Public Union Democracy
Teachers’ Unions Influence and the Politics of Education
Get ready for a riveting episode of Disunion: The Government Union Report! Host David Osborne is joined by The Daily Signal Investigative Columnist and WIBC radio host Tony Kennett for…
Read More: Teachers’ Unions Influence and the Politics of EducationCompulsory 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
Union Bosses Fight to Stay Relevant
Labor unions are so livid that the Democratic Party is having its national convention in North Carolina—a right to work state, and the country’s least unionized—that they are staging…
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Read More: Union Bosses Fight to Stay RelevantPublic Union Democracy
Unions Spent $4 Billion Nationally on Politics Since 2005
Labor unions spend four times more than originally estimated on politics and lobbying, reports the Wall Street Journal, making them a formidable behemoth in state and national elections. In…
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Read More: Unions Spent $4 Billion Nationally on Politics Since 2005Public Union Democracy
Unions Fight Flexible Funding
Gov. Corbett’s budget proposed combining five county human services programs into one flexible block grant. In the past, state legislation dictated how much counties could spend under each category, regardless…
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Read More: Unions Fight Flexible FundingPublic Union Democracy
Voters: Limit Government Spending!
In a recent poll, Susquehanna Polling and Research asked 700 registered Pennsylvania voters if they would support limiting the growth of state government spending—legislation similar to the…
Media
Read More: Voters: Limit Government Spending!Education
Why Public Opinion is Turning on Teachers’ Unions
Gil Spencer of the Delaware County Times penned a perceptive column yesterday on the waning popularity of teachers’ unions—and how an angry public is wising up to the unions’…
Media
Read More: Why Public Opinion is Turning on Teachers’ UnionsGovernment Accountability
Why Walker’s Win Pushes Principled Pa. Policies
Make no mistake, Wisconsin is sending a message to the Keystone State. If you are a Pennsylvania politician, that message is loud, clear and ignored only at your own peril.
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Read More: Why Walker’s Win Pushes Principled Pa. PoliciesGovernment Accountability
Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin Politics
Want to find out how the Pennsylvania State Education Association is spending teachers’ dues? You chould check out the state of Wisconsin’s campaign finance disclosure site. That’s right, the…
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Read More: Pa. Teachers Forced to Pay for Wisconsin PoliticsPublic Union Democracy
The Booze Business is a Lose Business for Taxpayers
I heard on the radio this week another ridiculous ad against allowing retail stores to sell wine or liquor, funded by UFCW dues to play on stations across…
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Read More: The Booze Business is a Lose Business for TaxpayersPublic Union Democracy
Pennsylvania’s Pension Iceberg
Laura Olson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story on the crisis in Pennsylvania’s public pensions, and Gov. Corbett injecting pension reform into the budget discussion: Even with…
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Read More: Pennsylvania’s Pension IcebergPublic Union Democracy
Prevailing Wage Pummels Another School District
We’ve reported before about how Pennsylvania’s outdated prevailing wage law imposes needless extra construction costs on local governments and school districts across the commonwealth, hurting taxpayers. The law requires…
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Read More: Prevailing Wage Pummels Another School DistrictEducation
Union Guts More Teaching Jobs
Yes, the chickens are truly coming home to roost. But before status quo apologists cry ‘fowl,’ economic realities due to union strong-arm tactics and unsustainable benefits programs…
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Read More: Union Guts More Teaching JobsEducation
Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?
The Patriot-News published my letter that questions whether teacher unions protect teachers. Union lobbying to create an unsustainable pension program is directly connected to the Central Dauphin School Board’s…
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Read More: Who are Teacher Unions Protecting?Public Union Democracy
Union Party Speaks: Defend Union Agenda
We’ve mentioned many times that the real party controlling the Pennsylvania legislature is not the Republican Party, but rather the Union Party. Today, in a story by the Pittsburgh…
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Read More: Union Party Speaks: Defend Union AgendaGovernment Accountability
Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think Again
Government unions often defend their dues—and the fact that taxpayers subsidize the collection of dues—by claiming dues cannot be used for politics. That is not the case. Union dues cannot…
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Read More: Think Government Union Dues aren’t Used for Politics? Think AgainEducation
I’m Bringing Some Gumbo to the State Capitol
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal refused to let government unions push him around. His reward? A sweet victory not just for himself, but for the taxpayers, parents, and students of…
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Read More: I’m Bringing Some Gumbo to the State CapitolPublic Union Democracy
Time for Prevailing Wage Reform | Support HB 1329
The Pennsylvania House of Representatives may soon vote on legislation that will update the half-century-old Prevailing Wage Law that adds zero value to the taxpayers but costs us a bundle…
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Read More: Time for Prevailing Wage Reform | Support HB 1329Education
Education Spending: The Rest of the Story
Since Gov. Corbett's budget proposal, those who profit from Pennsylvania's $26 billion a year public school system have been gnashing teeth over what they claim is an "underfunding" of the…
Commentary
Read More: Education Spending: The Rest of the StoryPublic Union Democracy
Six Ways Prevailing Wage Increases Taxpayers’ Costs
This week, the Pennsylvania House is set (yet again) to consider basic reforms to Pennsylvania’s outdated prevailing wage law, which mandates that union-scale wages be paid on taxpayer-funded construction projects…
Media
Read More: Six Ways Prevailing Wage Increases Taxpayers’ CostsEducation
Violent, Failing Schools Will Lead to Unsafe, Ailing America
That’s the upshot of a story in this morning’s Wall Street Journal. It begins: Flaws in U.S. schools are increasingly causing a national-security risk, producing adults without the…
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Read More: Violent, Failing Schools Will Lead to Unsafe, Ailing AmericaPublic Union Democracy
Public Schools Can Do More with Less – If We Let Them
As families across Pennsylvania try to figure out how to do more with less in this difficult economy, our local public schools must also do the same. But unlike fiscally…
Commentary
Read More: Public Schools Can Do More with Less – If We Let ThemPublic Union Democracy
Big Bucks for Government Union Bosses
Union bosses frequently criticize corporate CEOs and government leaders for supposedly taking home hefty pay at workers’ expense. Just this week, protesters picketed House Majority Whip Stan Saylor’s office…
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