Public Union Democracy
Why have teacher salaries become stagnant?
Join host David Osborne and guest Christian Barnard (Assistant Director of Education Reform at Reason Foundation) as they delve into the intricate dynamics behind the stagnant teacher salaries despite soaring…
Read More: Why have teacher salaries become stagnant?Compulsory 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
Big Labor’s Stranglehold in Pennsylvania
Here’s a depressing, if unsurprising, statistic: In a new index assessing whether states favor government union bosses or taxpayers, Pennsylvania ranks 5th worst. The Competitive Enterprise Institute ranked…
Media
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Teacher Strikes
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…
Testimony
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When Union Bosses Make Stuff Up, We Offer Facts
In a story by PA Independent, AFL-CIO head honcho Rick Bloomingdale attempts to deny the incredible job growth in right-to-work states like Texas. Bloomingdale comments: “Most likely, the…
Media
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Texas vs. Pennsylvania on Educational Performance
At a hearing yesterday on right-to-work legislation, a number of testifiers remarked on the substantially greater job growth in right-to-work states, on the fact residents are moving from…
Media
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PSEA Behind Phony Grassroots Effort
In 2009-10, the PSEA spent more than $2.6 million on political activities and lobbying. By the next year, that figure had ballooned to $4.2 million, an increase of about 60%.
Media
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How Does Seniority Mandate Help Kids, Exactly?
Here’s a letter to the editor I sent to the Erie Times on furloughing teachers: National Education Association board member Sam Talarico unsurprisingly takes strong exception to the…
Media
Read More: How Does Seniority Mandate Help Kids, Exactly?Education
Corbett’s First Inning Scorecard
July signals the coming of two breaks in Pennsylvania—Major League Baseball's All-Star break and the end of the state budget season. Having endured his first budget as the commonwealth's chief…
Commentary
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Will the “Year of School Choice” Come to PA?
Today’s Wall Street Journal has an editorial that begins as follows: School may be out for the summer, but school choice is in, as states across the nation…
Media
Read More: Will the “Year of School Choice” Come to PA?Public Union Democracy
Disappointing Results from State Union Contract Deals
So far, the Corbett administration has concluded new four-year contracts with Pennsylvania’s two largest state worker unions, which represent 55,000 government workers—and the taxpayers are the losers. The deals with…
Media
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Do Seven Rapes Get Your Attention?
Today, CF delivered Life Savers to state legislators to remind them they still have three days to be a life-saver for kids in failing and violent schools. One…
Media
Read More: Do Seven Rapes Get Your Attention?Government Accountability
Pennsylvania State Government Union Contracts
On June 30, 15 of the state's 19 government union contracts expire, with two more expiring in August. These 19 public sector unions represent 62,271 state employees, whose compensation from…
Fact Sheet
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Children Can’t Wait for PSEA to “Fix” Violent, Failing Schools
The PSEA sent a memo to the House of Representatives discouraging legislators from sponsoring legislation that would throw lifelines to children in violent, failing schools. I also sent the following…
Media
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How Taxpayers are Funding Big Labor’s Education Failures
More than $92 million in taxpayer dollars for public education is being funneled through school districts back to these special interest groups, including the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and…
Commentary
Read More: How Taxpayers are Funding Big Labor’s Education FailuresPublic Union Democracy
Shippensburg Asks for Prevailing Wage Relief
Shippensburg Borough Council recently passed a resolution asking for state relief from prevailing wage mandates. Prevailing wage mandates were imposed 50 years ago in Pennsylvania, following federal Davis-Bacon Act…
Media
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Pennsylvania’s State Union Contracts
On June 30, 2011, 15 of the state's 19 government union contracts expire, with two more expiring in August. These 19 public sector unions represent 62,271 state employees, whose compensation…
Fact Sheet
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Pa. Education – A State of Emergency
At the start of our nation, founding father John Adams was as concerned with the positive development of our offspring as he was with that of the republic. Seeing the…
Commentary
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Oh Yeah, Those Guys
My letter to the Philadelphia Daily News: Will Bunch’s recent article identifies wealthy Americans who are voluntary donating their money to push greater school choice. Bunch fails…
Media
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PA Legislators Consider Unemployment Compensation Reforms
By June 11th, the state must change its unemployment compensation rules to meet federal guidelines, or 45,000 Pennsylvanians will lose their unemployment benefits. Gov. Corbett has been supportive of more…
Media
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The Governor is Right and the Union Bosses are Wrong
I’m in Pittsburgh today, but I can hear the shouting in Harrisburg from here: Union bosses are hopping mad at Gov. Tom Corbett for calling them out in his…
Media
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Senate Passes Furlough Bill, but Keeps “Last In First Out”
Today, the Pennsylvania Senate passed SB 612 by a 38-12 count. The bill, sponsored by Senator Folmer, would give school districts the ability to furlough teachers and other school…
Media
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How Labor Unions Politicize Public Schools
Graphic showing how unions politicalize public schoools.
Poll
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