The Unions’ Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week

By Larry Sand

02/14/2017

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...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, California Teachers Association, Center for Individual Rights, Eric Heins, F. Vincent Vernuccio, Friedrichs, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Petrilli, National Education Association, release time, Right to Work, school choice, seniority, teachers union, tenure

“The Phonys”

By Larry Sand

01/17/2017

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,...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Chicago Teachers Union, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, Randi Weingarten, Right to Work, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers

Are Workers and Their Union the Same?

By Larry Sand

01/03/2017

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...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Democracy Alliance, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Reg Weaver, teachers union

American Federation of Teachers Costly Staff Spending

By RiShawn Biddle

10/21/2016

Dropout Nation recently reported on the American Federation of Teachers’ 2015-2016 financial disclosure to the U.S. Department of Labor. As you would expect, the nation’s second-largest teachers’ union spent big on influencing Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and her apparatchiks, as well as pouring heavily into what should be like-minded advocacy and nonprofit groups. But AFT’s...

TAGS: AFT, American Federation of Teachers, RiShawn Biddle

Limiting Charter Growth by Any Means Necessary

By Larry Sand

10/18/2016

Teachers unions in Chicago and Massachusetts are doing their darndest to stop the spread of charter schools. Amazingly, the Chicago teachers’ strike didn’t come off. Less than 10 minutes before a midnight strike deadline on October 10th, the district and union cobbled together a deal, pending approval by the rank-and-file. One of the more contentious issues was...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Chicago Teachers Union, Dark money, Larry Sand, Manhattan Institute, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Max Eden, National Education Association, teachers union, Thomas Kane

Teacher Union Political Spending: Liberal as Ever

By Larry Sand

10/11/2016

AFT continues to use teachers as ATM machines to fund their pet leftist causes. The latest American Federation of Teachers annual financial disclosure has been released (H/T RiShawn Biddle). This year’s LM-2 is filled with goodies that are sure to warm the cockles of leftist teacher union members, but apolitical educators, centrists and certainly those...

TAGS: agency fee payer, Al Sharpton, American Federation of Teachers, Association of American Educators, California Teachers Association, California Teachers Empowerment Network, Center for Popular Democracy, Friedrichs, Larry Sand, Mary Kay Henry, Mike Antonucci, National Action Network, Randi Weingarten, seiu, teachers union

Rampant Union Greed in Chicago

By Larry Sand

09/27/2016

The Windy City’s teachers union is on the verge of yet another strike. In 2012, Troy Senik wrote “The Worst Union in America,” a title he bestowed on the California Teachers Association. As a former member and longtime critic of that union, I certainly had no quibble with his selection. But now, CTA is facing...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Bruce Rauner, California Teachers Association, Chicago public schools, Chicago Teachers Union, International Socialist Organization, Jesse Sharkey, Karen Lewis, Larry Sand, pension pick-up, Rahm Emanuel, Teach For America, teacher pay, teachers union, Troy Senik

Heartless and Mindless

By Larry Sand

09/20/2016

As the National Education Association embarks on a new PR campaign, some of its affiliates engage in lawsuits and strikes. In July, the National Education Association unearthed its “Strategic Plan and Budget” for 2016-2018. The introduction to the 76-page document includes the notion that the union needs to “win the race to capture the hearts...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, charter school, Chicago Teachers Union, Chris Christie, Florida Education Association, Heartland Institute, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, school choice, tax credit scholarship, teachers union, Washington Education Association

Clinton Turns Her Back on School Choice While Trump Embraces It

By Larry Sand

09/13/2016

As Hillary Clinton cozies up to the teachers unions, Donald Trump seeks to vastly expand school choice opportunities. In November, 2015, Hillary Clinton gave a speech in South Carolina in which she abandoned her prior support for charter schools. Using language straight from the teachers union fact-free playbook, she claimed that charters “don’t take the...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Charter schools, Common Core, Donald Trump, Hillary Clinton, Kevin Chavous, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, merit pay, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union, vouchers

When Black Kids Don't Matter

By RiShawn Biddle

08/15/2016

Can’t understand why the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and the Movement for Black Lives have issued proclamations opposing the expansion of school choice and Parent Power for the very black families for which they proclaim to care? The answer can be found in the annual financial statements of the National Education...

TAGS: Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools, American Federation of Teachers, NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, National Education Association, teachers unions

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