Unions Scared

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Prop. 32: What really scares California's big unions

Michael Hiltzik infers in his column Sunday that Proposition 32 is a big lie -- because it prohibits both corporations and labor unions such as the California Teachers Assn. from extracting involuntary political contributions from the paychecks of workers. Hiltzik argues that its prohibition of corporate deductions is of minor impact, but that union political fund-raising will be crippled.

He is amazingly untroubled by the fact that taking such payroll deductions for political purposes without consent is patently immoral. Why should a worker have some of his forced union dues spent on candidates or causes that he doesn't agree with? As Thomas Jefferson said, “To compel a man to furnish contributions of money for the propagation of opinions which he disbelieves is sinful and tyrannical.”

Oddly, Hiltzik seems concerned only that the CTA and other public employee unions maintain the ability to build massive political war chests so they can pour tens of millions of dollars into the same types of independent spending efforts that so offend him.

Does it trouble Hiltzik that the CTA's inexhaustible tap on more than a quarter of a million teacher paychecks has deluded parents into the false belief that their kids are getting a good education? Does it bother him that California's deteriorating public school system has cheated two generations out of a decent education?

Having been a teacher for more than 28 years, it troubles me. It also troubles Gloria Romero, the California director of Democrats for Educational Reform and the former majority leader in the state Senate. As a former teacher, she endorsed Proposition 32 because it's California's best hope for the implementation of urgently needed reform that would rescue the next generation of its children from bad schools that will cheat them of attaining their full potential.

What else can you call it but corruption when big government unions demand that the public officials they have put in office vote to spend money -- money that isn't there -- on generous pensions and other unsustainable benefits?

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/opinion-la/la-ol-sand-prop32-blowback-20120824,0,2890404.story

I keep getting call after call, offering to "explain" Prop 32 to me. The folks on the other end are not from California. I don't even have to check the Caller ID. I can tell by the Midwest accent.

[Ban Hammer 13,558]

I keep getting call after call, offering to "explain" Prop 32 to me. The folks on the other end are not from California. I don't even have to check the Caller ID. I can tell by the Midwest accent.

are they trying to get you to vote for it or against it?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

are they trying to get you to vote for it or against it?

I don't let them get that far.

"Hello, is this _________."

Yes.

"I would like to explain Proposition 32 to you."

No thank you. Bye.

Edited September 6, 2012 by The Patriot

[james&olya 1,121]

I keep getting call after call, offering to "explain" Prop 32 to me. The folks on the other end are not from California. I don't even have to check the Caller ID. I can tell by the Midwest accent.

Nobody in California from the midwest you think? My 8 years in California I heard just about every accent I had ever heard before elsewhere! The US may be a melting pot for the world. California seems to be that for the US!

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Nobody in California from the midwest you think? My 8 years in California I heard just about every accent I had ever heard before elsewhere! The US may be a melting pot for the world. California seems to be that for the US!

What part of California is 312 area code?

[Pooky 3,830]

What part of California is 312 area code?

That would be Chicago.

Chicago, CA, of course..

Edited September 6, 2012 by Pooky

[SaharaSunset 165]

"...As a former teacher, she endorsed Proposition 32 ..."

But if all teachers are evil unionized money grubbers, who greedily spend their massive median gross income of $43,000 grand a year on all the exotic vacations and expensive homes and cars that such an exorbitant income affords, then why should we give any credibility to remarks of a former teacher!? Heavens!

I think teachers shouldn't have any income protection, and certainly no benefits. Its not like they actually do anything. I mean, the U.S. has basically plummeted to the dregs of countries...no one can read, or write or doing anything intelligent - clearly. So lets throw those greedy teachers out and let the good-hearted, altruistic businessmen go in and spend 8 hours a day capturing the attention and improving the minds of kids and teenagers, who are always eager to put away cell phones and i-pods and just learn and listen and sit in their seats. And since there will be no Unions, why don't we just make teaching a volunteer thing - I mean everyone will want to do it....and that will save the tax payers. Cause again, we sure don't want the people who teach our kids to have a comfortable living salary. Or if we really felt generous we could pay minimum wage, and then attract a real high caliber crowd, just like the high school kids who cheerfully serve us at fast food restaurants.

And if little Johnny fails a test because his Dad beats him, and his Mom is on drugs, then it totally is the teacher's fault - so fire that greedy teacher! Improve our schools, because home life and decline of healthy families and society certainly has no impact on education. Either a teacher is good or bad - there are no other factors.

What an inspirational article. Bring on the altruistic businessmen...we all know that they are the ones who really care about kids.

Edited September 6, 2012 by SaharaSunset

[Pooky 3,830]

"...As a former teacher, she endorsed Proposition 32 ..."

...

What an inspirational article. Bring on the altruistic businessmen...we all know that they are the ones who really care about kids.

California can afford either the teacher unions, or to give the children an education, but not both.

And the unions have no regard for the children.

[SaharaSunset 165]

California can afford either the teacher unions, or to give the children an education, but not both.

And the unions have no regard for the children.

Clearly I highly fact based argument. Unions hate kids. And paying those darn California teachers that Union negotiated $50,000, is totally whats bankrupting California. Down with the teachers, and down with Unions that give them that utterly outrageous salary!!!!! Save the kids!!!

Edited September 6, 2012 by SaharaSunset

[Pooky 3,830]

Clearly I highly fact based argument. Unions hate kids. And paying those darn California teachers that Union negotiated $50,000, is totally whats bankrupting California. Down with the teachers, and down with Unions that give them that utterly outrageous salary!!!!! Save the kids!!!

The unions have no interest in the education of children. Only a portion of the teachers themselves do.

The union's focus is to keep every teacher, no matter how competent, in a job, so that the union can extort dues from them to further the political agenda of the union leaders.

Oh, and while the teachers are surviving on their meagre salaries, have a guess how much the union leaders make, and what kind of a pay raise they got this year.

[SaharaSunset 165]

But in serious side note....how exactly will ending Unions benefit kids? So you can pay teachers less? Take away benefits? How exactly will this help educate kids? If teaching becomes a lowlife, low paying, zero benefits job who will do it? How will this improve the education of children? The illusive reference to tenured "bad teachers" is so generic and baseless. Are their bad teacher out there? Yes. Just like there are bad people everywhere. But vilifying all teachers, and unions for supporting them, is like saying all parents are bad because some parents are bad. Its silly. Its baseless. And if you're going to throw out our test score comparisons to other countries....take a closer look....we are one of the only countries who by law include the scores of ALL students - special education, English language learners etc. Take those student out, like the rest of the world does, and we are right there at the very top. And frankaly, even with those score included we are still in the top. So again, do we really want to go the way of early American business monopolies? The kind the existed before unions? Really?

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Problem is, they are no longer unions. They don't get involved in arbitration. They don't negotiate contracts. They don't do teacher training. They don't promote continuing instructor education. What they do is pure issue advocacy. You go into the CTA office and ask them, like I have. If you are a professional interested in teaching, or need some information about teaching opportunities in your area of study, sorry, they can't help you.

[epsonderby 85]

There's no such thing as a good union. I find that the concept doesn't work in the modern world. They are very often open to corruption and nepotism.

It's a shame as I think that what they stand for is often noble, but they are usually behind the times when it comes to progress and too many companies and organizations have been sunk or taken to the brink by stubborn unions that can't or won't see the bigger picture.

[james&olya 1,121]

There's no such thing as a good union. I find that the concept doesn't work in the modern world. They are very often open to corruption and nepotism.

And corporations are not open to corruption and nepotism?!! By your reasoning we could say that there is no such thing as a good corporation!

[epsonderby 85]

There isn't such a thing as a good corporation, nor did I say there was. I at least respect corporations, on the whole, for not hiding the fact that they are in it for the money.