Posts tagged National Education Association
A charter by any other name
October 5, 2022 // In 1906, the federal government issued a federal charter to the National Education Association (NEA). This Congressional Charter was granted “for the purpose to elevate the character and advance the interests of the profession of teaching; and to promote the cause of education in the United States”. Other organizations that fall in the same category include Little League Baseball and the Girl Scouts of America. The NEA is the only labor union to hold such a charter, and they are only one of two organizations with a federal charter to have a Political Action Committee (PAC). The NEA charter was granted prior to any federal guidelines for charter approval, and there is an assumption that to keep this status it would now need to meet the requirements set forth in 1969, which include being, “organized and operated as a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization.” Clearly, this is not the case. Charles W. Baird wrote an extensive report on the NEA and why it no longer meets the criteria for a federal charter:
Top Unions Lost Nearly Quarter of a Million Members After Court Struck Down Mandatory Membership
September 30, 2022 // Report shows powerful public sector unions have stepped up lobbying efforts amid member exodus In the four years since the landmark Janus v. AFSCME ruling, the National Education Association, American Federation of Teachers, Service Employees International Union, and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees lost almost 219,000 union members. The report, published by the Commonwealth Foundation, found that the Supreme Court decision escalated a decades-long decline in dues-paying members at the public sector unions. Despite the drop in membership, labor groups have scored legal and political victories that are buoying their political power. Union bosses scored a major victory last year in Virginia, where they attained collective bargaining rights for government workers for the first time through the then-Democratic-controlled state house. The Missouri Supreme Court last year voided a law that would have required unions to have regular recertification votes and annual reports on political activity. Colorado, meanwhile, passed a law in 2020 that unionized its 30,000 state government employees. Jennifer Stefano, Rebecca Friedrichs, California Teachers Association,
Carlsbad teachers union president accused of campaign violations
September 20, 2022 //
Union Takes Credit For Biden Forgiving Unlimited Student Loans For Teachers — One Teacher Wrote Off $450,000
September 12, 2022 // In a Labor Day message, union president Randi Weingarten said the union’s lobbying — which was also a leading cause of keeping schools closed due to coronavirus — was also responsible for the giveaway, which largely benefited the union’s members. The union played a role in helping elect Joe Biden. “We worked directly with the Biden administration on the latest PSLF fixes and the recent game-changing announcement on student debt cancellation.
Opinion: Paying unions: Recurring opt-in requirements protect public workers
August 31, 2022 // Much of the political spending is used to encourage and support ideologically aligned politicians in opposing badly needed reforms to public education such as addressing tenure policies, offering performance-based merit pay and alternatives to traditional public education like charter schools and tax-credit programs. A big chunk of those “dues and agency fees” also are used to advance controversial curriculum like critical race theory, divisive bathroom practices and abortion policies that go against the wishes of parents and communities.
REPORT: Pennsylvania Teachers Vote to Kick Union Out of Their School
August 23, 2022 // Westinghouse Arts Academy Charter School in Wilmerding, Pennsylvania As a result of tens of millions of dollars of political spending, heavy resistance to reopening schools during the COVID-19 pandemic, and repeated efforts to label concerned parents as domestic terrorists, teachers unions have come under increasing public scrutiny. And that scrutiny is not limited to the general public, as teachers at one Pennsylvania charter school have decided that they want nothing to do with their union. Hunter Tower
Ohio teachers union on strike days before school starts
August 23, 2022 // Columbus teachers negotiated 22 times with the school district over five months before deciding to strike, WCMH reported. The Columbus Education Association, which oversees Ohio's largest school district, filed a notice to strike earlier this month if an agreement could not be produced. Columbus Mayor Andrew Ginther on Sunday evening urged both the Columbus Education Association and the school district to return to negotiations. "More than anything, the pandemic has made clear the importance of having kids in the classroom," he wrote. Becky Pringle
Union Refuses To Aid Teacher Who Faced Termination for Criticism of Woke Training
August 15, 2022 // A Connecticut gym teacher says his school threatened to fire him after he criticized its mandatory diversity training on "exploring privilege." But when he filed a grievance against the school, the local teachers' union dismissed the complaint without explanation. John Grande filed the grievance against Hartford Public Schools for what he called targeted discipline—including threats of termination and further "Sensitivity Awareness" training—but the American Federation of Teachers Local 1018, which has jurisdiction over this arbitration process for teachers, rejected his plea, his attorney told the Washington Free Beacon. Grande, who has been a gym teacher for 30 years, said the union retaliated against him for refusing to join the labor group. The training included an activity for teachers to split into groups and discuss their privilege in eight categories: class, ability, race, gender/sex, sexuality, nationality/citizenship, religion, and "other." Hartford Board of Education,
NEA dues rise, spending on teachers drops for 6 straight years
August 15, 2022 // To assist teachers in evaluating NEA’s and IEA’s spending, this report examines data pulled from the unions’ LM-2s5 in the following three areas: Representational spending Leadership spending Political spending. JUST 6% OF NEA’S AND IEA’S COMBINED SPENDING WAS ON REPRESENTING MEMBERS NEA AND IEA SPENDING ON UNION LEADERSHIP SALARIES OUTPACED SPENDING ON MEMBERS NEA AND IEA SPENT 1.5 TIMES MORE ON POLITICS THAN ON REPRESENTING TEACHERS IN 2021
EDUCATORS IN ILLINOIS’ LE ROY SCHOOL DISTRICT REPLACE NEA WITH INDEPENDENT UNION
August 12, 2022 // Nicole Gaddis, Danielle Cooley, paraprofessional Kim Wohlwend, professional liability insurance,