Media

Your Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics

• December 5, 2013

As a teacher, you love being told what to think, right? That’s unlikely, but it’s exactly what the PSEA has been doing with union members across the state…

Media

Public Union Democracy

Union Gave $650,000 from Teachers’ Dues to Anti-Republican Group

• Priya Brannick
• December 5, 2013

Remember the shadowy group, Pennsylvanians for Accountability, which ran “shell game” prime time attack ads on Gov. Tom Corbett for “bankrolling big tax cuts for his corporate backers”?  The…

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Public Union Democracy

Detroit Warning: Reform Needed to Save Pensions

• Elizabeth Stelle
• December 4, 2013

“They are going to take away your pension!” is a common scare tactic used by Pennsylvania government union leaders to oppose pension reform (even though private school unions have…

Media

John R. Bouder: Treat cyber schools fairly in Pennsylvania

• December 4, 2013

Media Hit

Corrections reinvention

• December 4, 2013

Media Hit

Grants aren’t the same old payouts, Corbett says

• December 4, 2013

Media Hit

Regulation

Not in the Holiday Spirit(s)

• December 3, 2013

If you like a good deal, nothing beats shopping during the holidays. Retailers will do whatever it takes—sales, coupons, early bird specials—to get an edge over their competition, all to…

Media

State Senate should reject misnamed “charter school reform” bill: James Hanak

• December 3, 2013

Media Hit

Public Union Democracy

What Teachers Are Saying About Union Reform

• Priya Brannick
• December 2, 2013

One teacher called it “a kick in the teeth.” Another used the word “extortion.” What are these teachers talking about? The practice in Pennsylvania of teachers’ union dues…

Media

Medicaid is high cost for low quality

• December 2, 2013

Media Hit

State Corrections boss Wetzel wants fewer prisoners

• December 1, 2013

Media Hit

Public Union Democracy

Podcast: Would You Join Matt’s Education Association?

• November 27, 2013

For a small annual fee of $669, you can join Matt’s political organization called the MEA—Matt’s Education Association. You’ll join? Great! Don’t worry about writing a check. Government will withhold…

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Public Union Democracy

Teachers Decry Unions’ “Unfair” Privilege

• Priya Brannick
• November 27, 2013

Ellwood City public school teacher John Cress is speaking up against the forced political speech he had to pay for via his union dues to the Pennsylvania State Education Association:…

Media

Freind: Corbett’s Gas Tax: His Path To Single Digit Approval

• November 26, 2013

Media Hit

Public Union Democracy

Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics (Again)

• Priya Brannick
• November 26, 2013

Last week we highlighted a number of election-related ads the Pennsylvania State Education Association paid for using its members’ dues money—without their permission or knowledge. The state’s largest teachers…

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Taxes & Economy

Mailbag: Is Pennsylvania Taxed Too Little?

• November 21, 2013

In response to a blog post on Pennsylvania’s bleak budget future, a reader took issue with the claim that Pennsylvania has the 10th highest state and local tax…

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Public Union Democracy

Union Dues Pay for PSEA Politics

• Priya Brannick
• November 21, 2013

“If you DON’T care about funds for your school…then by all means throw this away,” reads a June 2011 insert in PSEA Voice, the magazine of the 185,000-strong Pennsylvania…

Media

Welfare

Protect the Poor, Not Lotto Winners

• Elizabeth Stelle
• November 20, 2013

Jamie Frankford won $330,000 in the Pennsylvania lottery in 2012, yet continued to collect child care subsidies and Medicaid benefits. Her story, reported by Chris Papst at CBS21, caught…

Media

How public unions divert taxpayer resources for political gain

• November 20, 2013

Media Hit

Get rich quick! Start your own union: Matthew J. Brouillette

• November 20, 2013

Media Hit

Education

Union Dues Backing Political Groups Prompted My Resignation

• November 19, 2013

This perspective on union spending by Pennsylvania public school teacher John Cress originally appeared at Free to Teach, a project of the Commonwealth Foundation. I have been a middle school…

Media