The “state crisis” threatened by Los Angeles teacher union boss two years ago is upon us. In two recent posts, I detailed the United Teachers of Los Angeles contract demands on the school district and reported that a strike was likely. And of late, the situation has gone from bad to dire. Perhaps the biggest...

From Puerto Rico to Los Angeles, teachers unions still try to deny parental choice at every turn. In March, six months after Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico, the island’s lawmakers approved a bill that offered parents school choice options, including vouchers and charter schools. Hardly radical, the voucher program was capped at 3 percent of...

Using loads of bogus info, LA teacher union leader prepares teachers for a walkout in the fall. In my post last Tuesday, I wrote about the many problems facing the Los Angeles Unified School District. Since then, one of the issues I detailed has moved front and center: the strong possibility of a teacher strike....

The Abood decision has been overturned and its mourners are beside themselves.  The hysterical reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case, which frees public employees in 22 states from having to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment, has Chicken Little nodding in solidarity. As...

Parents, not the state, should decide what kind of education their children receive.  The anti-school choice crowd frequently manages to shoot themselves in the foot by making outlandish allegations. Almost a year ago, American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten suggested that vouchers are “slightly more polite cousins of segregation.” At the same time, Katherine...

The United Teachers of Los Angeles claims its members “don’t get no respect.”  The late comedian Rodney Dangerfield often used self-deprecating humor in his routines, and his catchphrase, “I don’t get no respect!” is legendary. And now the United Teachers of Los Angeles is channeling the great comic, as thousands of teachers took to the...

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.

Using the Turpins as an excuse, California legislative busybodies are looking to punish homeschooling families. It was shocking to learn in January that Californians David and Louise Turpin had imprisoned their thirteen children for years in the most disgusting and degrading ways. Fortunately, one of the girls escaped from the home in Perris, and contacted...

Teacher union leaders palavering about evil corporations and the rich is a modern-day version of The Emperor’s New Clothes. The teachers unions really need to get some new talking points. Granted, straw men and hyperbole are common in political discourse, but union verbiage needs a serious makeover – the old model is giving hypocrisy a...

Do public schools really serve the public? On November 16th, the United Teachers of Los Angeles held a “Save Our Schools” rally, which was part of the larger American Education Week, a National Education Association creation. Touting NEA’s 2017 theme, “Public Schools for all,” union President Lily Eskelsen García emphatically stated “Public schools are the...