California Unions Masquerade as Community-Based Environmental Groups

By Kevin Dayton
07/31/2015
The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is a labor issue. That’s why unions are prominent opponents of any amendments to CEQA that would restrict or prohibit using the law to achieve objectives not related to environmental protection. Unions routinely use CEQA as a tool to pressure public agencies and private developers (or their agents) to sign collective bargaining agreements, project labor...

TAGS: California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), CEQA, CEQA Reform, Greenmail

Reviewing “The Conservative Heart” by Arthur Brooks

By Bob Loewen
07/30/2015
If you have not read The Conservative Heart, How to Build a Fairer, Happier, and More Prosperous America, by Arthur C. Brooks, buy a copy and read it now. Brooks’ work will be of interest to most as a “how to” primer for election messaging. Conservative candidates, who too often get their clocks cleaned on...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute

What Happens When Public Unions Control Everything for Decades?

By Mike Shedlock
07/29/2015
Editor’s Note:  California and Illinois have a lot in common. Both have diverse, resilient economies, both are large states with most of the population concentrated in urban areas, and both have been controlled for decades by public sector unions. The crucial difference, of course, is that at least in Illinois, there is a reform minded...

TAGS: government employee unions, pension reform, public pensions, public sector unions

Unions in the News – Weekly Highlights

By Editor
07/28/2015
Google Express workers want to unionize for higher pay By Kia Kokalitcheva, July 27, 2015, Fortune More than 140 workers at Google Express, the tech giant’s same-day shopping delivery service, are seeking union representation from the Teamsters, the national labor union that already represents shuttle bus drivers for Facebook, Apple, and Yahoo, according to USA Today. Google...

The CTA Empire Strikes Back

By Edward Ring
07/28/2015
Emperor Palpatine: There is a great disturbance in the Force. Darth Vader: I have felt it. Emperor Palpatine: We have a new enemy, the young Rebel… Darth Vader: How is that possible? Emperor Palpatine: Search your feelings, Lord Vader. You know it to be true. He could destroy us. The Force is strong with him. –...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, CTA, Friedrichs vs. the CTA, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws, Vergara vs. California

Palm Lane Reform Activists Win Court Ruling – District Immediately Appeals

By R. Claire Friend
07/28/2015
The yearlong battle with the Anaheim City School District and Anaheim City Board of Education has ended. The parents of the 733 students enrolled at Palm Lane Elementary School have finally been granted the right to restart their decade-long failing school as an independent charter school. Judge Andrew P. Banks, Orange County Superior Court, issued...

TAGS: education reform, Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent trigger laws

Could California Follow Wisconsin’s Teacher Union Jail Break?

By Larry Sand
07/28/2015
If CA becomes a right-to-work state, a seismic political shift may ensue. Last week Mike Antonucci reported that the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the National Education Association’s Badger State affiliate, is down to fewer than 50,000 members (40,000 currently employed) from a high of over 100,000 in 2009. This precipitous loss is a result of...

TAGS: Act 10, Charter schools, collective bargaining, Deroy Murdock, Friedrichs, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Scott Walker, teachers union, Troy Senik, vouchers, Wisconsin Education Association Council

California Bondage: $200 Billion Education Bond Bill Buoyed by iPads, Financial Chicanery, and Conflicts of Interest

By California Policy Center
07/27/2015
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 22, 2015 California Policy Center Contact: Lee Schalk Lee@calpolicycenter.org (916) 258-2396 New study offers Californians first glimpse at total state and local education bond obligations Today the California Policy Center (CPC) released a major new report analyzing the size and scope of California’s education bond obligations. Analyzing all state and local...

Union Controlled State Legislature Shuts Down Debate on Minimum Wage

By Jon Coupal
07/24/2015
“End of discussion!” is what those on the political left yell in your face when they know they are losing an argument. It is also the name of a compelling new book by Mary Katharine Ham and Guy Benson with the revealing subtitle of “How the Left’s Outrage Industry Shuts Down Debate, Manipulates Voters, and...

TAGS: Jon Coupal

CalPERS Spends $50 Million on Investment Advisors, Underperforms Market by 67%

By Robert Fellner
07/22/2015
The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) spent nearly $50M on their investment advisors in 2014, despite producing a dismal 2.4% investment return – 67% lower than what the market returned over the same time, as measured by the S&P 500. CalPERS’ 275 investment officers and portfolio managers cost taxpayers $49.27 million, with chief investment...

TAGS: pension