Posts tagged California Teachers Association
Protests Go Beyond Immigration to Include Array of Left-Wing Causes
June 15, 2025 // “In this moment we must all stand together,” said Becky Pringle, the head of the National Education Association, the largest individual union in the country and one of the groups that sprang into action as the protests emerged in Los Angeles. Local chapters of the Party for Socialism and Liberation, a Communist Party offshoot of the Workers World Party, have also played a leading role, working with local leftist groups to post information about new demonstrations from California to Maine.
Commentary: Teachers Need to Ditch Their Union
April 16, 2025 // The California Teachers Association, which considers itself “the co-equal fourth branch of government,” per former Democratic State Senate leader Dom Perata, is no better. As the Freedom Foundation notes, the union reports its political expenditures under three separate filings: The Issues Political Action Committee (PAC); The Association for Better Citizenship (ABC); and, The Independent Expenditure Committee (IEC).
Teachers in California’s Blochman District oust CTA
January 31, 2025 // Because the process involves a legal proceeding before a state agency and may involve opposition from the incumbent union, it can be a little tricky for non-lawyers to navigate. In Blochman, for instance, CTA initially attempted to get the teachers’ petition dismissed. But with help from Freedom Foundation attorneys, the Blochman teachers politely stood their ground, defeated the CTA’s frivolous objection and democracy eventually won the day.
A California labor union helped oust a Democrat from the state Capitol. His replacement wants to curb union power.
December 10, 2024 // "This is an unprecedented circumstance where a labor union spent well over a million dollars of their members' monies to take down a Democrat with a solid labor record to the benefit of a Republican that has been anti-labor throughout his legislative career," Newman said. "It's really stunning." The California Federation of Labor gave Choi a 6% on its annual legislative scorecard in 2022 when he served in the state Assembly, where he voted against bills to support fast-food workers, allow striking workers to keep health benefits and protect farmworkers who unionize. The same year, Newman received an 87% score, voting in favor of many union-backed bills.
Voters approved more arts money for schools. Powerful unions allege funds are being misused
April 1, 2024 // The unions and Beutner are calling on the state to require that districts certify within 30 days "that Prop. 28 funds have not been used to supplant any existing spending for arts education at any school." In addition, the signatories want the state to require school districts to list "additional arts and music teachers" employed by each school district in the current school year and "how that compares" to the prior year. "We say more means more," said UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz. "That means every student at every school in the entire state, and that also has to translate to more educators and classified workers in every school."
TEACHERS, COMMUNITY MEMBERS PROTEST CTA’S RADICAL POLITICS AT UNION CONFERENCE
October 31, 2023 // This past weekend, the California Teachers Association (CTA) held its quarterly State Council of Education in downtown Los Angeles to elect CTA leadership, set CTA policy, develop legislation and strategize for the upcoming election year. Much to the consternation of the 800 CTA delegates in attendance, a group of local teachers, congregants and concerned community members gathered outside the building to protest the union’s repeated attempts to push a radical political agenda into California’s classrooms. Led by Brenda Lebsack of the Interfaith Statewide Coalition and Pastor Luis Olan of “Restauracion Familiar,” the demonstration featured around 120 participants — mostly Hispanic fathers, mothers and children raising their voices against CTA. For years, CTA’s financial and ideological priorities have shifted away from promoting “the well-being of its members.” Though the union collects a significant amount of revenue from membership dues, CTA spent less than half of its budget on workplace representation in 2021.
The Problem(s) With Public Sector Unions
March 29, 2023 // Regardless of this contract outcome and which sides can claim victory, serious questions arise regarding the advisability of having public sector unions such as the SEIU, UTLA, et. al. in existence at all and their ability to collectively bargain and launch strikes against essentially the taxpayers of any given public jurisdiction. In the case of the recent LAUSD strike, 420,000 students and their families were held hostage by public sector unions in a school district already beset by financial and other woes. According to LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho, what the union sought would have put the school district on the brink of insolvency. Also, the strike itself precluded many disadvantaged students from receiving necessary daily meals that their families count on. Most importantly, a school district still reeling from the effects of a Covid-induced school lockdown just could not afford three more days of non-instruction. Arguably, the LAUSD is already a floundering if not failing district with ever-increasing taxpayer spending in spite of withering enrollment and diminishing student performance. It is to be noted that the demographics of the American union have changed dramatically over the years. While at one time the predominance of union membership was mostly among private sector blue collar workers, the ratios have flip-flopped where now the greatest numbers are not only in the public sector but are also associated with white collar employees. It should be further noted that public sector unions were once illegal in the United States.