Will Los Angeles teachers strike out on a bad pitch?

By Larry Sand
08/07/2018
Using loads of bogus info, LA teacher union leader prepares teachers for a walkout in the fall. In my post last Tuesday, I wrote about the many problems facing the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since then, one of the issues I detailed has moved front and center: the strong possibility of a teacher strike....

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Austin Beutner, bargaining for the common good, Charter schools, EdSource, James Agresti, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Lisa Snell, Los Angeles Unified School District, Mike Antonucci, Reason Foundation, socialism, teacher pay, teacher strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The Janus victory and ongoing whine festival

By Larry Sand
07/03/2018
The Abood decision has been overturned and its mourners are beside themselves.  The hysterical reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case, which frees public employees in 22 states from having to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment, has Chicken Little nodding in solidarity. As...

TAGS: AFSCME, Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Chicago Teachers Union, Janus v. AFSCME, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, LAUSD, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, seiu, stare decisis, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The Rodney Dangerfield union

By Larry Sand
05/29/2018
The United Teachers of Los Angeles claims its members “don’t get no respect.”  The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield often used self-deprecating humor in his routines, and his catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect!” is legendary. And now the United Teachers of Los Angeles is channeling the great comic, as thousands of teachers took to the...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, James Agresti, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, teacher pay, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Striking at the wrong target

By Larry Sand
04/24/2018
Teachers should stop listening to union leaders and look at the data before striking. When one looks at the actual dollars-and-cents reality, the emotional photo of the kindly old 1st grade teacher picketing for more money “for the classroom” falls flat. Very, very flat. There are several relevant facts that teachers and all Americans – especially the taxpaying variety – need to know.

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Benjamin Scafidi, James Agresti, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, pension tsunami, Randi Weingarten, teachers strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Valerie Strauss

More than the unions bargained for?

By Larry Sand
02/06/2018
A recent tactic, “bargaining for the common good” very well may bury the unions in Janus v. AFSCME. In June 2016, right around the time the Friedrichs v CTA case wound up in a 4-4 stalemate, Rachel Cohen wrote a piece for The American Prospect called “Teacher Unions Are ‘Bargaining for the Common Good. ’”...

TAGS: Abood, AFSCME, Alex Caputo-Pearl, bargaining for the common good, Friedrichs v CTA, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Rodda Act, teachers union, UTLA

Union, Inc.

By Larry Sand
01/30/2018
Teacher union leaders palavering about evil corporations and the rich is a modern-day version of The Emperor’s New Clothes. The teachers unions really need to get some new talking points. Granted, straw men and hyperbole are common in political discourse, but union verbiage needs a serious makeover – the old model is giving hypocrisy a...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, corporate greed, Eric Heins, John Stocks, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Prop. 13, Randi Weingarten, Taxifornia, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

They don’t have to care

By Larry Sand
08/08/2017
Despite what union leaders say, competition makes everything better. A 1995 interview with the late Apple founder Steve Jobs has just resurfaced and is available on YouTube. While the interview, conducted by Computerworld’s Daniel Morrow, went on for 75 minutes, the 3:42 Jobs spent talking about education is memorable. The Silicon Valley visionary knew as...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Apple, EdChoice, free market, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, monopoly, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Earthquake rearranges school board in Los Angeles

By Larry Sand
05/23/2017
Aftershocks could have ramifications; teacher union leaders grouse as they plan next steps. On Tuesday, May 6th, Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez, who are more concerned with the needs of parents, kids and taxpayers than stoking the bureaucracy and complying with teacher union diktats, were elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Reformers...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Eli Broad, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Education Association, Nick Melvoin, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Are Charters Doomed in California?

By Larry Sand
05/02/2017
Education establishment is protecting its turf in the Golden State; kids are not on its radar.  In late April, U.S. News & World Report released its yearly national rankings of America’s public high schools, and six of the top 10 are charter schools – public schools that don’t have to be in lockstep with their...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Charter School Association, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Eli Broad, George McKenna, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, teachers union, Tony Mendoza, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Unions party like it’s 1886

By Larry Sand
04/25/2017
May Day, which may have had some justification 131 years ago, has become an excuse for unions to spread leftwing propaganda. As the Communist Party USA website informs us, May 1st is a day for working people to “demonstrate their unity and celebrate those who labor and produce all wealth. But it’s also a day...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, May Day, National Education Association, teachers unions, United Teachers of Los Angeles