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

Could Parental Choice Swing the Election?

By Larry Sand
09/01/2020
Education issues could be key in the presidential race. While government-run schooling has been the choice for a great majority of parents in recent times, change is on the horizon. The National Home Education Research Institute reports that 23 percent of parents who did not homeschool before the Covid-19 invasion indicated that they are now “very...

TAGS: American Federation for Children, Donald Trump, homeschool, Janus decision, Joe Biden, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Rick Hess, school choice, teachers union, Tim Scott

Kamalot

By Larry Sand
08/18/2020
The nightmarish Biden/Harris ticket is the teachers union’s “dream team.” “You don’t just have a partner in the White House, you’ll have an NEA member in the White House.” Referring to his wife Jill, presidential hopeful Joe Biden uttered those words at the virtual National Education Association convention in early July. He also expressed dissatisfaction...

TAGS: American Federation for Children, Andrew Biggs, Betsy DeVos, Greg Forster, Janus decision, Jason Richwine, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teacher pay, teachers union

My latest open letter to Randi Weingarten

By Larry Sand
03/10/2020
This is the fifth in a series of missives to the president of the American Federation of Teachers. (The first four can be accessed here.) Hey Randi! Can you believe it! Next Monday will be our tenth anniversary! Yup, a whole decade has passed since Terry Moe, Rod Paige and I devoured you and two...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Betsy DeVos, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Janus decision, Larry Sand, NRA, Randi Weingarten, Rod Paige, teachers union, Terry Moe

A solution to the free rider problem

By Larry Sand
01/14/2020
Union leaders grumble when non-members get union perks; here’s a way out. As a result of the Janus decision in June 2018, workers are no longer forced to pay any money whatsoever to a public employee union as a condition of employment. While teachers and other government workers were freed from paying union dues or...

TAGS: Alexander Willen, Andrew Coulson, collective bargaining, Greg Forster, Janus decision, Larry Sand, Michael Lovenheim, Mike Petrilli, National Education Association, teachers union, Terry Moe, wage compression

The Freedom to Falsify

By Larry Sand
04/23/2019
AFT president’s talk is rife with platitudes, attitude, and misinformation. Platitudes at the ready, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten gave a speech to the National Press Club in Washington last Thursday. Calling her talk “The Freedom to Teach,” she referenced a poster on her office wall which reads, “Teachers inspire, encourage, empower, nurture,...

TAGS: Act 10, American Federation of Teachers, Barbara Biasi, collective bargaining, Janus decision, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Randi Weingarten, Scott Walker, teachers union

As L.A. strike begins, eye-catching billboards tell teachers they don’t have to strike – they can quit the union

By Editorial Staff
01/15/2019
SHOUTING FROM THE ROOFTOPS: Billboard at 6th and Beaudry, near LA Unified HQ. LOS ANGELES—As 30,000 teachers walked out of Los Angeles classrooms, a coalition of education reform groups is offering teachers an alternative: leave the teachers union. Billboards around the Los Angeles Unified School District encourage teachers to learn their rights – including the...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Austin Beutner, Janus decision, teachers strike, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Early Christmas for LAUSD teacher: a refund of his UTLA union dues – and an end to future deductions

By Will Swaim
12/23/2018
Few: “Teachers shouldn’t have to make a federal case out of this.” This article first appeared on FlashReport.org. Just in time for Christmas, the Los Angeles teachers union gave Thomas Few some good news: a refund of $433.31 dues he paid and the union’s promise to stop taking $80 per month from his paycheck. Few...

TAGS: Janus decision, Los Angeles Unified School District, Thomas Few, UTLA

The union as management

By Larry Sand
09/11/2018
“It files unfair labor practice charges and restraining orders. Circumvents the other side’s negotiators. Threatens to replace employees who go on strike. Cuts off employee health insurance coverage. Crosses picket lines.” Written by Mike Antonucci in 2004, the above does not refer to some greedy capitalist business enterprise, but rather to state affiliates of the...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Florida Education Association, Janus decision, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union, Troy Senik