Teachers Unions Target Charter Schools in California

By Larry Sand
09/30/2014
The latest chapter in “kill or unionize” sees the unions in organize mode. As I’ve written before, the teachers unions have a constantly shifting relationship with charter schools. When Mercury is in retrograde, the unions want to limit their growth or legislate the publicly-funded schools of choice out of existence. At other times, organizing them...

TAGS: California Charter School Association, California Teachers Association, Center for Education Reform, Charter schools, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Alliance for Public Charter Schools, National Education Association, teachers union, Thomas Kane

Acquiescent Teachers and Their Undemocratic Unions

By Larry Sand
09/16/2014
Teachers who are not satisfied with their union must make their voices heard.  Are Unions Democratic? The Internal Politics of Labor Unions and Their Implications, a report just released by the Manhattan Institute’s Daniel DiSalvo, examines unions – specifically the public employee variety, with an emphasis on teachers unions. Addressing the democracy issue, he writes:...

TAGS: agency fee payer, Association of American Educators, California Teachers Association, Daniel DiSalvo, Dean Vogel, Larry Sand, Manhattan Institute, National Education Association, Reg Weaver, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Bad Week for Teachers Unions

By Larry Sand
09/09/2014
These days, the teachers unions have landed on the wrong side of judges, teachers, the general public and just about everyone else whose lives they touch. Seems like the teachers unions are getting it from all sides these days. In a Wall Street Journal piece, the writers note that the percentage of elementary and secondary...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Jerry Brown, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, Michigan Education Association, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Rolf Treu, teachers unions, United Federation of Teachers, Vergara

Tales from the Unions’ Dark (Money) Side

By Larry Sand
09/02/2014
The unions preen and posture as political underdogs, but nothing could be further from the truth. Thanks to the teachers unions and the American left, the term “dark money” – political spending by groups whose own donors are allowed to remain hidden – is most closely associated with two successful industrialists from Kansas – the...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Citizens United, Democracy Alliance, George Soros, John Stocks, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Massachusetts Teachers Association, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

The Poor Teacher Canard Redux – Part I

By Larry Sand
08/19/2014
“Mid-and Late-Career Teachers Struggle With Paltry Incomes” is the latest flawed study to claim that American teachers are underpaid. Leave it to the left-leaning teacher-union-friendly Center for American Progress to come out with a flatulent report lamenting the allegedly lousy state of teacher pay in the U.S. Even worse, much of the acolyte media dutifully...

TAGS: American Enterprise Institute, American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Biggs, California Policy Center, Center for American Progress, Heritage Foundation, Jason Richwine, Jay Greene, Larry Sand, Manhattan Institute, Marcus Winters, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, Transparent California

Putting The Brakes On Unions' Free Ride On Employee Dues

By Larry Sand
08/15/2014
Echoing the union party line, the recently termed-out president of the National Education Association, Dennis Van Roekel, insists that all workers in a unionized industry should be required to pay union dues, their so-called “fair share.” Speaking about the nation’s 3 million teachers, he says: “Fair share simply makes sure that all educators share the...

TAGS: Friedrichs vs. the CTA, National Education Association, National Employee Freedom Week

The One-Way Political Spending of the Teacher Unions

By Larry Sand
08/05/2014
Teacher union political gifting continues to be almost exclusively leftward bound, but teachers don’t have to finance it. Courtesy of campaign-finance tracker Open Secrets, we have a reminder of how lopsided teacher union political spending is. Education Week’s Lauren Camera posted a report Friday which spells out some of the nasty details. In House of...

TAGS: agency fee payer, American Federation of Teachers, conservative, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, National Employee Freedom Week, teachers union

Union “Hubrocrisy”

By Larry Sand
07/29/2014
Teachers unions reside at the corner of Hubris St. and Hypocrisy Ave.  A few days ago, Politico’s Stephanie Simon wrote about a new teachers union get-out-the-vote strategy. Attempting to regain some of their political turf as the midterm elections approach, they’re fighting back by utilizing their most obvious asset: teachers. Backed by tens of millions...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Citizens United, Larry Sand, Massachusetts Teachers Association, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union

California's Vergara Ruling – A Bad Day for Bad Teachers

By Richard Berman
07/24/2014
Summary: In 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court issued the landmark decision Brown v. Board of Education, which struck down racially segregated schools because, the court said, they were inherently unequal and they unjustly harmed poor and minority children. Last month, a California court cited Brown v. Board as it struck down multiple state laws, passed...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Education Association, Students Matter, Vergara vs. State of California

Keeping Their Backs Up and Claws Sharp

By Larry Sand
07/15/2014
As the teachers unions lose popularity, some think that they will soften their positions. But as recent events show, this is very far from the truth. A poll taken in June, right after the Vergara decision was handed down in Los Angeles, found that 49 percent of California voters think that teachers unions have a...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Arne Duncan, Democrats for Education Reform, Dennis Van Roekel, Education Next, Gloria Romero, Harris v. Quinn, Joe Williams, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union, Terry Moe, Vergara