Your suggestion, though seemingly suitable, is rather idealistic and doesn't address the need for Fts to stop the squabbling and for many of the whiners here to provide a more realistic picture of the ever changing EFL landscape of China. Let's get serious: There are about 180,000 foreign teachers in China. If the situation were as bad as BadApple and the rest of you guys would have us believe, wouldn't it logically follow that there would be such an outcry as to render the whole scene absolutely non-workable. Or do you actually believe that all of those teachers are just biding there time until they can return to their home countries?

Unions are not the where all and end all to solve employment problems. In fact, they can prove to have a negative effect as the organizers gain more and more power. Just a different devil to deal with. Dues to pay in a different way. Kissing the ass of the union bosses. Who wants it? Not I. Perhaps you have faith in that kind of solidarity, and that's your right. I agree with the concept of fair representation, but I don't necessarily agree that he or she who represents me will necessarily do so in a way that jives with my own beliefs. No, I would rather trust my own ability to negotiate a contract and trust my own ability to recognize when my rights under that contract are violated. My own idealism leans me toward the belief that ultimately this civilization will recognize the value of the rule of law and that under such rule FT's will be protected. Therefore, briefly, I prefer litigation to unionization.