Posts tagged education
Professor Claude? College unions negotiate for protection against AI teachers and evaluators.
September 25, 2026 // Research universities, like Pitt and Carnegie Mellon University, have especially embraced AI as both an area of study and a resource to be mined. The two local schools have hosted notable industry gatherings around innovation, and their respective presidents each tout the tech’s capabilities. “We’ve seen a pretty rapid effort by universities to adopt AI tools, and with, I would say, much more kind of inconsistent thinking and policy development about guardrails and protections for how those AI tools might impact academic work at universities,” said Tyler Bickford, president of Pitt’s faculty union.
SEIU 503 approves vote to strike; could begin first week of classes
September 23, 2026 // If a contract agreement cannot be reached within the next week and a half, 4,600 classified workers across Oregon’s seven public universities would be eligible to strike as early as Monday, Sept. 28. According to an SEIU 503 press release, 97% of voting SEIU 503 members voted to authorize a strike after a two day strike vote. This potential strike comes after the union pushed back against current contract negotiations and benefits changes. In support of the union’s bargaining efforts, SEIU 89 held a rally on Sept. 9, several days before the opening of the strike vote.
Teachers unions, not racism, are failing New York City’s black students
September 22, 2026 // The problem is accountability. New York’s government unions fight against being held responsible for their failures at every stage. Tenured teachers can be dismissed only for cause after a formal proceeding before an arbitrator. They ordinarily remain paid during reassignment and receive union-provided legal representation. Seniority rules can force schools to release newer teachers who may be good rather than ineffective veterans who either cannot or will not do their jobs. Excessed teachers can be placed in other district schools rather than removed from the system.
Union boss’ school-choice betrayal reveals NY’s true power players
September 22, 2026 // American Federation of Teachers chief Randi Weingarten joined him on stage to condemn the plan, as another opponent decried the program as “a form of racism,” “segregation,” and something to “keep the have-nots in their place.” But Cilento’s participation in the attack amounts to nothing short of a betrayal: The NYC AFL-CIO represents more than 2,000 dues-paying members who teach at one of New York’s 100-plus unionized private or parochial schools. These are some of New York’s most devoted educators; many of them forgo higher-paying gigs in public schools.
Duval teachers union faces fight for survival after missing 60% membership threshold
September 17, 2026 // The union recruited more than 640 new members between July 30 and September 9 in an effort to reach the threshold. Despite that push, the union did not secure enough members to avoid an election. Now, union leaders are focused on making sure enough employees participate in the vote to preserve DTU as the collective bargaining agent for Duval County Public Schools employees. Sep 16 Duval teachers union faces fight for survival after missing 60% membership threshold.
Blue states with strong teachers’ unions have lower student literacy levels: study shows
September 17, 2026 // And Canter’s study found one overwhelming and shocking throughline — the stronger the state’s teachers’ union the worse its student literacy scores were, results which did not exclusively follow party lines but strongly trended that way and often to the detriment of Democrats. “Democrats, however, don’t often ask me how to replicate Mississippi’s success,” Canter said. “They ask if it’s possible at all, given the power of teachers’ unions in their home states.” One reason for the disparity, Canter argued, is that states where teacher unions have a strong grip are slower to enact better programs.
Educators union sues California, alleging billions missing from public school funding
September 16, 2026 // Facing their own statewide budget deficits, Gov. Gavin Newsom and state legislators "deliberately underfunded the schools" by $1.9 billion in 2024-25 and by $3.9 billion in 2025-26, the California Teachers Association said in a suit in Sacramento County Superior Court. It was filed against Newsom's finance director, Joe Stephenshaw, and several defendants who were unnamed but clearly included the governor.
Op-Ed: Brigette Herbst: Congress should Investigate the National Education Association’s charter
September 15, 2026 // However, over the past several years, the NEA has supported divisive partisan politics and extremist ideologies. By way of example, the NEA Advocacy Fund, a super PAC, and the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education have directed much of their political spending toward Democratic candidates and aligned political organizations. According to filings, the NEA Fund for Children and Public Education has historically contributed more than 90 percent of its candidate-directed funds to Democrats, while independent expenditures by the NEA Advocacy Fund have similarly supported Democratic candidates and causes — a far cry from “promot[ing] the cause of education in the United States.”
Report: A Crisis of Representation: Antisemitism and Inclusion in Higher Education Unions
September 10, 2026 // Drawing on incident reports, member accounts, union materials, and campus developments, the report finds that some higher education unions have become flashpoints for conflicts involving antisemitism, Israel, Zionism, and Jewish identity. In some cases, highly organized activist factions have used low-participation governance processes to advance divisive political positions without broad member consensus. In others, mainstream Jewish voices are subject to such open hostility by anti-Israel activists that they lose the opportunity to meaningfully engage in their union’s democratic processes. These dynamics distract from core labor priorities, including wages, working conditions, academic freedom, job security, and fair treatment. They also erode trust and internal cohesion, particularly when Jewish faculty and graduate students experience exclusion, hostility, silencing, or fear of retaliation for raising concerns about antisemitism or expressing views related to Jewish identity, Israel, or Zionism.
CTA-backed group vies to force election to unionize Clovis educators
September 9, 2026 // The Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), which is backed by the California Teachers Association, last week filed an intervention petition with the state labor board in hopes of forcing an election among Clovis Unified School District educators. The unaffiliated Independent Clovis Unified Educators, or ICUE, filed its petition in July to become the exclusive representative for full-time teachers in the district, which is California’s largest without a teachers union. ACE has challenged ICUE’s petition, calling into question who, among educators, might be represented and eligible to vote, according to The Fresno Bee, which first reported the development.