Posts tagged school board
Chicago Teachers Union spent $1.74M trying to take over Chicago school board
November 14, 2024 // The Chicago Teachers Union took over City Hall when it bankrolled former union operative Brandon Johnson’s way into the mayor’s office in 2023. Then the union went after the first elected members of the Chicago Public Schools Board of Education. It endorsed 10 candidates and funneled $1.74 million into their races, according to records with the Illinois State Board of Elections. CTU only got four of them elected, and one of those faced no opposition.
Teachers Unions’ Motivations for School Board Endorsements Clash with Voter Expectations
November 8, 2024 // The study, titled The Politics of Teachers’ Union Endorsements, found that school board candidates endorsed by the union have won 70% of races over the past twenty years. According to the study, voters believe teachers unions make endorsements based on improving academic outcomes. In reality, however, the unions tend to make endorsements based on self-interest. The study suggests that voters might be misinterpreting these endorsements, thinking they reflect a candidate’s commitment to education quality when they are, in fact, more reflective of union self-interest. By allowing voters to be misled with regard to their intentions, unions have been able to secure races for two decades worth of school board candidates.
Boarded The Teachers’ Union Takeover of NY School Districts
November 21, 2023 // NYSUT’s involvement in state and federal elections is well-documented, but the low turnout in New York’s generally nonpartisan school board elections has given it an even bigger opportunity. The union also isn’t stopping with school boards: its electoral efforts involve elevating members to local, state and federal office, positions from which union members could eventually affect every facet of education policy. The system of campaign finance rules that regulate everything from elections for governor down to town assessors does not cover school board elections.
How unions and employers dodge accountability
June 26, 2023 // As it turns out, her collective bargaining agreement—with wording agreed to by both the school district and the union—allows the superintendent to make decisions “for the good of the district.” This broad language essentially allows the school to transfer the teacher as they wish and erases any recourse she has if she believes there are questionable motives behind it all. Because neither the school board nor union would address her concerns, this teacher has had to turn to her community for assistance. She is asking people such as former students to contact the superintendent/school board to make the case that she should stay in her position. No teacher represented by a union should find themselves caught in between and left without representation. With two parties in negotiations, there’s always someone else to blame. And this story serves as a reminder as to why both employers and unions often support collective bargaining for reasons that can hurt employees.
California teachers union spends over $2.8 million on school board elections
November 13, 2022 // This year, unions backed multiple ballot propositions on topics such as the “Clean Water, Clean Air, and Green Jobs Environmental Bond” in New York or Colorado’s Proposition FF to raise taxes to fund a school meal program. The trend of union involvement in politics is nothing new. Unions bankrolled over $1.8 billion in political lobbying and political activities in the 2020 election cycle, $1.4 billion of which came from union dues. AFFT offers detailed breakdowns of union spending on our website.
Teacher group says communication with APS broke down after School Board allowed unionizing
November 1, 2022 // Arlington Public Schools became the second school district in Virginia to do so, after the General Assembly in 2020 repealed a ban on school employees bargaining collectively. Before that, AEA advocated for public school employees but could not guarantee benefits through legally binding contracts. This month, organization members told the School Board that its approval of the collective bargaining resolution shut out staff, and since then, communication has worsened between employees and APS’s top leaders.
Teachers Union Takes Legal Action Over Sac City Unified’s ‘Refusal’ To Address Make-Up Days Related To Strike
May 20, 2022 // The teachers union said it raised the need to address make-up days on April 3, when they negotiated with SCUSD to settle and end the eight-day strike. Fisher said SCUSD has been “slow-walking” discussions related to the make-up days.
PROVISO TEACHERS’ UNION REJECTS TRUCE AS STRIKE KEEPS 4,200 STUDENTS OUT FOR 8 DAYS
March 21, 2022 // The Proviso teachers’ union declared the strike over compensation March 4, canceling classes for the district’s 4,200 students for 8 days so far. The local school board tried to call a time-out to get students back in class, but the union refused.
Mount Diablo Unified teachers threaten to strike
March 20, 2022 // District has offered 7% raise over three years; union wants almost twice that