Public Employee Strike Looms in Santa Clara County

By Edward Ring
01/06/2020
With 2020 upon us, it appears likely that two unions representing Santa Clara County employees will be going on strike. Unless agreements can be reached, 3,000 members of the Registered Nurses Professional Association will strike, along with over 11,000 members of the SEIU. When one considers the political leanings of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors,...

TAGS: CalPERS, Edward Ring, pensions, public employee unions, seiu

Government Unions v. Everyone Else

By Larry Sand
01/10/2017
“All Government employees should realize that the process of collective bargaining, as usually understood, cannot be transplanted into the public service. It has its distinct and insurmountable limitations when applied to public personnel management.” The above caveat about government unions – usually known by the kinder and gentler “public employee unions” – was not issued...

TAGS: ALEC, Donald Trump, government unions, Koch Brothers, Mike Antonucci, National Right to Work Foundation, public employee unions, Rebecca Friedrichs, Right to Work, United Auto Workers

Unraveling California’s New “Fiscal Paradox”

By David Kersten
07/25/2016
California taxpayers are getting taken to the cleaners, but most of them are completely in the dark about how and why. I will pose a quick question:  Does it seem strange that California has recorded record revenue increases, yet we also see a record number of tax increases and bond issuances on the ballot? In...

TAGS: public employee unions, Robert Reich

CalPERS Sinks Further into Fiscal Insolvency

By David Kersten
07/14/2016
Orange County Register reporter Teri Sforza quietly released a story  that blows the whistle on another fiscal bombshell of bad news at the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS). The story states that according to unofficial preliminary numbers from CalPERS the fund lost about 2% of its market value in the 2015-16 fiscal year that just ended–which...

TAGS: public employee unions

CalChamber Opposes “Virtually Permanent” Prop 30 Tax

By Joel Fox
05/23/2016
With the California Chamber of Commerce announcing yesterday that it will oppose the Proposition 30, income tax extension, the question arises if a campaign will come together to match the financial firepower that the teachers, medical professionals and other public employee unions bring to the table in support of the measure. Officially, the word from the...

TAGS: Proposition 30, public employee unions

Teachers Unions Give Middle Finger to the Middle Class

By Larry Sand
12/08/2015
New documents show, yet again, teachers unions’ disdain for American workers. If you Google NEA + middle class + Friedrichs, you will be barraged with a load of demagogic union bromides about how the Friedrichs case – which opposes mandatory dues payments to public employee unions (PEUs) as a condition of employment – will, if...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Campbell Brown, Friedrichs, Larry Sand, Michael Mulgrew, National Education Association, public employee unions, teachers union, United Federation of Teachers

Government Unions Move to Extend "Temporary" Income Tax Increases

By Jon Coupal
10/12/2015
A coalition of government employee unions has filed an initiative that would extend the temporary income tax hikes that were contained in Proposition 30 and approved by voters in 2012. If this seems like, in the immortal words of Yogi Berra, “déjà vu all over again,” it’s not your imagination. This is just the tax...

TAGS: California tax increases, government unions, HJTA, Jon Coupal, public employee unions, tax increases

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

For What Are Taxpayers Thankful in 2014?

By Jon Coupal
12/01/2014
“In this season of Thanksgiving, please don’t blame taxpayers if they are distracted by the injuries being perpetrated against them by our political class.” These words were the preface of this column at the beginning of the holiday season in 2008 and, sadly, little has changed. In fact, in many ways taxpayers are worse off...

TAGS: public employee unions