Happy Fourth of July! While the rest of America is celebrating Independence Day, the national teachers’ union is conducting a day of business during its annual four-day Representative Assembly. This…
Does middle-class America need unions?
I would think, by now, the political ideology of the teachers’ union is all but well known, as is its track record of spending significant dollars on politics. A recent…
The Circle of Education Funding is playing out in real life all over the state. Today’s edition finds us in St. Paul where union teachers have authorized a strike that…
Greta Callahan, President of the Minneapolis Federation of Teachers Local 59, just announced she is running for an open seat on the Minneapolis school board. If she wins, she will…
The Rochester School District is living out the Circle of Education Funding right before our very eyes as the school board just offered their union teachers a contract they absolutely…
With news that the St. Paul Federation of Educators has authorized a strike vote, I wanted to write (again) about how salary increases work under the union’s salary schedule within…
National government unions spent $13.2 million on politics in Minnesota, with the national teacher unions the top spenders, according to a recent report by the Commonwealth Foundation. The four largest…
Five years after a landmark SCOTUS decision, public employees continue exercising their restored freedom of association.
(And no, they are not using the non-pejorative British definition of scheme, which means a plan or system for doing or organizing something.) In a new attack on educational freedom…
Each year, Education Minnesota charges member teachers and education support professionals (ESPs) $25.00 for its political action committee (PAC). PAC money is spent on political parties, candidates, and other political…
It’s MEA weekend in Minnesota, which means schools statewide cancel two days of learning in deference to the annual meeting of Education Minnesota, the state’s most powerful public employee union.…
There is no doubt that teachers’ unions have a vested interest in the American public school system. As the exclusive representative of the system’s key employees — teachers — and…
Educators’ once-a-year-only opportunity to evaluate their relationship with the teachers’ union will end this Saturday, Sept. 30. If you are a Minnesota educator and have decided that union membership is…
September is the month for educators to evaluate their relationship with the teachers’ union and decide if union membership is right for them. If teachers do not feel that being…
For most Minnesota teachers, September is back to school season (some returned in August), and as I wrote here, it’s also the only annual opportunity educators get to evaluate their…
It’s that time of year again — back to school! As teachers organize school supplies, establish classroom routines, and anticipate what the new school year will bring, they have something…
It’s one of the busiest times of the year for teachers — back to school! It’s also the only annual opportunity educators get to evaluate their relationship with the teachers’…
Three-term state Rep. Ruth Richardson (DFL-Mendota Heights) abruptly resigned via Twitter (X) last night, as the long Labor Day weekend began. Little additional explanation was given for her sudden departure.…
In 2018, Minnesota public employees were freed from financially supporting a government union in order to keep their job (Janus v. AFSCME). Since then, nearly 32 percent of public workers…
While government workers’ rights regarding union membership were restored in 2018, barriers still remain. Not all public employees know their options and alternatives or have access to resources to help them make…
Likely unbeknownst to many (including me, originally) the National Education Association — the largest teachers’ union in the country — has a federal charter that was issued by the U.S.…
It is baffling to me that teachers’ union leadership continues to resort to name-calling when educators decide union membership isn’t the right decision for them. First, I am not aware…
Gov. Tim Walz doesn’t seem to understand the definition of the word “ban.” Earlier this year, Walz repeatedly claimed the state of Florida was banning books. This was easily debunked…