Striking at the wrong target

By Larry Sand
04/24/2018
Teachers should stop listening to union leaders and look at the data before striking. When one looks at the actual dollars-and-cents reality, the emotional photo of the kindly old 1st grade teacher picketing for more money “for the classroom” falls flat. Very, very flat. There are several relevant facts that teachers and all Americans – especially the taxpaying variety – need to know.

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, Benjamin Scafidi, James Agresti, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, pension tsunami, Randi Weingarten, teachers strike, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles, Valerie Strauss

Pension Pilfery

By Larry Sand
02/07/2017
“The teachers unions don’t just screw over kids, they also screw over new teachers. Millennials beware.” The above tweet from Mike Petrilli, president of the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, pretty much tells the dismal story. To followers of Pension Tsunami, UnionWatch and Transparent California, the looming pension disaster for taxpayers is not news. But what has gone...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, CalSTRS, Fordham Institute, Jerry Jordan, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Mike Petrilli, pension tsunami, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, teachers union, Transparent California

A Kinder and Gentler Teachers Union?

By Larry Sand
06/21/2016
The unions are trying to take the “we’re in it for the kids” shtick to a new level by declaring that they now collectively bargain for “the common good.” Last week, The American Prospect posted “Teacher Unions Are ‘Bargaining for the Common Good,’” which claims that unions across the country are “expanding their focus to...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, collective bargaining, corporate greed, ghost teachers, Jeb Bush, Larry Sand, pension tsunami, permanence, release time, seniority, Susan Bonilla, teachers union, tenure

Let’s Deep-six Prop. 30

By Larry Sand
04/26/2016
The signatures for an initiative that would extend 2012’s “temporary” tax increase in California are due today. Four years ago Californians voted in Prop. 30, a “temporary” tax, to pay back schools “from the years of devastating cuts.” But as I show here, there was hardly any devastation; in fact, our spending had continued to...

TAGS: Andrew Coulson, Ben DeGrow, California Teachers Association, Cato Institute, EdSource, education spending, Eric Heins, Jason Bedrick, John Fensterwald, Larry Sand, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, pension tsunami, Prop. 30, Randi Weingarten, teachers union

Teacher Union Pension Flim-flam

By Larry Sand
04/12/2016
The public employee pension problem isn’t new, but a teacher union leader’s defense of it has sunk to new depths. According to the Federal Reserve, public employee pensions in aggregate nationally are in serious trouble. Currently totaling $5.8 trillion, they are underfunded by $1.7 trillion. While all these pensions are draining public resources, Don Boyd, director...

TAGS: 401K, American Federation of Teachers, Andrew Biggs, Friedman Foundation, ghost teachers, Jason Richwine, Larry Sand, pension tsunami, Randi Weingarten, release time, school choice, teachers union

When Union Bosses Become Employers

By Larry Sand
09/22/2015
Sanctimonious labor leaders treat their employees very differently than their members. While tales of union hypocrisy are as common as instances of Donald Trump sticking his Ferragamos in his mouth, there is one facet of union two-facedness that is under-reported – the role of union as employer. As mentioned in my post a couple of...

TAGS: 401K, defined benefit pension, Evan Grossman, Jerry Jordan, Larry Sand, National Education Association, pension tsunami, Philadelphia Federation of Teachers, seniority, teachers union, tenure

LA Teachers Union: Striking Out?

By Larry Sand
03/03/2015
UTLA is planning to walk out over a mess that it helped to create. The case is being built for a teachers’ strike in Los Angeles. The next step in the contract negotiation process is mediation, whereby a state-appointed mediator will try to get the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the United Teachers...

TAGS: Alex Caputo-Pearl, Chicago Teachers Union, Eric Hanushek, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, Mark Berndt, Mike Petrilli, pension tsunami, small class size, teacher pay, teachers strike, teachers union, Terry Moe, United Teachers of Los Angeles

California’s Public Sector Union Pension Secrecy Lobby

By Steven Greenhut
08/26/2013
Last month, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) announced that it would post the names and pension amounts of its retirees. But after the Retired Public Employees Association of California (RPEA) objected, CalPERS quickly pulled back from this pledge. RPEA leaders made what amounted to a novel and troubling argument about why vital public...

TAGS: CalPERS, City Journal, pension tsunami, Steven Greenhut