The National Education Association has the larger educator membership presence in Colorado. But among the state’s AFT teachers, the largest concentration by far can be found in conservative Douglas County, the state’s third-largest school district. Interesting then to see some of AFT’s contributions, as reported by Antonucci:

• $1 million to the “YES on 27″ campaign to eliminate the California Citizens Redistricting Commission
• $400,000 to Commonsense Ten, a Federal PAC that among other things bought radio ads in Colorado attacking Republican U.S. Senate candidate Ken Buck
• $300,000 to the National Democratic Redistricting Trust
• $250,000 to the Edward M. (Ted) Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate
• $150,000 to the Progressive activist group America Votes
• $100,000 to the Progressive magazine American Spectator
• $75,000 to Jesse Jackson’s Rainbow PUSH Coalition
• $40,000 to the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation
• $25,000 to the liberal Washington, D.C., think tank Center for American Progress

Also, opponents of the Douglas County Choice Scholarship program might be curious why AFT gave: $96,396 to Clergy Strategic Alliances; $60,000 to the “faith-based” Gamaliel Foundation; $25,000 to Catholics United; $7,500 to The House of the Lord & Church on the Mount, Inc.; $7,250 to the B’nai Zion Foundation; and $5,000 to Friendship West Baptist Church.

Perhaps a glimpse at this post, or even a deeper look into the list of contributions recipients, may provide the chance to ask questions or reassess membership options. But in any case, it’s interesting to see how American Federation of Teachers Colorado members’ dues have been used.

December 15 marks the annual deadline for Colorado Education Association members to request a refund of “Every Member Option” union funds used to support state and local political campaigns. Last year’s attention-getting 45-second video is worth watching to find out the information, or just for the nostalgic refresher:

In addition to the $39 EMO available from CEA — which can be requested electronically or by old-fashioned mail — a number of other districts have additional EMO political refund options with additional opt-out requirements. To learn all the specifics click on any of the following districts that require refunds on or shortly after December 15 (with the amount available):

• Jefferson County ($24)
• Denver ($24)
• Adams 12 ($24)
• Pueblo City ($24)
• Boulder Valley ($12)
• St. Vrain ($10)
• Pueblo 70 ($6)
• Pikes Peak ($6) (Pikes Peak EA includes Academy 20, Calhan, Canon City, Cheyenne Mountain, Cripple Creek, Ellicott, Falcon 49, Fremont Re-2, Fountain-Fort Carson 8, Hanover 28, Harrison 2, Lewis-Palmer 38, Manitou Springs 14, Miami-Yoder 60JT, Peyton 23, Widefield 3 and Woodland Park Re-2)

If you are a Colorado public school teacher, or know one, please feel free to share this post and the video. You could be making a difference and giving someone another reason to give thanks during this special holiday season.

A proposal that would prohibit public schools from automatically deducting union dues from employee paychecks is advancing in the Michigan Legislature.

The Republican-led House Oversight, Reform and Ethics Committee approved the measure Tuesday with a party line 4-2 vote. The measure advances to the House floor.

An email blast from the Education Action Group Foundation explains how this sort of proposal can help make unions more accountable to the members they serve:

We’ve long believed that the union leadership’s bare knuckled political tactics don’t represent the views of many [Michigan Education Association] members, who care primarily about helping students. But these teachers have little control over how their union operates, given that union dues are automatically taken out of their paychecks.

If that practice were to stop, both the taxpayers and the union leadership would get a true sense of how many rank-and-file educators actually support their union and its progressive political agenda.

We suspect support for the MEA is significantly overstated.

House Bill 4929 tries to achieve a similar objective to Colorado’s Amendment 49, which was defeated on the ballot in 2008. (Nonetheless, in the months leading up to that election, 16 local Colorado governments — including 12 counties — made similar “Ethical Standards” proposals an official policy.)

The Michigan legislation has drawn some criticism for explicitly and directly stopping government payroll deductions for “labor organizations” but not other groups like the United Way or scholarship funds. A 2008 Independence Institute issue backgrounder on Amendment 49 explains the crucial difference here, and another key argument in support of the reform being pursued in Michigan:

The primary argument for Amendment 49 is that it eliminates a major conflict of interest. Proponents say government should not be able to transfer money to politically active groups that use the same money to influence the officials who represent that government. [emphasis added]

Whether it’s legally and politically preferable to specifically single out “labor organizations” as Michigan’s HB 4929 does, or to define more carefully in terms of ethical standards what governments can deduct (as the Amendment 49 language did) is a debate for another day. The important point to contemplate about what Michigan is attempting is that this type of payroll reform promotes good government and empowers individual teachers.

All the more reason for Colorado’s local governments, school boards and state policy makers to revisit the issue in the near future.

But today also marks the beginning of the short time frame in which union members in several school districts can choose to opt out of a year’s worth of union dues (and in a few cases — as our recent video about Colorado teachers unions pointed out — for non-union members to opt out of paying hundreds of dollars in union fees).

Speaking of the video, here it is for those who haven’t seen it before:

For teachers union members who want to stop paying the dues and perhaps find an alternative membership option, here are the 20 Colorado school districts with opt-out deadlines in September:

• Adams County 14 (Commerce City)
• Alamosa
• Antonito (South Conejos)
• Canon City
• Centennial R-1 (San Luis)
• Center: deadline today!
• Colorado Springs 11
• Englewood
• Florence
• Greeley
• Huerfano
• Jefferson County
• Las Animas
• Littleton
• Poudre
• Pueblo 60
• Pueblo 70
• Sheridan
• St. Vrain Valley
• Westminster

Go here for a complete list of membership revocation information for all teachers and school employees. If you don’t see your district listed, then most likely you are able to make your opt-out decision at any point effective with the next payroll period.

The state of American public opinion on teachers and their unions, as reported in the recent Phi Delta Kappa / Gallup poll, suggests a strong value to giving our public educators not only professional membership alternatives (which Colorado law allows) but also the information to help them make wise and suitable choices (one of the main reasons for this website). A new release from the Association of American Educators explains:

Results of New Poll Confirm Need for Non-Union Teacher Organizations

Alexandria, VA — A survey released last week by Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup indicates that Americans overwhelming support teachers, but not teachers’ unions. Among the survey results 71% of respondents said that they have trust and confidence in America’s teachers. However, when asked about the teacher unions, 47% say they believe the unions have hurt education, compared to only 26% believing the unions have helped education. While the findings are nothing new to the growing number of teachers disenfranchised with their unions, it appears that the public has begun to draw a distinction between teachers, as individual professionals, and the actions of the teachers unions.

AAE Executive Director Gary Beckner commented on the national poll today, releasing the following statement:

“This survey shows that Americans are beginning to realize the disconnect between teachers and unions. Unfortunately for teachers, they are often coupled with policies of the teacher unions that are bankrupting states, degrading the professionalism of teachers, and worst of all, hurting our nation’s children.

Teachers are not synonymous with unions, as union leaders would have you believe; rather, they are individual professionals with ideas to bring to the education dialogue that will aid in student learning and the American people are taking notice.

Because of the unprofessional tactics and support of left-wing causes, teachers are fleeing the unions and seeking alternative organizations that will better represent them as professionals. The results of this poll give further evidence of the need for the non-union educator movement – a movement that embraces innovation and reform while focusing on excellence in the classroom and student achievement as the highest priority.

As the new school year gets underway, I encourage teachers across America to take these findings to heart and choose membership in an organization that best represents them and their profession. Those who don’t identify with the unprofessional, hyper-partisan tactics of the unions should join with the over 300,000 other teachers who have embraced truly professional organizations like the Association of American Educators.

Clearly as respected professionals, teachers should distance themselves from the self-serving interest of labor unions and align themselves with an organization that respects their true priorities.”

The Association of American Educators is the largest national, non-union, professional educators’ association, offering an alternative to the partisan politics and non-educational agendas of the teacher labor unions. AAE does not endorse, support or contribute to any political cause or candidacy. AAE has members in all 50 states and welcomes professionals from all education entities. Membership is $15 per month.

On our website you can find information on membership options for teachers in Colorado — including AAE’s state affiliate the Professional Association of Colorado Educators (PACE). You also can listen to this recent podcast interview with PACE’s new membership director Tim Farmer.

Beginning this year, NEA will collect a $20 special assessment from each active (meaning, working) member – up from $10 in previous years. In accordance with the union’s bylaws, only 60 percent of the roughly $40 million raised is directed to the [Ballot Measures/Legislative Crises] fund. The other 40 percent goes into the union’s Media Campaign Fund.

Though mutually supportive, the Media Campaign Fund money is disbursed to NEA state affiliates through a separate application process from the BMLC fund. However, while almost all of the BMLC fund is sent to state affiliates, only 20 percent of the Media Campaign Fund leaves Washington, DC. The remainder is kept by NEA for national media projects, as well as distribution to a handful of media partners.

Unless NEA is cutting back its dues appropriations to other areas — highly unlikely — that means at least a $10 increase for teachers this year. As the Communique reports, some of that money goes to Media Matters for America, which describes itself as a:

progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.

Do Colorado teachers believe that is the best use of their dues money — which for many CEA/NEA members totals more than $750 a year?

Well, union organizations under federal oversight annually have to post a financial disclosure to the U.S. Department of Labor. This week Mike Antonucci of the Education Intelligence Agency has posted his digestible summary that “reveals the national union contributed $2.6 million to advocacy groups and charities” in 2009-10. Of the nearly 70 groups Antonucci lists here’s an alphabetically-sorted sample:

• ACORN ($22,770)
• The American Prospect ($100,000)
• Clergy Strategic Alliances ($96,485)
• Economic Policy Institute ($356,522)
• Health Care for America Now! ($100,000)
• NAACP ($81,500)
• National Council of La Raza ($32,000)
• National Labor College ($246,470): Bet you didn’t even know such a thing existed, but maybe it’s like that insurance company university
• Rainbow PUSH Coalition ($25,000)
• Working America ($200,000)

Still, the AFT’s $2.6 million in 2009-10 advocacy group spending pales next to the $13 million dished out by the National Education Association.

For more on how NEA and AFT spends Colorado members’ money, and to find the data yourself, check out our handy link.

The event certainly isn’t a first, nor is it isolated to the state of Iowa. Learn more about the local-only union option here on our Independent Teachers website.

As he faithfully does every year, the Education Intelligence Agency’s Mike Antonucci hones in on NEA’s reported contributions, noting that in fiscal year 2009-10 it represents “more than $13 million to a wide variety of advocacy groups and charities to advocacy groups.” While Antonucci offers up the full list of 130 organizations, here’s a small alphabetically-sorted sample:

• AFL-CIO ($150,000)
• Baptist Center for Ethics ($20,000)
• Colorado Deserves Better ($50,000) …but was this in teachers’ best interests?
• Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate ($200,000)
• Gay and Lesbian Leadership Institute ($10,000)
• HOPE: Yes on SQ 44 ($1,758,000) — Oklahoma ballot initiative… was this a great idea or what?
• MediaMatters ($100,000)
• National Council of La Raza ($26,500)
• People for the American Way ($64,538)
• Rainbow PUSH Coalition ($5,000)

For more on how NEA and AFT spends Colorado members’ money, and to find the data yourself, check out our handy link.