Staples Removers

By Larry Sand
05/27/2014
Not content with stifling education reform and school choice, teachers unions have a new target. Dang! The teachers unions have been busier than ever lately. Trying to kill charter schools in California. Fighting teacher evaluations in Florida. Demonizing vouchers, well, everywhere. But now the unions’ have a new bête-noire: Staples. Staples? Yes, Staples. The troubled...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, Josh Pechthalt, Larry Sand, monopoly, teachers union

Charter Chicanery

By Larry Sand
05/06/2014
Teacher union sponsored bill is a serious threat to California’s charter schools. It’s hardly a secret that teachers unions don’t like charter schools. These independent, publicly funded schools are typically not unionized (just 15 percent are in California), and therefore can avoid many of the burdensome rules and regulations which are chiseled into the state...

TAGS: AB 1172, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, Department of Labor, Lance Izumi, Larry Sand, Pacific Research Institute, teachers union

California Federation of Teachers Boss Speaks Power to Troops

By Larry Sand
04/01/2014
In a refreshingly candid speech, union leader minimizes bromides about “the children” and relentlessly bangs the class warfare drum. In his March 22nd state-of-the-union talk to the faithful, California Federation of Teachers president Josh Pechthalt made no bones about the ultimate mission of his union. Absent were the usual silly platitudes like “working together with...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, David Welch, Dean Vogel, Eli Broad, George Soros, Indoctrination, Josh Pechthalt, Koch Brothers, Kyle Olson, Larry Sand, Students Matter, teachers union, Vergara v California

Pull the Plug on LIFO Support

By Larry Sand
03/25/2014
Despite bellyaching from the union crowd, the California education code’s last in/first out (LIFO) statute must be tossed. California’s fiscal problems have taken a toll on the teaching profession in California. And the Golden State’s arbitrary seniority system, whereby staffing decisions are made by time spent on the job, has made things much worse. A...

TAGS: A.J. Duffy, California Federation of Teachers, Charter schools, Larry Sand, last in first out, LIFO, Los Angeles Unified School District, RiShawn Biddle, seniority, Students Matter, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara

Tenure, Temerity and the Truth

By Larry Sand
02/11/2014
Los Angeles Times op-ed and teachers union defense of educational status quo are packed with malarkey. Now in its third week, the Students Matter trial still has a ways to go. Initially scheduled to last four weeks, the proceedings are set to run longer. On Friday, Prosecutor Marcellus McRae told Judge Rolf Treu that the...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, Andrew Biggs, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, David Welch, Dean Vogel, Democrats for Education Reform, Gloria Romero, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Joe Williams, Kevin Chavous, LA School Report, Larry Sand, Michelle Rhee, National Council on Teacher Quality, permanence, seniority, Students Matter, StudentsFirst, Teach For America, tenure

Let’s Flush the Bathroom Bill

By Larry Sand
10/22/2013
A new California law is agenda driven, hurts kids and is totally unnecessary. A look back through recent history reveals that legislators and the educational establishment, taking its marching orders from the teachers unions, have needlessly foisted sexuality into children’s lives. The radical agenda of the activists seeks to divest children of any prudish, old-world...

TAGS: California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, Kevin Jennings, Larry Sand, National Education Association, teachers unions

Stop forcing teachers to join unions

By Rebecca Friedrichs
10/09/2013
My students and I begin each morning reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. We proudly salute the banner of our great nation because we believe in “liberty and justice for all.” A disturbing truth haunts me during each pledge, however. Laws that favor unions over the needs of many students and teachers are robbing us of...

TAGS: agency fee payers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Rebecca Friedrichs

Justice Belied

By Larry Sand
09/24/2013
California’s AB375 would do precious little to protect school children from pedophiles. The impulse to take action to remove pedophiles from California’s classrooms came about as a result of Miramonte Elementary School teacher Mark Berndt having slid through the cracks after committing lewd acts against untold numbers of young children. After Berndt’s arrest in Los...

TAGS: Alex Padilla, Bill Lucia, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Carol Liu, Dan Walters, Dean Vogel, EdVoice, Gloria Romero, Larry Sand, Mark Berndt, RiShawn Biddle, StudentsFirst, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Warren Fletcher

Teacher Unions and Their “Fair Share” Fetish

By Larry Sand
09/18/2013
According to the California Federation of Teachers, taxed-to-death Golden Staters still don’t pay enough. While teachers unions continue to slam the wealthy for not paying their fair share of taxes, it is the finger-pointers who are really the avaricious ones. Like spoiled children who just can’t get enough candy, they have no sense as to...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Cato Institute, fair share, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Prop. 30, teachers union

The Media and Teachers Unions: Creepy Crass Actors

By Larry Sand
07/23/2013
Joining a racially charged situation, largely inflamed by the media, the nation’s teachers unions hypocritically play the civil rights card. To acknowledge the obvious, the February 26, 2012 events in Sanford, FL were tragic. Trayvon Martin is dead and George Zimmerman will be haunted – and very possibly hunted – for the rest of his...

TAGS: ACLU, American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dennis Van Roekel, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, RiShawn Biddle, Students Matter, teachers unions, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Vergara v California