David R. Osborne
Senior Fellow
David R. Osborne is the Senior Fellow for Labor Policy with the Commonwealth Foundation.
David is an attorney with on-the-ground experience advocating for teachers, firefighters, and other public employees mistreated by union officials. Before joining the Commonwealth Foundation, David was the CEO of Americans for Fair Treatment, a nonprofit organization that supports, educates, and empowers public employees to exercise their First Amendment rights.
He also served as President & General Counsel of the Fairness Center, a nonprofit, public-interest law firm providing free legal representation to those hurt by public sector union officials, and as a Presidential appointee to the Federal Service Impasses Panel, which resolves labor impasses between federal agencies and federal employee unions.
David earned his Juris Doctor (JD) at Florida State University College of Law and holds bachelor’s degrees in political science and radio/television communications from the University of Central Florida.
David has been happily married since 2004 and they are proud parents to four beautiful children.
Public Union Democracy
These powerful unions helped flip the Pennsylvania House
Originally published in the Bucks County Courier Times Last November, Pennsylvania Democrats captured the state House of Representatives for the first time in 12 years. Behind the flip was…
Media Hit
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Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee Testimony on HB 950
Chairmen Dawkins and Mackenzie: Good afternoon. Thanks to Chairmen Dawkins and Mackenzie for the invitation to testify on this resolution, and thanks to the rest of the committee for your…
Testimony
Read More: Pennsylvania House Labor & Industry Committee Testimony on HB 950Education
PA Education-Funding Lawsuit Opens the Floodgates for Reform
Originally published at RealClearPennsylvania In February, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania issued a controversial decision that could end a long-running, high-profile lawsuit over the state’s funding of public schools. The…
Media Hit
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Pennsylvania’s teachers unions care about lining their pockets — not about teachers or students
Originally published at Broad + Liberty Last month, the commonwealth’s largest teachers’ union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), blasted a thank-you to parents and teachers for classroom success in newspapers across…
Media Hit
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Blame the Union, Free the Schools
Originally published in the Delaware Valley Journal The commonwealth’s largest teachers union, the Pennsylvania State Education Association (PSEA), recently induced yet another local union into “authorizing” a strike, this…
Media Hit
Read More: Blame the Union, Free the SchoolsFairness
Shapiro Should Follow Tennessee’s Lead on Dealing with Unions
Originally published in RealClearPennsylvania After contributing nearly $11 million to Governor-elect Josh Shapiro’s campaign, executives of Pennsylvania’s biggest labor union will surely expect a return on their investment. But…
Media Hit
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