CPC teaming up with NAACP for equitable education

More evidence school employees left their unions in late 2018

“Union members now have a choice”: CPC email, one of 13.9 million communications with California government employees. Union membership in yet another California school district is down dramatically, providing new evidence of a broader statewide decline in government unions following last summer’s Supreme Court decision in Janus, the landmark labor case. In 2018, Orange Unified...

By Editorial Staff

Marching for a Better Education

Members of the Inland Empire Parent Union march on MLK Day in Murietta, CA. There was a new twist in Riverside County’s annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day celebration. This year’s parade through the streets of Murietta included members of the Inland Empire Parent Union (IEPU). IEPU President Christina Laster is fighting to get parents more...

By Koppany Jordan

The Destruction of Venice Beach Epitomizes California’s Idiocracy

Venice Beach used to be one of California’s great places. A Bohemian gem, nestled against the sand between big city Los Angeles and the vast Pacific Ocean, one encountered locals mingling with surfers, artists, street performers and tourists. People from suburbs further inland migrated to Venice’s beaches on sunny weekends year-round. Rents used to be...

By Edward Ring

“The UTLA Follies” is excoriated by reviewers

The horribly written, produced and directed teacher union play closed after six painful days. Like a much-ballyhooed but awful Broadway show, the Los Angeles teachers’ strike had a six-day run and no one was happy with it. Except maybe the producers. In fact, United Teachers of Los Angeles leader Alex Caputo-Pearl called the new contract...

By Larry Sand

Week 23 Entries

Week 23’s entries were every bit as difficult to judge as the prior weeks. Once again the judges resorted to the social impact tie breaker. Congratulations go to Contessa Mendoza (the_Barefoot_Contessa14) for her clothing store entry and her humorous quip that soon even window shopping may be a hazardous activity in the State of California....

By Renee Olivett

L.A. teachers in open rebellion – this time against their own union leaders

Union chief Caputo-Pearl: “This agreement is horrible,” a teacher wrote on UTL:A’s Facebook page. “It was not worth striking 7 minutes let alone 7 days!!! Our union has let us down once again.” (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes) LOS ANGELES — L.A. teachers on Tuesday voted on a deal their union calls “historic.” But by then, the...

By Mark Bucher

Will Anything Good Come Out of the LAUSD Strike? Probably Not

As the teachers strike in Los Angeles entered its second week, it appeared that it would be over soon. Yesterday, online reports declared an agreement had been “hammered out,” with union members ratifying the deal late last night. Union representatives have consistently stated that more pay is not the only reason they’re striking. That’s believable. The...

By Edward Ring

Newsom’s healthcare promises limited by a nursing shortage

Sacramento Based on his inaugural promises, early administrative appointments and first budget, California Gov. Gavin Newsom is preparing to make some type of universal healthcare coverage the centerpiece of his administration. It is unclear if he will take the single-payer route or focus mainly on expanding access for the state’s residents – including those living...

By Steven Greenhut

UTLA is not celebrating National School Choice Week

The Los Angeles teachers union puts charter schools at the center of its vitriol. Now in its second week, it looks as if the Los Angeles teachers strike may be about to end. The issues have been argued ad infinitum – higher pay, smaller class-size, more nurses, etc. But along the way, the United Teachers...

By Larry Sand

Week 22 Entries

There were some excellent entries for Week #22’s Proposition 65 Contest. Once again, the final decision was made using the social impact tie breaker, making Contessa Mendoza (the Barefoot Contessa14) the week’s winner. The judges particularly liked her quip that at least in California, “Work is Hazardous to Your Health. View this post on Instagram The...

By Renee Olivett

Disunion: Union membership in key school district fell dramatically after Janus

CLASS WAR: Teachers union activists and supporters surround Santa Ana school district candidate Angie Cano, April 2018. Cano, a school choice activist, was attempting to speak at a district board meeting. Police escorted her into the building. Union membership in California’s sixth-largest school district fell rapidly in 2018, perhaps signaling a broader statewide decline following...

By Editorial Staff

Week 11 Entries

The winner of this week’s #Prop65Contestis again Shanae Chester for her marvelous and absurdly funny collage of not one, but two Proposition 65 warnings in which the solution (washing hands (presumably with soap)) to the warned activity (handling batteries) results in the exact same perils – cancer and reproductive issues. Perhaps washing in California means with water...

By Renee Olivett

Are LAUSD Teachers Underpaid, or Does it Cost Too Much to Live in California?

In California, public sector unions pretty much run the state government. Government unions collect and spend over $800 million per year in California. There is no special interest in California both willing and able to mount a sustained challenge to public sector union power. They simply have too much money, too many people on their...

By Edward Ring

CPC teaming up with NAACP for equitable education

Everybody knows that the California education system is broken. Marred by a decline in educational standards, a misuse of public funds and racial discrimination, most parents would have surrendered. One parent in Riverside County decided to fight back. Christina Laster Christina Laster, a mother of four, is anything but apathetic. She has been involved in...

By Koppany Jordan