Teachers Unions — End Them, Don't Mend Them
Dear John,
Teachers perform miracles every day and their impact on generations of children can be profound. It’s easy to understand why they are so loved and respected.
But don’t confuse teachers with teachers' unions. In concept, teachers uniting together to negotiate on behalf of their colleagues over issues of salary, benefits, and conditions in the classroom makes sense. However, there is a dark underside to these unions.
Full-time teachers pay about a thousand dollars per year in dues. Extrapolate those fees and California teachers’ unions at all levels — local, state and federal — rake in between $200 to $300 million dollars a year for advocacy, lobbying and political campaigns.
That is a lot of cash that doesn’t go to academics.
Futurist Jerry Pournelle described our conundrum in what he dubbed “The Iron Law of Bureaucracy”: Those “devoted to the goals of the organization,” such as dedicated classroom teachers, are eventually overtaken by “those dedicated to the organization itself” — like entrenched administrators in the education system or teachers' union officials.
In this way, teachers’ unions have captured California’s public schools.
While many teachers go into the noble profession to enlighten young minds and mold them into engaged civic beings, the union undercuts the best teachers and protects the worst. Add short tenure laws and a convoluted dismissal process to the mix and it’s nearly impossible to dismiss problematic teachers because of how vigorously the union defends them.
And when budgets need to be cut, the state’s last-in, first-out policy sends new, bright, and innovative teachers to the curb regardless of how well they perform in the classroom.
Despite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in the 2018 Janus case that liberated union members from being obligated to pay dues, many teachers keep paying them.
Why do decent teachers keep paying the thousand dollars per year in membership dues when they know it could be spent in other places and represents a significant amount of money over a 30-year career?
Fear of retaliation.
As any public school teacher can tell you, the place teachers dread the most is the teachers’ lounges. Most teachers are agreeable people and try to avoid sensationalism and conflict in the teachers’ lounge. Fewer still want anything to do with the organizing that regularly comes around the time that a contract is up for renewal and they are going to be forced to strike against their own wishes.
Teachers know that strikes hurt the poorest and neediest kids the most and that collective bargaining agreements are not for the benefit of students.
If we want schools to succeed, let's take a short hiatus from talking about teacher salaries, classroom sizes, and the latest teaching fads. Instead, let’s focus on deposing the teachers' union leaders who highlight these issues but can never seem to improve the education of their students despite hundreds of millions of dollars flowing into their political coffers every year.
In fact, go one step further — let’s help our forlorn and intimidated teachers out of their union so they can stop paying an organization to work against their beliefs.
Read the full article by Lance Christensen, CPC’s Vice President of Education Policy and Government Affairs, in The Epoch Times. To learn more about leaving your union, visit mypaymysay.com.
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Last call for CPC's Parent Union Legislative Summit
California Policy Center's second annual Parent Union Legislative Summit —Parents, Not Partisans— is next week. If you haven't registered yet, there's still time! Join us in Sacramento Wednesday, February 8 - Thursday, February 9, 2023 to hear from legislators, school board members, parent group leaders, and education experts from around the state on the most important education issues for 2023.
On Wednesday, February 8th, from 9:30am - 4:30pm, summit attendees will hear from our speakers on how to: Activate parents in your district to hold new school boards accountable; Stand up to the teachers' unions in defending our K-12 schools; Advance critical education issues such as literacy and math competencies; Make an impact in the state legislature in 2023 and much more!
After the event, we hope you'll join us to relax, have fun and network with summit participants at a special evening reception at 5:30pm.
Then, on Thursday, February 9th, from 9:00am - 1:00pm, summit attendees will visit the State Capitol with fellow advocates for a roundtable discussion with key legislative staff and meetings with legislators.
Register for this free two-day event with promo code "ParentUnion."
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CLEO's Leadership Academy trains local elected officials in good governance
Have you enrolled in CLEO's new virtual Leadership Academy? Whether you're a newly-elected local official or school board member, or are already faithfully serving your constituents in office, the CLEO Leadership Academy is for everyone who is personally committed to bringing accountability, transparency and prosperity to California's cities, counties and districts.
The self-paced online training and certification program consists of 15 modules on the principles and practice of good governance taught by experienced elected officials, municipal staff, public policy experts and attorneys.
Pete Peterson, Dean of Pepperdine University's School of Public Policy and one of California’s foremost experts in public policy and local governments, consulted on the project and has endorsed the curriculum:
"California Policy Center continues to provide expert insights and mentoring on issues of good governance. The state is better served when local elected officials can participate in a training program that is accessible, thoughtful and relevant in their commitment to delivering the best public service for taxpayers. CLEO's Leadership Academy training does just that and I encourage those with public responsibilities to avail themselves of this course."
Register for the free training with promo code "CPCFREE" at calelecteds.org.
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Radio Free California #262: Tyre Nichols and the California Exodus
Tyre Nichols was a Sacramento skater kid who left California because of the high cost of living for Memphis, where he was killed earlier this month by five black police officers. CPC president Will Swaim and CPC board member David Bahnsen discuss the tragedy and the mental gymnastics of those blaming racism. Listen now.
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California's Litigation Dystopia
Video-game company Activision prevailed in court over the California Civil Rights Department, which has long been preying on businesses in the name of social justice (and revenue). The case spotlights the vicious feeding cycle that sometimes only a federal judge can stop. Read CPC president Will Swaim's article.
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The Great Parent Revolt against CRT
Critical Race Theory (CRT) is "among the most divisive doctrines to ever threaten America’s schoolchildren, and it has sparked an unprecedented grassroots uprising of parents," says Pacific Research Institute's Lance Izumi, co-author of The Great Parent Revolt: How Parents and Grassroots Leaders are Fighting Critical Race Theory in America’s Schools. Read Lance Izumi's article.
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