The delightfully, annoyingly persistent Rebecca Friedrichs

By Larry Sand
11/20/2018
In Standing Up to Goliath: Battling State and National Teachers’ Unions for the Heart and Soul of Our Kids and Country, teacher, wife, mother, devout Christian and Supreme Court plaintiff Rebecca Friedrichs (David) has written an informative, enjoyable and, at times, infuriating book in which she weaves revelations about her humble roots, marriages, problems with...

TAGS: Antonin Scalia, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Rebecca Friedrichs, teachers union

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

Right-to-Work on the Move

By Larry Sand
01/31/2017
Since November, Kentucky has joined the right-to-work club and four new employee freedom cases have emerged. On January 7th, Kentucky became the 27th right-to-work state in the nation. The term “right-to-work” (RTW) very simply means that workers don’t have to pay dues to a union as a condition of employment. In a few short years, the movement...

TAGS: F. Vincent Vernuccio, Forced Unionism, Janus v. AFSCME, Jason Hart, Larry Sand, Liberty Justice Center, Mackinac Center, National Education Association, National Right to Work Foundation, Rebecca Friedrichs, Right to Work, student spending, teachers union, Tom Gantert, worker freedom

Friedrichs v. 2.0? U.S. Supreme Court May Get a Second Chance to Free Teachers from Forced Unionism

By California Policy Center
01/19/2017
For Immediate Release January 19, 2017 California Policy Center Will Swaim, will@calpolicycenter.org (949) 274-1911 In a case that will cheer education reformers, four Pennsylvania teachers today sued their unions, school districts and district officials for making union membership a condition of their employment. The suit – and the likely appointment of a reform-friendly Supreme Court...

TAGS: Abood, Antonin Scalia, California Teachers Association, Friedrichs, Rebecca Friedrichs, Supreme Court

Friedrichs 2.0? Supremes May Get a Second Chance to Free Teachers from Forced Unionism

By Will Swaim
01/19/2017
In a case that will cheer education reformers, four Pennsylvania teachers today sued their unions, school districts and district officials for making union membership a condition of their employment. “Teaching is my calling, but I fundamentally disagree with many teachers’ union stances on personnel and political issues,” said lead plaintiff Gregory J. Hartnett, an art...

TAGS: Abood, Antonin Scalia, California Teachers Association, Friedrichs, Rebecca Friedrichs, Supreme Court

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

ALEC, ISTA and Indiana

By Larry Sand
08/02/2016
The teachers unions continue to pound the anti-ALEC drum, this year in the Hoosier State. The American Legislative Exchange Council is an organization of state legislators, business leaders and other concerned Americans dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism. In the education sphere, ALEC holds that parents should be in charge...

TAGS: ALEC, American Legislative Exchange Council, EdChoice, Education Savings Accounts, Indiana State Teachers Association, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, Mike Pence, National Education Association, Rebecca Friedrichs, school choice, Scott Walker, tax-credit scholarships, teachers union, vouchers

The DivIdes of March

By Larry Sand
03/15/2016
My latest battle against a teacher union leader…. Last month, Rebecca Friedrichs, lead plaintiff in a lawsuit against the California Teachers Association that was recently heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, and I were invited to talk about her case on Inside OC, a public affairs TV show in Orange County. Rebecca was given the...

TAGS: agency fee payers, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, CTA, Eric Heins, fair share, Gloria Romero, Jay Greene, Koch Brothers, labor peace, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Rebecca Friedrichs, Rod Paige, seiu, teachers union, Terry Moe

Friedrichs vs. the CTA Ruling Could Restore Free Speech Rights of Government Workers

By Edward Ring
01/05/2016
In less than one week the U.S. Supreme Court will begin to hear arguments in the case Friedrichs v. California Teachers Association, to determine whether unions can force public employees to fund speech through collective bargaining with which they might disagree. The case could result in a landmark decision impacting the First Amendment rights of millions...

TAGS: CTA, Friedrichs vs. the CTA, Rebecca Friedrichs

National Union Leadership Smear Teachers in Supreme Court Case

By Jason Hart
11/27/2015
America’s most powerful union bosses are running a national smear campaign against 10 workers who fund their paychecks. California teacher Rebecca Friedrichs and nine of her fellow educators are being vilified by executives of the country’s largest labor unions — including the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers. Using money taken from workers’ paychecks, union bosses are portraying Friedrichs and...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Friedrichs vs. the CTA, Jason Hart, Rebecca Friedrichs, Richard Trumka