Posts tagged teachers union
This Week’s Teachers Union Report Card: NEA-Alaska Sues to Kill Correspondence Study Program
May 7, 2024 // Anchorage Superior Court judge Adolf Zeman ruled in April that the state-funded correspondence programs used by over 22,000 students are unconstitutional. Unless the Alaska legislature drafts a new correspondence study program law, students will lose access to the popular educational option. The union is celebrating shutting down opportunities for thousands of students. Union president Tom Klaameyer described the lawsuit’s outcome as “a big win.” When filing the complaint last year, the NEA-Alaska leader declared, “We want to make sure all of the public money that is rightfully allocated to the public school system stays within the public school system.”
Commentary: The Teachers’ Unions Are More Political than Ever
April 18, 2024 // Americans for Fair Treatment, a national nonprofit organization that educates public employees about their rights in a unionized workplace, recently released a report detailing the National Education Association’s (NEA) financial filings from Sept. 1, 2022, through Aug. 31, 2023. The NEA declared that its political spending totaled $50.1 million during the fiscal year, though the true number is much higher. During the most recent reporting period, the union disclosed that it spent “$126.3 million on ‘contributions, gifts, and grants,’ which is where most unions detail their charitable giving.” However, a closer look at the union’s “contributions, gifts, and grants” shows that the NEA is directing more money towards political causes than it reports.
OREGON: Salem-Keizer teachers union to take strike vote next week, could strike early April
March 13, 2024 // “If there is a teachers strike, unfortunately, our schools would have to close. We simply cannot keep them open without our licensed staff, and so this means a few things, it’s time for families to start preparing for that possibility. We will not be able to serve students in our buildings,” she said.
After decades of corruption Florida teachers seek new union with integrity
February 25, 2024 // “I noted that the increase in union dues and health care costs were not matched by commensurate salary improvements,” Beightol said. “I began investigating what was going on.” Around the same time, former UTD president Pat Tornillo was arrested for swindling the union out of millions of dollars. Beightol unsuccessfully ran for president of UTD twice, before being expelled for “anti-union” behavior.
Racially charged comment by teachers union leader fans flames of teacher pay controversy
February 8, 2024 // In the labor board records, Clark County Education Association Executive Director John Vellardita said the union opposed the one-time adjustment/lookback because, "It would only benefit white suburban teachers." That does not take into account the many minority veteran teachers working throughout the Clark County School District. The document further says CCEA, "Never walked back the racially inappropriate basis for opposing the one-time adjustment/lookback." CCSD sent us a statement Wednesday afternoon which says, "Nevada and federal law forbid race-based discrimination by local government employers or unions. We presume the CCEA board will have to explain to teachers and the community if they stand by Mr. Vellardita's statement.
OREGON: Portland teachers union reaches tentative deal
December 3, 2023 // The tentative agreement includes a 13.8% cost-of-living increase over three years, creates new class-size thresholds, increases planning time, and provides additional support for mental and behavioral health. At the end of the three-year contract, more than 50% of district teachers will be making over $100,000. During the strike, union members rallied outside the homes and workplaces of school board members, as well as the Oregon Convention Center. A leader of another top union in Oregon who asked to remain anonymous said it isn’t surprising that PAT chose to act aggressively. They explained, “PAT is to the left of OEA [Oregon Education Association].”
PENNSYLVANIA: Shapiro Appoints Teachers’ Union Fox to Oversee PA’s Pension Henhouse
November 30, 2023 // espite that huge infusion of money, however, the plan reported a $40 billion deficit, and retirees had not seen a benefit increase in nine years. Meanwhile, according to The Inquirer, PSERS “is still paying lawyers to deal with the fallout of a scandal touched off by an exaggerated profit report and scrutinized land deals. More than $6 million has been paid already, and ongoing litigation suggests an internal probe that coincided with investigations by federal authorities left some unanswered questions. The PSERS fund is also offloading $1.4 billion in “directly owned real estate,” some of it priced at a loss, but officials wouldn't say how much of the proceeds would go to the agency or how it might be reinvested.”
A Tale of Two Teachers’ Unions
November 17, 2023 // Efforts to decertify the teachers’ union in Miami are possible because conservatives won elections and passed a good law that limits public-sector unions’ power. States with conservative governments should follow Florida’s lead and pass similar laws. States with progressive governments will continue to struggle under the burden of unrepresentative teachers’ unions.
Andover cancels classes for third day as teachers strike continues; union fined $50K
November 14, 2023 // The announcement from the Andover School Committee came hours after an Essex Superior Court judge ruled that the union representing Andover educators will face incremental fines if teachers continue their strike, which began Friday. Advertisement A court order states that if the strike did not end by 6 p.m. Monday, the Andover Education Association would be fined $50,000. The court order also states that if the strike remains ongoing by 3 p.m. Tuesday, the union will be fined another $60,000 and faces fines that will be increased by an additional $10,000 for every day the strike continues.
Commentary: Dade Teachers’ Union Looks to the Failed Policies of Chicago for Salvation
November 10, 2023 // Taking a look at financial statements from the NEA, its priorities are unmistakably clear. Almost a third of its budget is devoted to politics and political organizations. A quarter goes toward officer salaries and benefits, while a mere five percent is spent on representing NEA members. In real dollars, the NEA spends $13 per member per year actually representing its members. Last year, the union spent almost twice as much on benefits for its own employees as it did on representing NEA’s three million members. Teachers are smart, and the realization that more than half of their dues is sent out of the district to fund the NEA’s massive bureaucracy and political agenda is bound to trigger questions the union can’t answer.