Independent Teachers » American Federation of Teachers Colorado http://www.independentteachers.org For Colorado educators who want to know their options Tue, 25 May 2010 19:31:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 en hourly 1 From ACORN to Rainbow PUSH: AFT Members in Douglas County & Elsewhere Fund Causes http://www.independentteachers.org/2010/02/from-acorn-to-rainbow-push-aft-members-in-douglas-county-elsewhere-fund-causes/ http://www.independentteachers.org/2010/02/from-acorn-to-rainbow-push-aft-members-in-douglas-county-elsewhere-fund-causes/#comments Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:26:49 +0000 bdegrow http://www.independentteachers.org/?p=38 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.

]]> http://www.independentteachers.org/2010/02/from-acorn-to-rainbow-push-aft-members-in-douglas-county-elsewhere-fund-causes/feed/ 0 Union Dues http://www.independentteachers.org/2009/06/union-dues/ http://www.independentteachers.org/2009/06/union-dues/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 22:04:18 +0000 bdegrow http://www.independentteachers.org/?p=27 The annual cost of full-time membership in the teachers union depends on the school district in which you work. For 2008-09, each full-time member pays $363 to the Colorado Education Association and $158 to the National Education Association headquarters. The local portion of union dues vary by location. Here is a sample of the TOTAL dues costs for 2008-09:

  • Westminster (Adams 50): $812
  • Aurora: $735
  • Littleton: $726
  • Jefferson County: $725
  • Lewis Palmer: $712
  • Canon City: $708
  • Academy 20: $707

By comparison, members of the Douglas County Federation of Teachers (Colorado’s largest local affiliate of the American Federation of Teachers) pay $431 in dues for 2008-09.

Annual membership to join the Professional Association of Colorado Educators is $180.

Annual membership to join Christian Educators Association International is $139.

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