Larry Sand, a former classroom teacher, is the president of the non-profit California Teachers Empowerment Network – a non-partisan, non-political group dedicated to providing teachers and the general public with reliable and balanced information about professional affiliations and positions on educational issues.
Betsy DeVos’ ridesharing analogy is spot on, but draws Randi’s wrath. At the Brookings Institution last week, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos gave a talk in which she drew parallels between school choice and the ascendancy of ridesharing companies like Uber and Lyft. “Just as the traditional taxi systems revolted against ridesharing, so too does the...
By Larry Sand
Though better than the current law, a new tenure bill doesn’t go nearly far enough. As things stand, k-12 public school teachers in California are essentially guaranteed lifetime employment if they can get through their first two years on the job. This puts a lot of pressure on principals, as they must decide by March...
By Larry Sand
California school districts lay off teachers…then two legislators move to fix the “teacher shortage problem.” In a surreal political moment, California State Senators Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles) and Cathleen Galgiani (D-Stockton) have introduced the “Teacher Recruitment and Retention Act of 2017” which offers a novel incentive for teachers to remain in the profession. Senate Bill...
By Larry Sand
International Women’s Day showed us what radical women are really about. March 8th saw many International Women’s Day (IWD) events that showcased elitist women’s anger and victimology. Typical was American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten who spoke at the “Women Workers Rising” rally outside the Department of Labor headquarters in Washington D.C. Among other...
By Larry Sand
Unlikely elsewhere, but in California, just fuggedaboutit. As I wrote recently, the teachers unions had a bad week in early February. Anti-forced unionism lawsuits, the emergence of yet another right-to-work state and the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary all combined to make for a miserable few days in Unionland. But unlike waking from...
By Larry Sand
…and teacher union command central is furious. Last week, the Trump administration rightfully withdrew former President Obama’s guidelines regarding bathroom usage, which had called on schools nationwide to let transgender students choose “Boys” or “Girls,” depending on how they perceived themselves and not the old-fashioned way: by body parts. Additionally, Obama had threatened to remove...
By Larry Sand
Despite America’s veer to the right in the recent election, Gramsci’s “long march through the institutions” goes on unimpeded. Antonio Gramsci, an early 20th Century Marxist, believed that it was most effective to spread revolutionary ideology slowly and incrementally. By doing it gradually, he thought that enough people would eventually be won over to Marxist...
By Larry Sand
Which meant it was a very good week for the rest of us. Last week, labor unions took a series of body blows. First, it was announced Monday that Missouri had become the 28th right-to-work state. The Show-Me State showed the unions that worker freedom now takes precedence over their forced dues racket. Not only that, but...
By Larry Sand
“The teachers unions don’t just screw over kids, they also screw over new teachers. Millennials beware.” The above tweet from Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, pretty much tells the dismal story. To followers of Pension Tsunami, UnionWatch and Transparent California, the looming pension disaster for taxpayers is not news. But what has gone...
By Larry Sand
Since November, Kentucky has joined the right-to-work club and four new employee freedom cases have emerged. On January 7th, Kentucky became the 27th right-to-work state in the nation. The term “right-to-work” (RTW) very simply means that workers don’t have to pay dues to a union as a condition of employment. In a few short years, the movement...
By Larry Sand
When it comes to promoting their pernicious agenda, the teachers unions have the market cornered on fake news. Those railing against “fake news” would have you think that it is a new occurrence, something started a couple of years ago by assorted agenda-driven websites. Turns out, ironically, saying that fake news is a new phenomenon...
By Larry Sand
It’s award season and the teachers unions have entered the crowded field. The Oscars. The Grammys. The Tonys. And we now have new award for the teachers unions: “The Phonys.” Ask any teacher union leader about what they stand for, and you will get an earful about how they champion kids, parents and, of course,...
By Larry Sand
“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.” The above caveat about government unions – usually known by the kinder and gentler “public employee unions” – was not issued...
By Larry Sand
The disconnect between many workers and union leadership is wider than ever. For years, former Executive Director of the National Education Association John Wilson wrote a regular blog post for Education Week. Never shy about his political leanings, the far-left Wilson composed “Teachers and Teacher Unions Are the Same” in 2012, in which he accuses...
By Larry Sand
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