California Local Elected Officials: Protect the Independence of Local Governments

By California Policy Center

07/18/2023

Sign the Letter of Opposition to SCA 7 California’s powerful union leaders are at it again. State lawmakers are backing a bill that would give the state’s public-sector unions veto power over any state or local government decision in California. That’s why California Policy Center (CPC) is asking local elected officials among California’s 58 counties...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, California teachers unions, government employee unions, National Review

A Happy Anniversary for Workers’ Rights

By Houston Reese

06/27/2023

Five years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the First Amendment right of government workers to opt out of their unions. In Janus vs AFSCME, decided on June 27, 2018, the Court ruled that public-sector employees have the right to opt out of union representation and cannot be forced to pay union dues....

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, Janus, Janus decision, Janus ruling, Janus v. AFSCME, Mark Janus

Assemblyman Isaac Bryan’s Assault on Working Families

By Edward Ring

04/24/2023

Bryan is also sponsoring a bill to gut California’s 112-year-old initiative and referendum process so voters no longer have veto power over California’s Democrat-controlled legislature. It isn’t hard to figure out who controls everything Assemblyman Isaac Bryan does in the California State Legislature. In the November 2022 election, every single one of the first 29 of...

TAGS: California government unions, California Labor Federation, California Legislature, California public sector unions, California State Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez

Bounty Hunter Provision Drives CA Civil Rights Dept. Strategy that Hurts Workers & Drives Businesses Out of State

By California Policy Center

04/12/2023

SACRAMENTO — A California Policy Center report released today reveals that financial incentives allowing California’s Civil Rights Department (CRD) to fund its budget through attorney fees has created a monster. Today’s CRD has turned into a litigious bully that steps over plaintiff workers and strong arms companies for the department’s own financial gain — and civil...

TAGS: California government unions, Civil Rights Department, Government Overreach, Press Release

SEIU Faces Steep Declines in Membership and Revenue

By Jackson Reese

03/31/2023

SEIU Local 99’s massive strike in LA Unified ended last week with union leaders bragging that the strike showcased the union’s strength. But the reality is more stark for the union: SEIU is facing steep declines in membership and revenue, and the strike appears more like an act of desperation. According to internal LAUSD documents,...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, public employee unions, seiu, seiu local 1000

Unionized Public Education is Destroying California

By Edward Ring

03/09/2023

Behind any popular mass movement there are often good ideas and noble objectives. Public sector unions—including teachers’ unions—are no exception. Organized labor, ideally, offers collective power to ordinary workers and provides a counterweight whenever business interests become exploitative. How to regulate that balance is a topic that deserves vigorous and ongoing debate, but most of...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California government unions, California public sector unions, California Teacher Association, teachers union

Unions Are Behind California’s Latest Wealth Tax Proposal

By Edward Ring

02/16/2023

If at first you don’t succeed, try again. This adage applies well to ideas for new ways to tax Californians. Every election cycle we see new ways to be taxed, and higher tax rates, but rarely will we see a tax get repealed. So it is that Assemblyman Alex Lee (D, San Jose) has introduced Assembly...

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, California taxes, property taxes, tax increases

California Per Capita General Fund Spending Doubles – Where Is It Going?

By Edward Ring

02/13/2023

California’s state government is spending twice as much as it did a decade ago, and by every metric that matters to ordinary Californians, things have only gotten worse. Even without further analysis, this is an incredible fact. California’s state government, in constant dollars, is spending nearly twice as much per resident as it did a...

TAGS: California government unions, Edward Ring, government employee unions, Government Finance, Government Spending, Transparency

How to Save Your School District From the Coming Financial Crisis

By California Policy Center

01/17/2023

The teachers-union-backed California School Boards Association (CSBA) is warning school officials that a financial crisis is coming for the state’s hundreds of school districts. CSBA’s advice: Beg for a handout. “At a time when 25 cents of every dollar received by local schools goes toward pension obligations, districts and county offices of education need more...

TAGS: California government unions, California public education, California School Boards Association, California Teachers Association, Charter schools, public education

The School Choice Battles Ahead

By Larry Sand

01/13/2023

As we transition into 2023, we can see that the field of education will once again be a contentious one, as too many government-run schools are failing, and parents are not happy. In Chicago, for example, great numbers of students are avoiding their local schools. In fact, more than one-third of the city’s public schools...

TAGS: California government unions, California public education, california public schools, California teachers unions, education, school choice

California’s Literacy Crisis

For decades, teachers, parents, academics, scientists, and curriculum developers have been engaged in a pitched battle over the best methods to implement effective, comprehensive and practical reading instruction. This controversy, dubbed the “reading wars,” has had lifelong consequences for a generation of students who have been hostages and unwitting casualties of the war. Experts believe...

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