25
May
Author: bdegrow // Category:
Political Contributions
Former teacher Larry Sand reports that Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott has enacted a policy protecting teachers in the Lone Star State from automatic payroll deductions to political action committees.
Members of the Texas State Teachers Association who want to give to their organization’s political agenda still have the right and the convenient access to make contributions directly. Kudos to Mr. Abbott for using his authority to take the government out of the role as middleman in political contributions and empower teachers to make individual choices that suit them best.
Someone closely involved with the situation gives the history behind the new policy.
What’s good for teachers in Texas just might also be good for teachers in Colorado, don’t you think?
The Independent Teachers website is not the only place keeping tabs on political contributions made with the professional dues money of Colorado public educators. This week, Ed News Colorado ran a great story by Nancy Mitchell documenting the recent history of campaign-related giving by the Colorado Education Association and its affiliates:
The CEA and its local unions gave more than $600,000 directly to state legislative candidates over the five years, often piling on in tight races. Sen. Bob Bacon, D-Fort Collins, the chair of the Senate Education Committee and one of the top recipients of teachers’ union donations, hit the contribution limit from the statewide CEA and from each of the Denver, Fort Collins and Jefferson County unions in his hard-fought 2004 election victory….
Read more…
23
Dec
Author: bdegrow // Category:
Political Contributions
The final reports are in for political contributions for 2008. The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates narrowly topped one million dollars in giving to political candidates and parties.
Here are the details:
The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $1,000,585 in political contributions during the 2007-08 election cycle – including:
* $452,360 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $263,500 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $210,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 49 dollars to Democrats
Note: This does not include $4,657,810 contributed to the issue committee Protect Colorado’s Future and $1,600,000 to the issue committee Coloradans for Middle Class Relief to oppose three Colorado state ballot initiatives.
And for AFT:
The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $60,275 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including $40,275 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.
As usual, other membership groups that Colorado teachers are eligible to join did not spend any money on the 2008 election because they do not sponsor any committees to fund political action:
That closes the book on the 2008 election cycle and the roles of different Colorado teacher organizations. Where did your money go this past year?
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through October 8. Here are the new totals. First, for CEA:
Through October 8, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $890,335 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
* $422,635 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $200,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $173,500 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 30 dollars to Democrats
And for AFT:
Through October 8, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $28,775 in political contributions during the current election cycle – $28,775 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.
As usual, these records are obtained through searches on the Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance database.
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through September 10. Here are the new totals. First, for CEA:
Through September 10, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $825,885 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
* $280,685 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $200,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $150,000 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 30 dollars to Democrats
And for AFT:
Through September 10, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $28,375 in political contributions during the current election cycle – $26,875 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.
As usual, these records are obtained through searches on the Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance database.
Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through the month of July. Here are the new totals:
Through July 30, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $450,552 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:
- $150,000 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates
- $112,975 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
- $7,125 to Republican candidates and party organizations
As usual, these records are obtained through searches on the Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance database.
Colorado education professionals, this may be your hard-earned dues dollars at work – if you belong to the Colorado Education Association that is.
According to yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, the National Education Association has a ton of money to spend on state political issues during this election. In the past year, among other things, the NEA has spent money to launch a constitutional convention in Hawaii, and to oppose proposed tax cuts in Florida and Massachusetts. But the Journal also notes:
Expect more of the same going forward in a state near you. “Unlike most previous years,” writes [Mike] Antonucci, “NEA finished 2007-08 with a surplus of nearly $5.9 million, which means the union will enter the 2008-09 school year with almost $20 million available to spend.” It’s a shame the NEA doesn’t spend as much money and effort trying to improve lousy schools as it does trying to keep taxes high.
Mike Antonucci reports that NEA has already granted $89,500 to the Colorado Education Association. It isn’t clear whether those funds are included in the $177,000 NEA has contributed to the issue committee Protect Colorado’s Future – which opposes a Right-to-Work ballot proposal, and supports several initiatives deemed unfriendly to business.
Learn more about how other CEA member money is spent on politics, how a refund can be requested, and what membership options teachers and other education professionals in Colorado have.
Hat Tip to Labor Pains blog
The one-stop informational home for Colorado educators who want to know their options is back in business. Here’s a quick tour of what the site has to offer, with more updates and improvements slated to come:
- About This Site introduces readers to why Independent Teachers was created, and some responses from teachers who appreciate the unique informational service
- Membership Options gives Colorado teachers a thorough listing of the different unions, professional organizations, and other insurance options available – encouraging teachers to make the most informed choice they can
- Revoking Membership provides details on when and how teachers can opt out of organizations to which they no longer wish to belong – in some cases, they have only two weeks out of the year to make this decision
- Political Contributions breaks down which organizations give member money to political campaigns and how much
- Political Refunds tells teachers who belong to the organizations that give their money to political campaigns how they can get it back, including the different Every Member Option refunds and their deadlines
Your feedback is always appreciated. You may contact us at teacher -at- i2i.org.
