Posts tagged merit
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.”
Op-ed: Ohio needs to wrest control of public schools from the teachers’ un
August 25, 2025 // Bureaucratic schools where merit doesn’t matter. Unions have used their clout, including their ability to elect pro-union school boards, to secure lengthy, incredibly detailed employment contracts that advance their interests while tying up school leaders with red tape. These contracts include job protections (even for incompetent teachers), onerous procedural hoops that schools must follow to evaluate or discipline an employee, and benefits that exceed what many private sector employees enjoy (e.g., generous healthcare, even for retirees, and paid leave). Moreover, following a union-supported state law, these contracts require Ohio teachers to be paid according to rigid salary schedules that reward seniority and degrees instead of classroom effectiveness and individual talent—a merit-based approach to compensation that has proven to benefit students in the (few) places where it has been tried. Escalating spending.
Blackburn: By reining in federal labor unions, Congress can cut down on government waste | OPINION
March 27, 2025 // That’s why Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and I recently introduced the Federal Workforce Freedom Act, which would put a stop to all collective bargaining agreements between federal agencies and labor unions. Among its provisions, this legislation would prohibit federal employees from participating in labor unions for the purposes of collective bargaining, ban federal agencies from engaging in collective bargaining negotiations, and immediately terminate all collective bargaining agreements.
YOUNG WORKERS INCREASINGLY — AND RIGHTFULLY — WARY OF UNIONS
April 28, 2023 // Unions, on the other hand, are notorious for their seniority-based systems, in which benefits and promotions are often based on years of service rather than merit. This can limit opportunities for ambitious young workers who want to excel in their careers based on their own talent and hard work rather than being bound by rigid union rules that prioritize age over performance. Moreover, unions can be a costly undertaking for young workers. Union dues can be expensive, and the burden falls more heavily on those making less. For young workers already struggling with student loans and other financial responsibilities, union dues can further strain their budgets. At the same time, young workers may never have the chance to fully benefit from the services provided by unions, such as pension plans, since they are less likely to stay with a single employer for their entire career.