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Home Archives for teachers unions

5/23/2009 By Ben Leave a Comment

FTS Weekend Edition: Listen to Me Talk Teacher Sick-Out, Contract Impasses

For the handful of you out there who aren't tired of hearing me talk about teachers unions, contract impasses, and sick-outs this week, you can listen to a new interview with Brad Jones on the most recent Face The State weekend edition (Segment 3). You also can hear an interview with U.S. Senate candidate Cleve Tidwell and discussions on some of Face The State's big Colorado stories from the week that just passed. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, My Life, National Politics, PPC Tagged With: Brad Jones, candidate, Cleve Tidwell, Colorado, contract impasses, discussions, Face the State, interview, just passed, listen, sick-outs, stories, teachers unions, U.S. Senate, week, weekend edition

5/11/2009 By Ben 1 Comment

“The Time Is Now” to Get Connected with the American Liberty Alliance

If we are to be successful, pro-liberty groups and individuals are going to have to be more collaborative. There is strength in numbers. To a good extent, this movement has begun in Colorado -- with the People's Press Collective, Liberty on the Rocks, and other projects. But plenty of work remains to be done on many levels. Kudos to all those in the trenches. On the most recent episode of Rocky Mountain Alliance Blog Talk Radio we talked with blogger and online activist Ken Marrero about -- among other things -- his work with the national Tea Party movement and the development of a group called American Liberty Alliance. It turns out that as of today Ken is now the executive director of this national grassroots movement. It's an … [Read more...]

Filed Under: blogging, General, liberty, PPC Tagged With: advocates, American Liberty Alliance, Americans, Big Government, Blog Talk Radio, blogger, broken, businesses, citizen, city councils, Coalition for a Conservative Majority, collaborative, Colorado, Colorado Union of Taxpayers, concerned, corrupt, county commissions, dictate, Don't Go Movement, Eric Odom, evolution, executive director, extreme spending, federal encroachments, fiscally responsible, free market, getting connected, grassroots, groups, individuals, Ken Marrero, Liberty on the Rocks, local action, majority votes, movement, national, online activist, organizer, outgoing, over-governed, Peoples Press Collective, politicians, pro-liberty, projects, R Block Party, Rocky Mountain Alliance, school boards, society, special interest groups, spontaneous energy, state legislatures, streamline, successful, Tea Party, teachers unions, tolerated, Transparency, trenches, unproductive, work

12/12/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Have You Seen Just How Big a United Auto Workers Contract Is?

(Via Michelle Malkin) The Labor Pains blog has a great visual and links to the huge labor contracts negotiated between the United Auto Workers (UAW) and Detroit's Big Three:Ever wondered what a UAW contract looks like? Here is all 22 pounds of it (in this case, Ford’s 2,215 page 2007 master contract; Coke can is for scale and because I was thirsty). I’ll tell you this much, those 2,215 pages don’t include much regarding efficiency and competitiveness. What you’ll find are hundreds of rules, regulations, and letters of understanding that have hamstrung the auto companies for years. One of my claims to distinction (certainly not fame) is I have read all 45 or so collective bargaining agreements between Colorado school districts … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, Fiscal Policy, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: auto companies, Big Three, Chrysler, collective bargaining agreements, Colorado, commercial parody, comparison, competitiveness, Detroit, efficiency, Ford, General Motors, labor contracts, Labor Pains blog, Michelle Malkin, Saturday Night Live, school districts, teachers unions, UAW contract, United Auto Workers, volume, weight

11/15/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

A Promising Step to Test the Bounds of Colorado Teachers Union Power?

My post-election commentary on the impact for teachers unions and education reform was published today in the Denver Post. A key section to whet your appetite:Peter Groff's Democratic peers voted to re-elect him as state Senate president, and Rep. Terrance Carroll was selected to become the new speaker of the House. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Colorado Politics, Education, General, Labor, My Life Tagged With: anti-teacher, associations, Bernie Buescher, bipartisan issue, bold choice, boundaries, charter schools, citizens, coercion, Colorado, Colorado Education Association, criticisms, Democrats, Denver Post, education reform, fear, honest, honest look, House Education Committee, Laura Bradford, leadership, legislative attacks, leverage, monopoly model, outside observers, outside the box, parents, Peter Groff, post-election commentary, practitioner, profession, professional guilds, promising step, public school choice, question, Republican, scholars, seminar, source, Speaker of the House, state legislature, state senate president, status quo, students, teacher organization, teacher unionism, teachers unions, Terrance Carroll, union power

8/14/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Barack Obama and the Challenging Politics of Merit Pay: Denver Edition

Just wanted to bring your attention to a great new piece by Hannah Sternberg at The Weekly Standard on the politics of merit pay, a topic all too near to my heart. Most of the article explores a proposal by the reform-minded chancellor of Washington, D.C. Public Schools - Michelle Rhee - and how it's being received in this dysfunctional, bureaucratic education system. But the article also takes a peek at events surrounding Denver's groundbreaking ProComp teacher pay program, including a mention of the recent tensions that have resulted in strike threats. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor, National Politics Tagged With: Barack Obama, bureaucratic, contract negotiations, D.C. Public Schools, Democratic Party, Denver, dysfunctional, education reform, Hannah Sternberg, John McCain, labor interests, merit pay, Michelle Rhee, Mike Antonucci, performance-based compensation, politics, presidential nominee, ProComp, Rocky Mountain News, teacher pay, teacher quality, teacher strike, teachers unions, The Weekly Standard

6/20/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Bill Ritter, Tax Increases, Unions, and the Colorado Supreme Court

With a little shameless self-promotion, I tie it all together on the longest day of the calendar year. First, news broke earlier this week that Gov. Bill Ritter has done the inevitable, by agreeing to appeal a district court ruling that came to the clear and appropriate conclusion that Ritter erred in raising school property taxes without voter permission. Sure, I could link to lots of articles that highlight this news, but only the one in the Denver Daily News quotes the author of this blog:"I believe the district court judge did the right thing by recognizing that Colorado voters should be asked before they endure a tax increase," said Ben DeGrow, a policy analyst at the Independence Institute. "It's simply a matter of honoring the … [Read more...]

Filed Under: clean government, Colorado Politics, Fiscal Policy, General Tagged With: Ben DeGrow, Bill Ritter, Colorado Children's Amendment, Colorado Supreme Court, Denver Daily News, Denver District Court, Evan Dreyer, Greeley Tribune, Independence Institute, Poudre Education Association, Property Tax Increase, public education, taxpayers, teachers unions

4/16/2008 By Ben 1 Comment

Teachers Union Corruption and Abuse Served Up South of the Border

I am critical enough of the Colorado Education Association and the National Education Association. But to be fair, NEA/CEA has been outdone by their counterparts to the South: Mexico's National Union of Education Workers. The Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has documented the waste and corruption and horrible inefficiencies of the Mexican education system due to the union's political power and influence (H/T Mark Krikorian at The Corner). Teachers unions in this state and country have caused their own significant share of problems, but their work is cut out for them to match the scale of abuse and destructive influence that CIS has documented about their sister union south of the border. Wow. … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor, World Events Tagged With: Center for Immigration Studies, Mark Krikorian, Mexico, National Education Association, National Union of Education Workers, teachers unions, The Corner

3/15/2008 By Ben 3 Comments

Wow, Those Are Some Bad Teachers

Remember the cash-prize contest to get rid of America's 10 worst teachers unveiled a few days ago? A publicity stunt, to be sure, but it looks like Center for Union Facts already has received some worthy nominations:We’ve received more than three hundred nominations since our “Ten Worst Union-Protected Teachers” contest launched at TeachersUnionExposed.com on Tuesday. Just to give you a hint of what’s been coming our way, here are a few of the entries we’ve received so far (edited for privacy and clarity, of course): * Music teacher. Takes personal cell phone calls and answers e-mail while kids are in the room waiting to be taught. She yells at them if they start to talk because she can’t hear. Doesn’t really teach … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor Tagged With: bad teachers, Center for Union Facts, teachers unions

2/20/2008 By Ben Leave a Comment

Gazette: Colorado Teachers Need to Know Their Choices

In order for me to live up to my "anti-public education" billing from the teachers union, I wanted to bring your attention to a stunningly clear and beautiful editorial today from the Colorado Springs Gazette. Key excerpts follow:Throughout the country, most teachers belong to a chapter of the National Education Association. The Colorado branch is known as the Colorado Education Association, which is broken down by local chapters. Dues exceed $600 a year, which can be tough for teachers supporting families on wages that average $40-some thousand a year. In some school districts, such as D-11 in Colorado Springs, the union assumes membership and takes dues from a teacher’s wages unless the educator jumps through hoops to opt out during … [Read more...]

Filed Under: Education, General, Labor Tagged With: Association of American Educators, Colorado Education Association, Colorado Springs Gazette, Independent-Minded Teachers, liability insurance, Professional Association of Colorado Educators, teacher membership organizations, teachers unions, union dues

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About Me

Ben DeGrow
Grateful and growing Christian, devoted husband and father of 3, public policy analyst, returned to Michigan by way of Colorado, conservative writer, lifelong learner, Detroit Tigers fan.

Recent Posts

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