OCTOBER 27, 2011 | Commentary by CARA DOCHAT, PRIYA ABRAHAM

Government Unions Steal Worker Freedom

Pennsylvania is one of 28 states in which workers can be compelled to give part of their paycheck to a union just to keep their job.  Moreover, even non-membership is costly. Those able to evade union coercion are still compelled to pay hundreds of dollars in fair share fees, or agency fees, to cover their supposed share of benefits

OCTOBER 27, 2011 | Policy Points by COMMONWEALTH FOUNDATION

Pennsylvania's Government Unions

Pennsylvania is a forced union state, meaning that workers can be forced to join a union or pay a "fair share fee" just to keep their job.  Most government units in Pennsylvania are "agency shops," with a specified union to which workers must pay a fee. When state and local governments automatically deduct dues and fair share fees from g

AUGUST 26, 2011 | Testimony by PEARRE DEAN

Teacher Strikes

Testimony of Pearre Dean to the House Education Committee

Good afternoon, my name is Pearre Dean and I am Deputy Director of Public Affairs at the Commonwealth Foundation, Pennsylvania's free-market think tank that crafts free-market policies, convinces Pennsylvanians of their benefits and counters attacks on liberty. Most importantly, I am a proud parent of two sons currently in the Pennsylvania schoo

JANUARY 12, 2012

Crisis vs. Competition in Education

Here are two views on school choice, the idea that fostering a variety of schooling options for families—whether public, charter, cyber or private—is a good thing:

1. School choice is a waste of taxpayer dollars when we already have a "funding crisis" for public schools, to quote the head of the state's largest teacher union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association, this week. "Gov. Tom Corbett's unprecedented $860 million in public school funding cuts is getting worse and forcing districts to cut more essential programs," the PSEA warned.
   
2. School choice creates competition in our education system between public schools, charter and cyber schools and private schools-which makes the public schools improve.

So which view is true? New evidence from one of Pennsylvania's most expensive school districts—Pittsburgh—shows competition from charter schools forced its public schools to trim $40 million in wasteful spending, cut more than 200 office positions, furlough teachers and other staff, and announce nearly 400 teachers would not return in 2012-13. That might sound like an "education crisis" to the PSEA.  But that's not how the school district views it.

The Education Action Group reports:

Normally, when a school district announces mass layoffs, it is followed by charges that lawmakers are not "investing" enough in public education and that the apocalypse is at hand.

Instead, Pittsburgh school officials admit the district had gotten flabby and careless with its spending, leading to, in the words of Superintendent Linda Lane, "a relatively expensive infrastructure and way of conducting business."

Pittsburgh spends more than $20,000 per student every year, far above the $14,000 per student Pennsylvania average, in part because the districts' enrollment is half what it once was, but staff and building reductions have not kept pace. 

The "increasing array of other educational options (e.g., charter schools, cyber charter schools, and potentially vouchers) did help to move the needle in terms of our culture shift," said Lisa Fischetti, chief of staff and external affairs for Pittsburgh Public Schools.

Wasteful spending isn't just limited to Pittsburgh: Across the state, districts have added 36,000 staff while enrollment has declined by roughly the same amount. Pennsylvania does have an education crisis, but it's not the one the PSEA trumpets: It's that throwing money at a failing public school system has not produced better results.

Competition isn't the enemy here—it's the cure.

posted by PRIYA ABRAHAM | 01:20 PM | 0 comment

JANUARY 3, 2012

Teachers' Union Dues at Leisure

A full-time teacher and member of the Pennsylvania State Education Association pays $654 a year in union dues to state, national and local affiliates of the union. While part-time teachers and other school workers such as janitors and secretaries pay less, nearly all must pay "fair share fees" to keep their jobs.

So how does the PSEA spend its members' hard-earned money?  By valiantly defending our teachers, right? 

Well, only if you count golf outings, ski trips and luxury getaways as fighting for the little guy.  The pie chart below on the PSEA's 2010-11 spending shows 18 percent went to "union administration"—including the aforementioned junkets, which frequently appear as "leadership conferences" in the union's annual report. A further 21 percent went to overhead costs.  A reported 6 percent went to lobbying and political activities. 

In other words, almost 45 percent of PSEA's expenditures simply went to running the union, lobbying and leadership meetings, while union bosses devoted a mere 14 percent  to "representational activities" that are meant to directly benefit rank-and-file members.

Here's a sampling of the luxury outings the PSEA took around the state (and beyond) last year, according to its annual report:

• $29,000 at Eden Resort Inn in Lancaster, for a "region house of delegates meeting."
• $31,000 at Liberty Mountain Resort in Carroll Valley, for a "region leadership conference."
• $8,000 at Pinecrest Golf Club in Lansdale, for another "region house of delegates meeting."
• $48,000 at Seaview Dolce Resort on the Jersey Shore (with golf club and spa), for a "regional continuing professional education conference."
• $30,000 at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion, for another "regional continuing professional education conference."
• $26,000 at Bear Creek Mountain Resort in Macungie for a "region meeting."

posted by PRIYA ABRAHAM | 04:13 PM | 0 comment