CTU’s answer for failing schools: Blame the ‘fat cats’
CTU’s answer for failing schools: Blame the ‘fat cats’
It is a fairly standard piece of Alinskyite strategy: make the argument about personalities rather than principles or results. Find an enemy and make the whole fight about him or her or it. As progressive icon and “Rules for Radicals” author Saul Alinsky himself put it, “pick the target, freeze it, personalize it and polarize...
By Paul Kersey
AFSCME, collective bargaining, Quinn and the fine line
AFSCME, collective bargaining, Quinn and the fine line
It is a basic axiom of government collective bargaining: If you have to bargain with a union about anything, you are liable to have to bargain with them about everything, and that includes things that you aren’t supposed to bargain about at all. This why collective bargaining with government employees is such a problem: Even...
By Paul Kersey
Bringing it all together: what Right to Work means for Michigan and its workers
Bringing it all together: what Right to Work means for Michigan and its workers
On Tuesday Michigan’s Legislature took the final steps in passing Right-to-Work legislation, and Gov. Rick Snyder signed the bill into law. Outside the Statehouse, union protesters became more agitated, tearing down a tent where Right-to-Work supporters had gathered (a handful of people were almost trapped inside the canvas) and assaulting a Fox News correspondent. In...
By Paul Kersey
PAC database reveals biggest union beneficiaries
PAC database reveals biggest union beneficiaries
CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE UNION PAC DATABASE The database shows which Illinois politicians have received donations between 2002 to 2012 from PACs associated with: American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO); American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME); Illinois Education Association (IEA); Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT); and Service...
By Paul Kersey
Right to Work: How did Michigan get to this point?
Right to Work: How did Michigan get to this point?
Right to Work has become a reality. The two-bill package passed both houses of the state legislature, and was signed into law by Gov. Snyder. Unions are continued to cry foul and staged wild protests outside the Michigan Statehouse – at one point they tore down a tent belonging to Americans for Prosperity. In yesterday’s post we discussed what...
By Paul Kersey
The semi-legal Carpentersville strike
The semi-legal Carpentersville strike
At the end of today’s blog post you should be thinking a bit more like a lawyer, though you might prefer the skull full of mush you had beforehand. Teachers in Carpentersville-based District 300 went on strike for one day this week. Among the issues that remained at the time of the strike was class sizes. The...
By Paul Kersey
Teachers on strike in Carpentersville District 300
Teachers on strike in Carpentersville District 300
LEAD 300, the Illinois Education Association affiliate that represents public school teachers in Carpentersville Community Unit School District 300 schools, has called a strike this morning, and the district has announced that classes are cancelled. The main sticking point in the strike appears to be class sizes. In the last best offers for both sides...
By Paul Kersey
HJR 45: better than nothing
HJR 45: better than nothing
Faint praise for a fainthearted resolution Much of Illinois politics has become a contest of wills between a political establishment that is prone to wishful thinking and government employee unions with worldviews that border on fantasy. House Joint Resolution 45, or HJR 45, represents the latest attempt to wrest control of state spending away from...
By Paul Kersey
What you need to know about Quinn and AFSCME
What you need to know about Quinn and AFSCME
Q: I heard that Gov. Pat Quinn terminated the state’s contract with AFSCME. What just happened? A: The governor’s office announced that it was not going to continue to extend the contract with AFSCME Leadership Council 31. About 40,000 state employees that AFSCME represents are now working without a contract. Q: How did we get...
By Paul Kersey
Hostess’ labor problems run deep
Hostess’ labor problems run deep
At the behest of a bankruptcy judge, Hostess Brands got a short reprieve from liquidation in the form of one final meeting between management and union officials. But with the mediation failing and no more meetings scheduled, the company’s 18,500 workers (about 1,400 of them in Illinois) are almost certain to lose their jobs. A...
By Paul Kersey
Contagion: when unions and employers can’t agree, businesses fail
Contagion: when unions and employers can’t agree, businesses fail
When unions can’t work with employers in the private sector, companies go under. Hostess Brands Inc. is the most recent case in point, announcing that it will close its doors because of financial insolvency. Hostess has filed for bankruptcy twice since 2004, most recently this January. The company has an annual revenue of $2 billion,...
By Hilary Gowins
AFSCME: The Wearing of the Green
AFSCME: The Wearing of the Green
As Illinois moves closer and closer to the fiscal cliff, the next story to watch is the outcome of three days of workplace protests planned by the American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees Leadership Council 31. The protests are directed at the state of Illinois and Gov. Pat Quinn, and are expected to...
By Paul Kersey
Michigan voters say no to union proposals
Michigan voters say no to union proposals
An interesting test for Illinois came in Michigan, where labor unions were largely defeated in a state that saw Democrats do well. Michigan voters rejected two union-backed ballot proposals that were intended to undo a string of labor-law reforms and cost-saving measures. The results confirm that the public in the upper Midwest is ready to rethink...
By Paul Kersey
Geneva teachers union files intent to strike, but local watchdogs aim to keep union demands in check
Geneva teachers union files intent to strike, but local watchdogs aim to keep union demands in check
Like many school systems across the state, Geneva Community Unit School District 304 is likely to endure a teacher strike, but the result from the Geneva strike could be very different thanks to a team of about 20 citizen watchdogs who are keeping a sharp eye on the bottom line. The group, known as Geneva...
By Paul Kersey