Posts tagged education
Op-ed:Will Swaim: California schools turn to child sacrifice
August 7, 2026 // This was no accident. Sacrificing their younger union members in order to boost the pay of the older members is a key part of the union playbook – and the predictable outcome of state law commonly known as “LIFO,” or “last in, first out.” It’s buried in California Education Code section 44955, a single phrase that lays out the order of layoffs in any financial crisis: “employees shall be terminated in the inverse of the order in which they were employed.” Many younger teachers say they did not know about LIFO. “We’re pretty shocked,” said a two-year Los Angeles teacher who spoke on condition of anonymity. She said the general feeling among young teachers is “betrayal.” “We supported the bargaining team throughout this process – stood out in the rain to protest and rallied online support for the new contract,” she said. “No one, not even once, told me this could happen.”
Independent union files for recognition in Clovis Unified over CTA-backed group
August 6, 2026 // For years, the Association of Clovis Educators (ACE), backed by the California Teachers Association, and the unaffiliated Independent Clovis Unified Educators (ICUE) have sought to represent teachers in the district. Clovis Unified is California’s largest school district without a teachers union but could become the state’s largest independent union. The unaffiliated ICUE reportedly collected more than 50% of signatures from more than 2,000 teachers in Clovis Unified, The Bee reported. The group filed a union petition with California’s Public Employment Relations Board, a feat it nearly reached last year, according to The Bee. “Teachers are realizing, ‘It’s ACE or ICUE,’ ” Erin Dieterle Garcia, a founding teacher of ICUE, told EdSource in 2025 when ICUE was less than 75 signatures away from being able to file the union petition.
School bus drivers in Duval County vote to strike ahead of start of school year
August 5, 2026 // A union representing 275 Durham School Services bus drivers in Duval County voted to go on strike Tuesday, threatening to impact school bus routes for Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) one week before the start of the school year.
Illinois Federation of Teachers educators aren’t getting what they’re paying for
August 5, 2026 // Less than 28% of IFT’s spending in 2025 was on representing teachers, according to the union’s annual report filed with the U.S. Labor Department. The rest was on politics, overhead and other union leadership priorities.
Teachers union uses felons to attack school choice in Arizona
July 28, 2026 // The Goldwater Institute’s complaint meticulously challenges the validity of more than half of the union-backed initiative’s signatures. If their challenges succeed, the union could be left with fewer than 200,000 signatures — considerably below the ballot threshold. According to Goldwater, most of the Protect Education Campaign’s signatures are invalid because they suffer from a variety of legal defects. Many signatures were not from registered voters. Others are invalid because the signature gatherer failed to fill out the initiative paperwork properly, such as listing a false address, failing to provide an ID, or failing to notarize the document. Tens of thousands are duplicates.
CTU and SEIU back different candidates for school board president, widening rift between staff unions
July 28, 2026 // The SEIU and the CTU used to work together to protest budget cuts, school closings and other actions that affected workers. SEIU was one of the biggest backers of CTU organizer turned mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson, and its related PACs contributed more than $4.6 million to his campaign. But a rift formed after the CTU attempted to get some of SEIU’s members reclassified so they would be under CTU. SEIU officials accused the CTU of raiding its members.
Teachers’ Union Boss Vows ‘All-Out-War’ if Mamdani Doesn’t Back Bonuses
July 27, 2026 // The legislation would cost New York City $325 million. The Citizens Budget Commission, a nonpartisan watchdog group that opposes the bill, warned that it would set a “dangerous precedent” by encouraging unions to bypass the bargaining table and appeal directly to lawmakers.
VIDEO: Randi Weingarten is a ‘world class hypocrite,’ says retired teacher
July 24, 2026 // Retired teacher Larry Sand discusses The American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten facing criticism for allegedly prioritizing political agendas over academic achievement
Affordability at forefront of union negotiations between Pinellas district and teachers
July 23, 2026 // If the district and teachers association are unable to negotiate a contract ahead of the July 31 deadline they will reach impasse. Impasse is a deadlock in negotiations between workers and employers. Though this has not occurred since 2009, association members and officials are saying that this year, impasse is not an impossibility. If an impasse is reached, Florida’s Public Employees Relations Commission will appoint a special magistrate who will make recommendations on disputed contract items. If those recommendations are not approved by both parties, it will head to the school board which will make a final ruling on any remaining disputes.
Teachers’ Unions Are Losing One of Their Government Perks
July 22, 2026 // The question is not whether teachers unions should exist, but whether taxpayers should subsidize organizations that subsequently seek more taxpayer subsidy, often for actions the taxpayer wouldn’t otherwise support. Removing public subsidies forces unions to rely on voluntary member support, increases accountability, and keeps government resources focused on their proper purpose: educating children. The reforms in Idaho, Florida, and Arizona mark the beginning of a necessary correction.