association union and a host of other labor groups representing school employees.

The groups also oppose his idea of lengthening the number of years from two to five needed for teachers to achieve the "tenured' status that makes it difficult for school districts to fire them.

You tell me what's being protected here.