NEA mob rules

By Larry Sand
07/11/2017
The yearly NEA convention was replete with the usual bogeymen, rah-rah talk, weird new business items and a bit more angst than usual.  This last year should have been a pip for the National Education Association. Antoni Scalia’s death killed Friedrichs and kept forced unionism alive and well in half the country. And the inevitable...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Betsy DeVos, charter school, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Rebecca Friedrichs, school choice, teachers union, Trinity Lutheran Church v. Pauley, voucher

Profits of doom

By Larry Sand
06/27/2017
From California to Africa, teachers unions fight the “for-profit” bogeyman. Well, I guess we can all rest just a bit easier now that California is on the verge of banning for-profit charter schools. Sponsored by the California Federation of Teachers, AB 406 is making its way through the California State Senate, having glided through the...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Eric Hanushek, James Tooley, Josh Pechthalt, Kevin McCarty, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, Neal McCluskey, teachers union, The Beautiful Tree

Union dues are cutting into teacher’s retirement funds

By Jackie Lavalleye
06/27/2017
Union dues take a large bite out of the paychecks of California teachers. We estimate that newly hired, full-time teachers will pay $37,000 in dues over a 30-year career. Further, if new teachers could fully opt out of the union and instead save their dues in an Individual Retirement Account, they would each have $228,000...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, National Education Association, public sector unions, teachers union, teachers unions

“Who ya gonna believe – me, or your own eyes?”

By Larry Sand
06/20/2017
Teachers unions continue to bash charter schools in spite of their success and popularity. When it comes to charter schools, the teachers unions are nothing if not relentless. From Mike Antonucci we learn that the California Teachers Association is in the process of developing and promoting resolutions, which local unions can introduce at school board meetings...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Charter schools, CREDO, Eva Moskowitz, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Marcus Winters, Matthew Ladner, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Patrick Wolf, Success Academy, teachers union

Earthquake rearranges school board in Los Angeles

By Larry Sand
05/23/2017
Aftershocks could have ramifications; teacher union leaders grouse as they plan next steps. On Tuesday, May 6th, Nick Melvoin and Kelly Gonez, who are more concerned with the needs of parents, kids and taxpayers than stoking the bureaucracy and complying with teacher union diktats, were elected to the Los Angeles Unified School District board. Reformers...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Eli Broad, Eric Heins, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, National Education Association, Nick Melvoin, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Unions party like it’s 1886

By Larry Sand
04/25/2017
May Day, which may have had some justification 131 years ago, has become an excuse for unions to spread leftwing propaganda. As the Communist Party USA website informs us, May 1st is a day for working people to “demonstrate their unity and celebrate those who labor and produce all wealth. But it’s also a day...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Larry Sand, May Day, National Education Association, teachers unions, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Two Guys Walk into a Party….

By Larry Sand
04/11/2017
Debunking teacher union talking points about school choice. Okay, so you’re at a cocktail party sipping brandy, and some rabid teacher union supporter starts mouthing off about Trump, DeVos, the evils of vouchers and, at the same time, waxing ecstatic about the glories of our traditional zip-code monopoly education system (Z MES). Now, you might...

TAGS: Betsy DeVos, EdChoice, education savings account, ESA, Greg Forster, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, National Education Association, school choice, teachers union, voucher

Women’s March Madness

By Larry Sand
03/14/2017
International Women’s Day showed us what radical women are really about. March 8th saw many International Women’s Day (IWD) events that showcased elitist women’s anger and victimology. Typical was American Federation of Teachers president Randi Weingarten who spoke at the “Women Workers Rising” rally outside the Department of Labor headquarters in Washington D.C. Among other...

TAGS: AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, George Soros, Larry Sand, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Course Correction Time for Teachers Unions?

By Larry Sand
03/07/2017
Unlikely elsewhere, but in California, just fuggedaboutit. As I wrote recently, the teachers unions had a bad week in early February. Anti-forced unionism lawsuits, the emergence of yet another right-to-work state and the confirmation of Betsy DeVos as Education Secretary all combined to make for a miserable few days in Unionland. But unlike waking from...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Betsy DeVos, California Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dean Vogel, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles