Social Justice Warriors at Work

By Larry Sand
08/11/2015
With the election season in full swing, expect a tide of union-led anti-reform, anti-choice and anti-Republican politicking in our kids’ classrooms. “I watched the GOP presidential debate because my students are counting on me” is the title of a piece posted on the National Education Association website by “guest writer” Tom McLaughlin, a high school...

TAGS: Charter schools, Chris Christie, Common Core, education spending, homeschooling, Jeb Bush, John Stocks, Larry Sand, National Education Association, school choice, Scott Walker, social justice, teachers union, Vergara

Unprofessional Conduct Penalty

By Larry Sand
08/04/2015
Comedy Central spoof doesn’t go deep in teacher-athlete comparison. The teachers “don’t get no respect” catchphrase has been with us for some time now. Various lamenters have opined that teachers should have the status and income of rock stars or professional athletes. To that end, Comedy Central duo Key and Peele have rolled out “Teaching...

TAGS: James Shuls, Larry Sand, merit pay, seniority, teachers union, tenure, TNTP

Could California Follow Wisconsin’s Teacher Union Jail Break?

By Larry Sand
07/28/2015
If CA becomes a right-to-work state, a seismic political shift may ensue. Last week Mike Antonucci reported that the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the National Education Association’s Badger State affiliate, is down to fewer than 50,000 members (40,000 currently employed) from a high of over 100,000 in 2009. This precipitous loss is a result of...

TAGS: Act 10, Charter schools, collective bargaining, Deroy Murdock, Friedrichs, Hillary Clinton, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Right to Work, Scott Walker, teachers union, Troy Senik, vouchers, Wisconsin Education Association Council

AFT’s Left Flank Infuriated over Clinton Endorsement

By Larry Sand
07/22/2015
Union leftists are shocked! shocked! that the teacher union elite did not confer with them before anointing Hillary Clinton as Democratic presidential pick. The education and mainstream media were whooping it up last week after a cadre of teacher union members laid into the American Federation of Teachers for its endorsement of Hillary Clinton as...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Dean Vogel, EAG, Hillary Clinton, Kyle Olson, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, Reg Weaver, teachers union

The NEA, Social Justice and Indoctrination Ghettos

By Larry Sand
07/15/2015
The NEA convention had its humorous moments as well as a very disturbing one. The National Association Education’s yearly convention, which wrapped up last week, was mostly a tame affair with not much worth writing about. But NEA executive director John Stocks did provide some unintentionally comedic moments. His boiler plate lefty political ranting included...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, class warfare, income inequality, Indoctrination, Jason Hart, John Stocks, Larry Sand, Los Angeles Unified School District, Occupy Wall Street, Randi Weingarten, Saul Alinsky, social justice, teachers union, white privilege

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

Release Time on the Taxpayer’s Dime

By Larry Sand
06/30/2015
All over the country, American workers are subsidizing unions with tax dollars. In St. Charles, IL, a teacher is paid $141,105 not to teach. In Philadelphia, “ghost employees” who don’t do work for the state collect benefits from the state. In Kalamazoo, MI a former teacher is collecting a government pension of $85,903 a year...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, collective bargaining, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Larry Sand, release time, teachers union, Trey Kovacs, United Teachers of Los Angeles

Income Inequality Farm

By Larry Sand
06/23/2015
Labor leaders and their friends start a new “progressive” organization … as George Orwell rolls over in his grave. We live in strange times when a man can decide that he’s a woman and someone born freckled and blonde declares with great conviction that she is African-American. Following the trend, we have organized labor leaders...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, California Teacher Association, George Orwell, Larry Sand, Randi Weingarten, Richard Trumka, teachers union

Report From Palm Lane – Court Battle Over Parent Trigger Begins

By R. Claire Friend
06/22/2015
The Palm Lane Elementary School parents and their attorneys squared off against the Anaheim City School District and Anaheim City Board of Education on June 15th in Courtroom C11 in the battle to determine whether the parents will succeed in their efforts to restart the academically troubled school as an independent charter school. The parents are...

TAGS: Palm Lane Elementary School, Parent Trigger, Parent trigger laws, teachers union

Dear Randi (Redux),

By Larry Sand
06/16/2015
Given the assertions you make in your latest “Where We Stand” column, we need to talk! So it’s been a year since I last wrote to you. You sure have been busy! Defending mandatory voting laws and Hillary Clinton, railing against cheese sandwiches and Jeb Bush, it’s totally understandable that you may be getting a...

TAGS: Bain v. CTA, California Teachers Empowerment Network, collective bargaining, Fordham Institute, Friedrichs v CTA, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Mike Petrilli, National Council on Teacher Quality, Randi Weingarten, school choice, teachers union