Compulsory public unions threaten individual worker rights and cost taxpayers billions. Reforms to the Pennsylvania Public Employee Relations Act are needed to restore and protect workers’ rights. No one—including government employees—should be blocked from leaving a union. To increase government integrity and accountability, policies should be adopted that ensure all special interests groups, including government unions, interact with the state government on a level playing field.

Public Union Democracy

“Money in Politics” Fosters Big Government

  • Nathan Benefield
  • September 3, 2013

You probably hear a lot about “money in politics,” but rarely do pundits correctly identify the largest source of special interest political spending.  According to a new report, big labor…

Media

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Health Care

Burdens of Obamacare – Commentary

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 30, 2013

Say you’re working your way through college, supplementing student loans with a part-time job managing inventory at Wegmans. You make a decent hourly wage, but your health insurance benefits are…

Commentary

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Education

Unions First, Teachers & Students Last

  • August 29, 2013

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers (PFT) might take legal action against the School District of Philadelphia for … wait for it … hiring back teachers. The Philadelphia School Reform Commission…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

One Marshamallow Now or Taxpayer Relief Later?

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • August 27, 2013

What do preschoolers with marshmallows and Pennsylvania’s pension crisis have in common? Both demonstrate a failure to delay gratification. Dr. Joseph Horton at Grove City College compares Pennsylvania’s pension…

Media

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Education

Five Facts on the Philadelphia Schools Crisis

  • Priya Brannick
  • August 22, 2013

Things have reached a fever pitch in Philadelphia as the city’s school district—the eighth-largest in America—is scrambling to close its $300 million deficit and open schools on time. As protestors…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Who’s Strangling Whom?

  • Charles Mitchell
  • August 7, 2013

Jodi Hirsh wants you to believe that a shadowy, deep-pocketed, Washington-based organization called the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) has a “stranglehold on our statehouse.”  That’s the claim Ms. Hirsh,…

Media

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Education

PSEA’s Political Cartoon Targets Corbett, Belittles Teachers

  • August 1, 2013

This perspective was written by Steve Calabro, a cyber charter school educator in Pennsylvania. This latest political email alert from the Pennsylvania State Education Association—using union dues, I might add—is…

Media

Read More: PSEA’s Political Cartoon Targets Corbett, Belittles Teachers

Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Break Cities

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 30, 2013

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal illustrates how government union leaders halted any reforms that may have prevented Detroit’s bankruptcy: A major expense for Detroit is the…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Big Government Party Blocks Bold Reforms

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • July 8, 2013

Why haven’t liquor privatization and pension reform passed yet here in Pennsylvania? The reason is that the true divide in the General Assembly is not between the Republicans and Democrats,…

Commentary

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Public Union Democracy

Government Unions Torpedo Agenda

  • Nathan Benefield
  • July 3, 2013

The state budget deadline came and went without passage of any of the “Big Three” policy items—liquor store privatization, pension reform, or transportation tax and fee increases. It was clear…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Disappointing Budget Shows Need to Keep Fighting

  • Matthew Brouillette
  • July 1, 2013

This past weekend was not for the political faint of heart. Special interests, led by government union bosses and crony capitalists, prevented real liquor privatization and effective pension reform from…

Media

Read More: Disappointing Budget Shows Need to Keep Fighting

Education

Happy National Employee Freedom Week, America

  • Priya Brannick
  • June 24, 2013

National Employee Freedom Week is about informing workers about their rights and empowering them to exercise their freedoms.  Ultimately, there are ways for workers to leave the Hotel California. We…

Commentary

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Public Union Democracy

Budget Opens Door for Prevailing Wage Reform

  • Elizabeth Stelle
  • June 20, 2013

Before taxpayers are asked to give more for Pennsylvania’s transportation needs, are current transportation tax dollars being spent wisely? That’s the question several lawmakers are asking, as time winds down…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Nation Laughs at Pennsylvania

  • Nathan Benefield
  • June 20, 2013

The state government liquor store union is once again running ads showing a young girl at a funeral mourning a parent killed by a drunk driver, then claiming this will…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Will Switching to a 401(k) Plan Cost You More?

  • May 31, 2013

Pennsylvania needs pension reform that provides state workers with a sustainable retirement system that’s fair to new workers, existing employees and taxpayers. What are our options? The current system is…

Media

Read More: Will Switching to a 401(k) Plan Cost You More?

Public Union Democracy

Pension Crisis Facts: Are 401(k)s Enough?

  • May 24, 2013

Pennsylvania needs pension reform that provides state workers with a sustainable retirement system that’s fair to new workers, existing employees and taxpayers. What are our options? The current system is…

Media

Read More: Pension Crisis Facts: Are 401(k)s Enough?

Public Union Democracy

Reckless Scheme or Reckless Ad?

  • Nathan Benefield
  • May 13, 2013

The United Food and Commercial Workers Union (UFCW) is spending a million in order to save a million—every year! The UFCW announced a $1 million statewide television ad buy attacking…

Media

Read More: Reckless Scheme or Reckless Ad?

Public Union Democracy

Of Unions and “Limited Resources”

  • April 5, 2013

After a lament in the American Prospect about how the Left is being outmatched and left behind in state-based advocacy, now The Nation has chimed in with its…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Union Poured Member Dues into Defeating Liquor Privatization

  • Priya Brannick
  • April 3, 2013

They’re a familiar sight in the state Capitol, wearing mustard-colored T-shirts emblazoned with their union’s logo. Now the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has reported on how United Food and Commercial Workers…

Media

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Public Union Democracy

Temper Tantrums Taint Liquor Debate

  • March 15, 2013

My four-year old niece likes to get her own way. When things going south—she has to take a nap, or worse, Dora the Explorer is over—no matter how much you…

Media

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