Posts tagged United Teachers of Los Angeles
The Problem(s) With Public Sector Unions
March 29, 2023 // Regardless of this contract outcome and which sides can claim victory, serious questions arise regarding the advisability of having public sector unions such as the SEIU, UTLA, et. al. in existence at all and their ability to collectively bargain and launch strikes against essentially the taxpayers of any given public jurisdiction. In the case of the recent LAUSD strike, 420,000 students and their families were held hostage by public sector unions in a school district already beset by financial and other woes. According to LAUSD superintendent Alberto Carvalho, what the union sought would have put the school district on the brink of insolvency. Also, the strike itself precluded many disadvantaged students from receiving necessary daily meals that their families count on. Most importantly, a school district still reeling from the effects of a Covid-induced school lockdown just could not afford three more days of non-instruction. Arguably, the LAUSD is already a floundering if not failing district with ever-increasing taxpayer spending in spite of withering enrollment and diminishing student performance. It is to be noted that the demographics of the American union have changed dramatically over the years. While at one time the predominance of union membership was mostly among private sector blue collar workers, the ratios have flip-flopped where now the greatest numbers are not only in the public sector but are also associated with white collar employees. It should be further noted that public sector unions were once illegal in the United States.
UNIONS’ STRIKE HURTS L.A. STUDENTS AND FAMILIES
March 20, 2023 // The unions are demanding huge pay raises despite financial reports showing LAUSD is already upside down $16.4 billion. Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 99 is demanding a whopping 30% increase in wages for school employees like bus drivers and cafeteria workers. United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA) is also joining the strike, seeking a 20% raise for teachers. “The unions strike and close down schools regardless of how much it will hurt students and their families,” said Lance Christensen, Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs at California Policy Center.
OP-ED: LAUSD’s unions could support policies to help all Californians
March 14, 2023 // According to the SEIU, the average annual salary for the 30,000 LAUSD service workers they represent is $25,000. But that includes all service workers, from part-time to full-time. About 75% of the members work fewer than eight hours per day, and with school in session only 180 days, or 36 weeks per year, even many of the workers with “full-time hours” are off for up to 16 weeks per year. Union representatives themselves acknowledge LAUSD’s reliance on a part-time workforce. But it raises an uncomfortable question that applies to teachers as well: If K-12 schools in California operate for the equivalent of just 36 full weeks per year, is it reasonable for people working in these schools to expect to earn enough to cover a full year of expenses? Similarly, if some of the service jobs require a worker for only a few hours each day, how can the district’s taxpayers afford to pay them for a full day?
Opinion: Public employee unions corrupt our system of government
February 14, 2023 // For an editorial in the Orange County Register at the time, I called Chapter 224 head Ronda Walen, who wrote the above statement on the union website. I asked if it was fair for the union to elect “our own bosses.” “Yes, I think it is,” she replied. “In a democracy, we have the right to do that.” Actually, using the voters’ own tax money to push candidates and positions on them is a violation of democracy, which is rule by the people — all of them. Not just a few union bosses living off taxes forcibly taken from everybody else, and funding pro