Independent Teachers

A big “sister” group of Colorado Independent Teachers that continues to make a big splash on the West Coast is the California Teachers Empowerment Network — letting teachers in the Golden State know about their various membership options. You may remember the radio ad exposing the NEA’s agenda that they aired last fall.

Well, now CTEN founder and president Larry Sand has been splashed onto the pages of Townhall magazine (PDF). We couldn’t resist the opportunity to send them a big Kudos for their great work and to let Mr. Sand know just how good his picture makes him look, sitting next to Rob “Meathead” Reiner.

In Colorado, teachers have the choice to belong or not to belong to various membership organizations. Most teachers belong to the Colorado Education Association (CEA). But in a handful of districts, a union that belongs to the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) is the bargaining agent. No place in our state is this more prominent than in Douglas County — where thousands of teachers and other school district employees pay dues to AFT.

Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency recently combed through AFT’s official federal disclosure for 2008-09 and found a host of interesting contributions made by the organization with members’ dues money. In lieu of looking at the full list, here’s some highlights of AFT’s 2008-09 contributions:

• ACORN (national and Maryland) $46,894
• Center for American Progress (liberal think tank) $10,000
• Colorado WINS (state employees union — includes money paid through SEIU) $819,818
• Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate $500,000
• Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network $10,000
• Health Care for America Now! (pro-Obama Care lobbying group) $125,000
• National Council of La Raza $10,000
• Rainbow PUSH Coalition (Jesse Jackson) $25,000

AFT members cannot opt out of supporting these or any contributions. Here’s guessing union leaders didn’t poll the membership of professional teachers and others before deciding to give away millions of dollars on various political projects and causes.

Did you receive a postcard like this one in the mail (or maybe an email with information on the Colorado Education Association’s $39 Every Member Option political refund)?

Click on the postcard for more information about requesting one or more refunds before the December 15 deadline.

OR Watch this 2-minute video explanation by a Jefferson County teacher:

OR Listen to an overview of the Every Member Option and some frequently asked questions on a 3-minute podcast by clicking the play button below (if you can’t see the player, or it doesn’t work, click here to listen):

Please visit our “Political Refunds” page for the detailed information on when and how to submit a request. For information on related topics, please check out the links on the left sidebar.

This information is provided by the Independence Institute as a public service.

A citizens group in California is proposing a ballot initiative that would prevent government payroll systems from collecting political funds. Among other possible advantages, this reform would empower individual teachers in the Golden State to decide how they want to spend money on politics.

Go here to listen to Ben DeGrow of the Independence Institute and Mike Reitz of the Evergreen Freedom Foundation discuss the possible impacts of the initiative in light of similar reforms that have been adopted or proposed in Colorado, Washington, Utah and Idaho.

Having seen this notice posted about a dues rebate available to teachers union members in California, it was striking to realize that as of today there are 40 days left for members of the Colorado Education Association to request the $39 Every Member Option political refund or lose it forever. Last year a teacher friend of ours explained it well in this 2-minute video — the basic facts remain the same:

For more details on the CEA refund and the additional refunds available from the various local CEA unions, check out our Political Refunds page.

Remember the National Education Association’s Bob Chanin being a little bit too candid about the union’s priorities? Well, a “sister” group of ours on the West Coast, known as the California Teachers Empowerment Network, has released a new radio ad on KRLA in Los Angeles. Thought you’d like to take a listen to the one-minute spot:

Here’s where you can find the Citizens’ Commission on Civil Rights report (PDF) cited by CTEN president Larry Sand on the radio ad.

If you are a member of the teachers union — whether the National Education Association or American Federation of Teachers — you may find this news disturbing:

Teachers unions have contributed over $1.3 million to ACORN and its affiliates, since 2005, according to U.S. Labor Department financial disclosure forms.

But there is no guarantee that the $1,333,112 million in donations from the National Education Association (NEA) and Teachers AFL-CIO unions are actually being used for their stated purposes, according to present and former Association of Community Organizers for Reform Now (ACORN) officials.

Some of the larger donations include $100,000 from the NEA in 2008 and $200,000 in 2007 for political activities. The Teachers AFL-CIO Local Union 2 contributed $406,730 in 2008, $457,778 in 2007, and $346,300 in 2006 for representational activities.

Now that ACORN staffers have been caught on video helping a man and woman posing as a pimp and a prostitute acquire illegal home loans to set up a brothel it is imperative that these organizations reconsider their support, said Ron Sykes, treasurer for ACORN’s Washington D.C. branch. [emphases added]

The U.S. Senate on Monday overwhelmingly voted to stop sending taxpayer money to ACORN. What are teachers unions going to do?

As always, it’s important to note — especially during this time of the school year — that all Colorado teachers have membership options.

We are in the midst of a very divisive and controversial debate in our nation over legislation that would greatly expand the role of government in providing health insurance. If you were a full-time member of the National Education Association (NEA) through joining your local teachers union, then you sent money during the 2007-08 school year to support the current proposal from Congress and President Obama to promote socialized medicine.

According to the latest disclosure report filed with the U.S. Department of Labor, NEA gave $500,000 in 2007-08 to the group Health Care for America Now, a 501c4 political organization that is backing President Obama’s health care plan. (It is likely that NEA has made further contributions to this group since 2007-08, since NEA is listed as being a member of the HCAN steering committee.)

Current union members sent $158 in dues to the NEA during the 2008-09 school year. The amount will be $162 for 2009-10.

Hey, NEA member, aren’t you glad they asked your opinion first? … What, you mean they didn’t?

You can get a refund of the political money taken from your paycheck that goes to CEA ($39) and many local unions (up to $24), but the NEA money (which takes many political forms, but doesn’t go directly to candidates) is completely non-refundable.

A couple quick links to check out:

- Ed Is Watching has a great wrap-up of Wednesday night’s event for Independent Teachers.
- The Independent Teachers site has been updated with information on financial disclosure reports from the National Education Association and American Federation of Teachers.

Ed Is Watching has all the details on the Independence Institute’s July 22 event for Independent Teachers — including sandwiches, ice cream sundaes, and lively discussions about the latest trends in education policy. Check it out, and hope you can join us!