Posts tagged Mailee Smith
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).
Chicago teachers vote on deal to bring average salary to over $114,000 per year
April 12, 2025 // “It’s estimated to cost around $1.5 billion, and Johnson has said he doesn’t have a plan yet to pay for it,” Smith told The Center Square. CPS teachers currently have an average salary of more than $93,000 per year. If they approve the tentative agreement, the number would rise to $114,429 by the end of the contract. Smith said teachers can expect to pay more in dues to CTU. “When government unions like Chicago Teachers Union are advocating for higher salaries for teachers and for other school employees, what they are really advocating for is a higher dues amount coming from that employee, because every time they score a win in the raise category, that means they are also going to be taking more money out of that person’s paycheck,” Smith said.
Chicago teachers’ union claim that Black kids cannot pass standardized tests doesn’t go over well with mom
August 14, 2024 // Stacy Davis Gates, president of the Chicago Teachers Union and executive vice president of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, was asked by a Black radio station last week about public school students' declining reading and math scores. Specifically, criticism that Gates was advocating to boost teachers' contracts with money that would be better served addressing student achievement. She responded that gauging student achievement through testing was the problem.
Liberty Justice Center Defends Janus Rights in Alaska
October 6, 2023 // In the years since the Supreme Court issued its ruling, multiple states have passed laws to make it more difficult for employees to know and exercise their rights under Janus. In addition, multiple lower courts have refused to enforce the “affirmative consent” requirements set forth by the Supreme Court when employees have sought to enforce their Janusrights by alleging that they did not consent to pay unions freely or knowingly. “Unions have convinced states, government employers, and the lower courts to ignore one of the most important parts of the Janus decision,” said Liberty Justice Center Senior Counsel Jeffrey Schwab. “The Supreme Court must intervene and make clear that it meant what it said in Janus—workers must be fully informed of their rights before the union can claim any of their paycheck.” In their amicus brief, Mark Janus, the Liberty Justice Center, and the Illinois Policy Institute urge the Supreme Court to hear Alaska v. Alaska Employees Association and affirm that the Court’s ruling in Janus means that money cannot be withheld from employees on behalf of unions unless and until the government has clear evidence of the employees’ free and knowing consent.
I4AW Adds Three Labor Voices to Prestigious Senior Fellows Program
January 30, 2023 // These new fellows- Ken Girardin, David Osborne, and Mailee Smith- have impressive backgrounds as policy leads at the foremost labor policy organizations in the country. Their work is bridging the information gap with data and analysis that show how outdated labor policies and special interest politics are harming a large swath of the American workforce and producing hostile economic conditions for workers and small business owners. “We are proud to highlight the important research and analysis that Ken, Mailee and David are contributing to the labor policy debate,” said president of Institute for the American Worker, F. Vincent Vernuccio. “These new fellows and their respective organizations are on the cutting edge of labor policy, and we are honored to include them on the I4AW team.”
EP. 53: ILLINOIS VS. TENNESSEE
September 29, 2022 //
MORE THAN 38,000 WORKERS HAVE LEFT GOVERNMENT UNIONS IN ILLINOIS
April 15, 2022 // The unions’ own federal reports show 9% of workers have chosen to break away from unions since the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Janus v. AFSCME. More than 38,000 state and local government workers across Illinois have chosen not to join or pay a government union since the U.S. Supreme Court restored that right in 2018 in Janus v. AFSCME.