Unions are back with bill to give them private workers’ phone numbers, addresses
Unions are back with bill to give them private workers’ phone numbers, addresses
Sacramento Despite a stinging rebuke from Gov. Jerry Brown last year, California’s union-allied lawmakers are back with a plan to force private employees working for privately funded organizations to provide their cellphone numbers and home addresses to any union organizer that demands them. The bill’s backers want to intimidate people into paying union dues, even...
By Steven Greenhut
Read before signing: Fearing Janus case, unions try to trap workers into dues payments
Read before signing: Fearing Janus case, unions try to trap workers into dues payments
Sacramento — With the end of mandatory unionization on the horizon thanks to an expected U.S. Supreme Court decision, the nation’s public-sector unions are trying a variety of tactics – some laudable, others sleazy – to maintain their large ranks of dues-paying members and massive war chests. On the laudable side, some unions have talked...
By Steven Greenhut
2017 California’s 482 Cities Rankings
2017 California’s 482 Cities Rankings
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By John Moorlach
Don’t believe the hype: Janus ruling will help public employee union members – and unions
Don’t believe the hype: Janus ruling will help public employee union members – and unions
Sacramento The rhetoric from union organizers has been expectedly overheated regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s coming review of the Janus v. AFSCME (American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees) case that challenges mandatory dues payments to public-sector unions. Court watchers from the left and right expect the conservative-leaning majority to toss out the practice...
By Steven Greenhut
Janus case: Friends of the court offer weak defense of mandatory union dues
Janus case: Friends of the court offer weak defense of mandatory union dues
Sacramento The nation’s public-sector unions have all but thrown in the towel on the notion of mandatory dues, yet various legal theorists and organizations have submitted briefs to the U.S. Supreme Court defending the right of unions to arm-twist dues from those who don’t agree with the union’s agenda. After reading their arguments, it’s clear...
By Steven Greenhut
Too many kids are failing in California, and so is the education establishment
Too many kids are failing in California, and so is the education establishment
High school graduation rates have traditionally been a barometer of student success, as well as a measure of the quality of school systems. The members of California’s education establishment have been high-fiving each other over the state’s on-time high school graduation rate reaching 83.2 percent in 2016. But a peak behind the curtain reveals some...
By Larry Sand
Unions rigged the rules, but can do little more than brace for end of mandatory union dues
Unions rigged the rules, but can do little more than brace for end of mandatory union dues
Sacramento Virtually everyone enjoys the prospect of watching the class bully, who has spent ages tormenting the weak and powerless, get a justified comeuppance. It’s particularly entertaining when the tough guy cries about the unfairness of it all when the tables finally are turned – and there’s nothing he can do about the well-deserved retribution....
By Steven Greenhut
After Janus
After Janus
If the Janus case is successful, will it be the first of many shoes to drop? Janus v AFSCME is due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court early in 2018, with a decision announced in June. If the lawsuit is successful, no teacher or any public employee in the U.S. would have to...
By Larry Sand
The political aftermath of Janus v AFSCME
The political aftermath of Janus v AFSCME
The case is pretty cut-and-dried, but the ramifications are anything but. Janus v AFSCME is due to be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court early in 2018, with a decision announced in June. If the lawsuit is successful, no teacher or any public employee in the U.S. would have to pay money to a union...
By Larry Sand
How California skims federal Medicaid payments to fund a powerful union
How California skims federal Medicaid payments to fund a powerful union
CONNECTED: Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and Service Employees International Union (SEIU) president Mary Kay Henry (left). The politically powerful union has worked a deal with several states, including California, to skim dues from Medicaid-paid workers. (AP Photo / Carlos Osorio) By Sam Han and Will Swaim Home caregivers serving Medicaid patients in California are...
By Editorial Staff
Why are California Democrats so hard on our working poor?
Why are California Democrats so hard on our working poor?
CLASS WARRIOR: Gov. Brown lobbied state Senate Democrats to approve a $5-billion-a-year boost in gas and vehicle taxes to pay for major road repairs. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli) When Governor Edmund G. “Jerry” Brown enters his sixteenth year as governor of California this January, he will likely ask his magic mirror which is the bluest...
By Bob Loewen
The Big Appall
The Big Appall
New York’s teachers unions do their best to do what’s worst for kids. A new study was just released by Stanford University’s Center for Research on Educational Outcomes (CREDO), which compared academic achievement in traditional public schools (TPS), charter school networks (CMOs), and independent charters in New York City. The report found that students in...
By Larry Sand
Worker freedom: The Janus edition
Worker freedom: The Janus edition
With another right-to-work case headed to the Supreme Court, union lies and chicanery are in high gear. Among the greatest myths in recent history include the belief that Che Guevara was a freedom fighter, that China in the 20th Century was a “People’s Republic” and “If you like your health care plan, you can keep...
By Larry Sand
How Fraudulently Low “Normal Contributions” Wreak Havoc on Civic Finances
How Fraudulently Low “Normal Contributions” Wreak Havoc on Civic Finances
Back in 2013 the City of Irvine had an unfunded pension liability of $91 million and cash reserves of $61 million. The unfunded pension liability was being paid off over 30 years with interest charged on the unpaid balance at a rate of 7.5% per year. Irvine’s cash reserves were conservatively invested and earned interest...
By Edward Ring