Long-Term Union Membership Trends: Give Colo. Teachers Greater Choice

by Ben | 11:27 pm, January 29, 2013

Last week the U.S. Department of Labor released new numbers showing that nationally union membership is on the decline. And not only in the private sector, which has been on a decades-long downward trajectory. Three years ago the nation crossed a historic threshold, as union members in private industry were outnumbered by their public sector [...]

Bargaining Bill Would Force CEA to Confront Local Control Hobgoblin

by Ben DeGrow | 10:56 pm, December 17, 2012

The 19th century American individualist Ralph Waldo Emerson once famously declared, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” This coming legislative session might just give teachers union leaders a chance to confront their own hobgoblin — choosing whether to embrace it or banish it far away. Rumors persist that the American Federation of [...]

Going Further than Right-to-Work to Relieve Labor Leaders’ Burdens

by Ben DeGrow | 12:28 pm, December 7, 2012

Earlier this week I told you that it looked like Right-to-Work legislation was coming to the Big Labor stronghold of Michigan. And has it ever come quickly! Some of Wisconsin’s early 2011 scenes played out yesterday at the State Capitol, as protestors thronged and chanted favorites like, “A people united will never be defeated!” and [...]

Bucking Colorado’s Example, Could Michigan Soon Adopt Right-to-Work?

by Ben DeGrow | 6:10 pm, December 1, 2012

When it comes to freedom of association, Colorado workers soon may have good reason to envy their Michigan counterparts. The Washington Times recently reported some developing momentum for a Right-to-Work law in the Great Lakes State: The possible push in the state Legislature’s lame-duck session has already sparked a battle, as a coalition of about [...]

Dougco 2013 Showdown Could Lead to Wisconsin-Like Vindication, Or….

by Ben DeGrow | 11:11 am, November 30, 2012

For the past couple years, Wisconsin has been the locus of the political battle to weaken public-sector union power. After Gov. Scott Walker not only survived but thrived amid a failed recall election, conservatives breathed a sigh of relief. Most prominently, the costly but decisive victory revived hopes that fiscal sanity and a sense of [...]

The Ultimate Improvement to Teachers Union’s “Every Member Option” Annual Political Refund: Ask Members First

by Ben DeGrow | 10:44 pm, November 27, 2012

It’s funny how so many of those Colorado teachers union deadlines fall at inconvenient times. Want to sign up for one of the Colorado education Association’s local affiliates? You can do it any time. Want to opt out of union membership, perhaps to choose a different membership option? Well, finding the exact dates you can [...]

Union Concessions Not So…Concessional

by Joshua Sharf | 1:35 am, June 24, 2012

This morning, the Douglas County Federation of Teachers responded to the School Board’s thoughts on the state of contract negotiations. The response is notable, because it appears to walk back a number of concessions that the union had made in earlier negotiations. The union’s justification, laid out in a letter to its membership (see below), [...]

VIDEO: Big Labor “Shames” & Blended Learning

by Jon Caldara | 10:53 am, June 5, 2012

Have you seen Big Labor attempting to “shame” companies publically for “labor disputes.” Turns out, it’s a bunch of nonsense most of the time and extremely deceitful marketing. Go figure!

What the heck is blended learning? Can’t children only learn when facing a teacher standing in front of a chalkboard? No way says Ben DeGrow and [...]

Boom and Bust in Stockton, California

by Bob Adelmann | 11:15 am, April 4, 2012

This is a lesson in economics that politicians, and other more humble folk, never learn. I call it “straight line thinking in a curvilinear world.”

White House Jobs Growth Celebration is Premature

by Bob Adelmann | 10:26 am, March 13, 2012

How typical: taking only the numbers that support their point of view and calling them true and complete. Thank goodness for the internet where such half-truths can be exposed to the light of day.

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