NEA

Pennsylvania Teacher Union Bosses Fight to Protect their Stranglehold on Keystone State Schools, Teachers

Will Collins — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:44:55 -0400

Via the Education Intelligence Agency, we learn that (surprise!) Pennsylvania teacher unions oppose attempts to improve public education through the enactment of reforms that could threaten the teacher union monopoly and forced-dues gravy train (emphasis mine):

Foundation Defends Ohio Religious Objectors

Will Collins — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 16:51:35 -0400

Here's our latest press release on the Foundation's efforts to defend the rights of religious objectors to refrain from supporting union activities that offend their deeply-held beliefs:

Cincinnati, Ohio (September 24, 2008) – National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation staff attorneys recently obtained settlements with the National Education Association (NEA) union for two teachers whose consciences would not allow them to pay mandatory dues to support a union involved in activities they consider immoral. Geralyn Buening and Tessy Huwer, both practicing Catholics, objected to the NEA’s positions on abortion and special rights for homosexuals.

read more

NEA Bigwig Owes Teachers an Apology

Nick Cote — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 16:13:14 -0400

Considering the record electioneering by Big Labor in 2008, it should be no surprise that union bosses were well-represented at this week's convention. NEA President Reg Weaver was one of the many union officials awarded for his union's political expenditures with a prime speaking slot.

Larry Sand, a teacher for 27 years and former NEA member, sent Weaver an e-mail after listening to a gross misrepresentation of reality in Weaver's DNC speech:

NEA Union to Dump Up to $50 Million into '08 Elections

Justin Hakes — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 11:02:45 -0500

According to The Hill, NEA union officials are gearing up for an effort to dump between $40-$50 million dollars, much of it in compulsory union dues, into the 2008 elections. NEA chief Reg Weaver leaves no doubt about it:

“We plan to be very aggressive,” said Reg Weaver, the NEA’s president.

Perhaps many teachers would be better off if the NEA union and its affiliates were not so aggressive. For instance, the Ohio branch of the NEA told St. Marys district school teacher Carol Katter to "change religions" when she asserted her right to divert her mandatory dues from political causes she disagrees with on religious grounds.

However, with help from the National Right to Work Foundation, Katter struck down an Ohio law preventing such "religious objectors" from diverting such forced dues to charity unless they belonged to certain state-approved religions.

"I was not going to give one cent to those causes," Katter told the Ohio media. "I know where NEA money goes, and I never wanted to be part of that."

Forced Unionism Doesn’t Add Up for Math and Science Teachers

John Powell — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 12:15:22 -0500

A new study conducted by the National Institute for Labor RelationsResearch (NILRR) explains how monopolistic teacher unionism is undercutting math and science education across America.

Stan Greer, senior research associate at NILRR, discusses entrenched teacher union officials and their influence over the “single salary schedule” used to determine teacher pay rates:

And teacher union officials have so far been very successful in blocking significant reforms of the single salary schedule because of state and local public policies authorizing them to act as the “exclusive” (monopoly) bargaining agents of all the K-12 teachers in a school district.

Visit the NILRR’s website here and download the full report here.