Could California Follow Wisconsin’s Teacher Union Jail Break?

By Larry Sand
07/28/2015
If CA becomes a right-to-work state, a seismic political shift may ensue. Last week Mike Antonucci reported that the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the National Education Association’s Badger State affiliate, is down to fewer than 50,000 members (40,000 currently employed) from a high of over 100,000 in 2009. This precipitous loss is a result of...

TAGS: Act 10, Charter schools, collective bargaining, Deroy Murdock, Friedrichs, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Scott Walker, teachers union, Troy Senik, vouchers, Wisconsin Education Association Council

AFT’s Left Flank Infuriated over Clinton Endorsement

By Larry Sand
07/22/2015
Union leftists are shocked! shocked! that the teacher union elite did not confer with them before anointing Hillary Clinton as Democratic presidential pick. The education and mainstream media were whooping it up last week after a cadre of teacher union members laid into the American Federation of Teachers for its endorsement of Hillary Clinton as...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dean Vogel, EAG, Hillary Clinton, Kyle Olson, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Reg Weaver, teachers union

The Friedrichs Free Rider Fraud

By Larry Sand
07/07/2015
The Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Friedrichs case has the unions in a tizzy. On June 30th, the Supreme Court decided to hear Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association et al, a case that could seriously change the way the public employee unions (PEUs) do business. If the plaintiffs are victorious, teachers, nurses, sanitation workers,...

TAGS: "free rider", AFL-CIO, AFSCME, AFT, American Federation of Teachers, CTA, Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, Heritage Foundation, James Sherk, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National Labor Relations Act, NEA, public employee unions, Right to Work, Rodda Act, seiu, teachers union

Split Roll and the Bottomless Hole

By Larry Sand
05/19/2015
A union-led initiative wants to eliminate Prop. 13 benefits for businesses. California’s Prop. 13, wildly popular on both sides of the political aisle, is under siege by unions. Using the Orwellian name “Make It Fair,” a coalition led by the California Teachers Association, California Federation of Teachers, SEIU and their friends has decided that they...

TAGS: California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dan Walters, Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association, Jerry Brown, Jon Coupal, Mike Antonucci, Prop. 13, Prop. 30, Richard Rider, seiu, split roll, Taxifornia

Jejune in April

By Larry Sand
04/07/2015
NEA rolls out its plan for what to do in case its worst nightmare – worker freedom – comes to pass. Last July, the California Teachers Association released “Not if, but when: Living in a world without Fair Share,” a 23-page PowerPoint presentation unearthed by Mike Antonucci. The document revealed that teacher union honchos in...

TAGS: American Legislative Exchange Council, California Teachers Association, fair share, Heritage Foundation, James Sherk, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National Labor Relations Act, Paul Kersey, Right to Work, teachers union

NEA’s March: Out with a Sham

By Larry Sand
03/31/2015
With the sincerity of an elixir hustler, NEA boss pretends to be objective about the 2016 election. The National Education Association is serious about the 2016 presidential election. The union is serious about every election of course, but this time the union’s leader is actually asking for input from viable candidates even if they haven’t...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Chris Christie, Elizabeth Warren, Jeb Bush, Joe Biden, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Scott Walker, teachers union

The Shrinking Teacher Union Brand

By Larry Sand
02/24/2015
Teachers unions are losing members, but stubbornly stick with the same old product. Earlier this month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics informed us that in 2014 – for the second year in a row – that there are fewer unionized than non-unionized teachers in the U.S. The reasons for this are many: more right-to-work states,...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Bob Peterson, Chicago Teachers Union, Karen Lewis, Kyle Olson, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Paul Ryan, Scott Walker, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Fifty States of Right-to-Work?

By Larry Sand
02/17/2015
Elected officials, the courts and John Q. Public are supporting worker freedom these days; teachers unions and other public employee unions are on the run. Last Monday, Illinois governor Bruce Rauner issued an executive order that, if it stands, will absolve state workers from paying forced dues to a union. As The Wall Street Journal...

TAGS: Bruce Rauner, California Teachers Association, Center for Individual Rights, Chicago Teachers Union, Harris v. Quinn, Illinois Federation of Teachers, Illinois Policy Institute, Karen Lewis, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, Paul Kersey, Right to Work, Service Employees International Union, teachers union

NEA’s Sorry Spin

By Larry Sand
02/10/2015
The latest teachers union PR ploy is pure cowplop. “Persuading the People on Public Schools,” a National Education Association document posted by the The Daily Beast’s Conor Williams, details the union’s new communication strategy. Subtitled “Words to avoid … Words to Embrace,” the previously internal “research brief” gives us a look into the mindset of...

TAGS: D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, education reform, Eva Moskowitz, Harlem Success Academy, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, RiShawn Biddle, school choice, seniority, teachers union, tenure, Vergara

Antisocial Injustice

By Larry Sand
12/16/2014
A teachers union giving an award for social justice is like Miley Cyrus handing out a medal for modesty. The term “social justice” has gone through many permutations over the centuries, but these days it refers essentially to a progressive vision of the world. Its paramount issues include income inequality, sexual discrimination, the mere existence...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Cato Institute, Dennis Van Roekel, Florida Education Association, Jason Bedrick, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, social justice, teachers union, Washington Teachers Union