Posts tagged Educators
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).
Los Angeles museum workers pushing to unionize
March 27, 2025 // Workers at Los Angeles County's Natural History Museum and La Brea Tar Pits Tuesday announced efforts to unionize, citing what they call a need for better wages, safer working conditions and increased diversity. The Natural History Museum & Tar Pits Workers Union would represent almost 300 workers and include performers, engineers, educators, guest relations associates and more, according to the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 36.
Freedom Foundation Announces the Teacher Freedom Alliance, a Non-Union Alternative for Educators
March 8, 2025 // The Teacher Freedom Alliance (TFA) was created to address the growing frustration teachers have with the direction public education is rapidly heading in no small part due to the radical agenda of the teachers unions. The Teacher Freedom Alliance supports educators in their mission to develop free, moral, and responsible citizens. As an alternative to traditional unions, TFA offers pro-America educators a place to find support and comradery in an organization dedicated to restoring the broken education system—without any additional cost to those who choose to join. TFA is committed to promoting traditional educational values, providing teachers with superior resources, and fostering a school culture where educators are empowered to advocate for themselves and their students with an emphasis on excellence in the classroom over radical ideologies. With teachers increasingly disillusioned by the agendas and reckless political spending of union leadership, TFA offers a much-needed alternative.
Chicago teachers union slams newspaper that called them out for their members’ chronic absence
December 3, 2024 // "Alarmingly, this poor record of CPS teachers showing up for work has been a new and recent phenomenon. In the 2022-23 school year, for example, CPS teachers’ performance was even worse — 43% were absent at least 10 days. Before that year, though, the rate was considerably better: in the 2016-17 school year, chronic absenteeism among CPS teachers was 31%. The number worsened slightly from there leading into the pandemic but still was better than what we’re seeing now," the editorial board wrote. Chicago teachers are paid a median salary of $95,000, significantly more than what teachers are paid in the suburbs and more than "any other large school district in the nation," according to the Tribune.
Illinois school official sounds alarm over personnel shortage as school begins
August 22, 2023 // The Illinois Association of Regional Superintendents of Schools conducted an Educator Shortage study and found that 76% of school districts reported problems with staffing shortages. “At first it was a teacher shortage. Then there was a teacher shortage crisis. Then it was a teacher shortage catastrophe, and it just escalates,” IARSS President Mark Klaisner said. Klaisner said some downstate districts are trying to come up with ways to open their schools despite a lack of educators.
Biden’s new charter school rules prioritize teachers’ unions over children
May 16, 2022 // The Biden administration’s proposed regulations would create roadblocks that would make the federal funds hard to access and charter school expansion more difficult. Additionally, the changes would work against charters serving students in urban communities and communities of color, as the proposed rules would require charters to be “racially and socio-economically diverse” — regardless of community needs.
Labor organizers and anti-union activists square off again on membership, dues issues
March 18, 2022 // “It codifies the process by which an employee may exercise this right and safeguards that person’s ability to exercise it at any time,” Vernuccio said. “It does this by having the public employees tell their employers directly that they wish to have money taken from their paycheck, instead of employers taking the union’s word for it.”
Special Legal Notice for Minneapolis and St. Paul Public School Educators
March 8, 2022 // Media reports indicate that the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers (MFT), St. Paul Federation of Educators (SPFE), and other associated unions have threatened to order a strike beginning Tuesday, March 8 if Minneapolis and St. Paul public school officials do not make various concessions demanded by union officials during bargaining talks.