LaborPains.org

The Los Angeles Times reports today that the city’s school board voted down an application by charter school operator Green Dot Public Schools to expand its exceptional network of schools into Watts, one of the poorest parts of the city. The Times reporters noted that the vote “almost certainly violates state law” since “a school board can reject charters only if they fail to meet one of several criteria. Green Dot, [district] officials said, met all the criteria.”

It’s not difficult to see the hand of the United Teachers Los Angeles behind the setback for one of the city’s leading education reformers. As the Times reports of the three school board members who voted the expansion down: “In their recent reelection bids, Poindexter LaMotte and Lauritzen relied almost entirely on a total of about $1 million in union contributions. Korenstein has enjoyed similar support in the past.” As the Watts representative on the school board put it:

It’s really disappointing that we keep talking about wanting to do what’s best for children first, when without a doubt that vote was about a teachers union and three board members not having the backbone to stand up and do the right thing for kids over their ties to the union.

What makes the vote even more ridiculous is that Green Dot schools are already unionized. But they’re not unionized under UTLA. Instead, Green Dot teachers are organized under the Asociacion de Maestros Unidos, whose contract with the charters includes the following policies: “teachers have explicit say in school policy and curriculum; no tenure or seniority preference; a professional work day rather than defined minutes; and flexibility to adjust the contract in critical areas over time.”

In other words, Green Dot has a union that puts quality first.

And the UTLA can’t stand it.

David Sirota, from the wingnut wing of the Democratic party, says Hillary says the “right” things about unions but keeps poor company. Decide for yourself.

Earlier this week, as former mayor of New York and presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani knocked labor unions’ disingenuous scheme to eliminate secret ballot votes on CNBC, Senators Clinton, Obama, and Edwards practically tripped over each other to support Employee Free Choice Act.

Clinton told the Communications Workers of America Legislative Political Conference:

You know, we believe in the opportunity for people to have freedom to make up their own mind. It’s like card checks. You know, you ask somebody, “You want to join a union,” and they say no, fine. More often, they’ll say yes. We want to give people that freedom across the globe. (subscription required)

Not to be outdone, Sen. Obama told the CWA delegates:

And so I’m saying to you, CWA, that I want your support. I want to be a partner with you. But most of all, I want you to keep on marching. I want you to keep on working. You know, I am absolutely confident that if we make that commitment, that things are going to change. So let’s make sure that we have a president in 2008 and a Congress in 2008 that is going to pass the Employee Free Choice Act. (subscription required)

Finally, Sen. Edwards, arguably Labor’s Golden Boy, made his pitch:

And I want to say to every one of you, I got a really simple idea about this. I look at you, I see a bunch of you with your Employee Free Choice buttons on. Good for you. Get over there to the Congress and make those people do what they’re supposed to do about this. But I want to say something to you first. Here’s what you ought to say to them: If somebody can join the Republican or Democratic party by signing their name to a card, any worker in America ought to be able to join a union by doing exactly the same thing! That’s democracy in the workplace! (subscription required)

The Colorado news/investigative website Face the State recently unearthed an e-mail between two state lawmakers showcasing a rather unsavory attitude towards school reform, an attitude that’s supported by teachers unions — financially. In an e-mail to a fellow Democrat in the legislature, State Representative Mike Merrifield said of education reformers: “There must be a special place in Hell for these Privatizers, Charerizers, and Voucherizers! They deserve it!” This, coming from the chair of the state House Education Committee.

Anyone experienced in school reform won’t be surprised to find out that, according to the National Institute on Money in State Politics, Merrifield’s top donor in his 2006 re-election campaign was the Colorado Education Association. In fact, Merrifield received a staggering 70 percent of his campaign chest from organized labor — out of his top ten donors in 2006, all ten were labor unions.

We’ve discussed at length the bogus math union bosses use to push their anti-democratic agenda. The most prominent (and most faulty) argument in their arsenal is that employees get fired left and right for wanting to organize a union. That doesn’t hold water. But this week a story from Los Angeles brings the issue into relief — once again, UNITE HERE leaders are embarassing themselves and debasing democracy.

UNITE HERE’s leaders, who aggressively avoid real organizing elections (after all, they say, “there’s no reason to subject the workers to an election”), are crying foul. They have filed an unfair labor practice charge against a hotel for firing an employee during a card check organizing drive. Notwithstanding UNITE HERE’s own record of unfair labor practices, the union bosses aren’t telling the whole story.

As the Daily Breeze reports, the hotel says it fired the employee because he “was arrested on allegations he attacked a co-worker with a stick and had other problems over confrontations with hotel guests.” The paper continued:

“This type of bullying by agents of the union is exactly why Hilton LAX employees want a secret-ballot election, free from harassment and intimidation,” the hotel said. “Employees and guests of our hotel should not be forced to endure these kinds of brutish intimidation tactics, and this kind of deplorable conduct should not be tolerated.”

Hmm. There’s no such thing as union intimidation or violence during card check campaigns, eh? Syndicated Deroy Murdock has the facts debunking that myth.

We continue to receive feedback from Newarkers on our website ProtectingBadTeachers.com, which profiles the damage wrought by the Newark Teachers Union on its schools. One Newark Public Schools graduate wrote in last night to agree that there are far too many bad teachers in schools (in Newark, about one tenured teacher out of almost 4,000 is fired annually). His entire e-mail is reproduced below:

I am a graduated East Side High School student who knows from experience that thier is a serious problem with school faculties that is affecting the lives of students in a negative way and that will continue to have dire ramifications if action is not taken by those who truly value education. The problem with our schools today really is too many uncaring and indifferent teachers who can care less of thier responsibilities as educators of the future generations. I will say in complete honesty that I have had a few good and caring teachers, and I have also had a few lethargic and indulgent ones. But regardless of that fact, I can also state in honest absolution that I was not in the least properly, academically prepared for life after highschool. Why? Because even though I was an honor role student who graduated in the top ten, there was no changing the fact, which at the time I did not acknowledge, that my highschool’s academic cirriculum was a joke.

A Detroit Free Press columnist warns this morning that UAW still has some tooth to its bite. Too bad UAW leaders already helped chew up the auto industry. Here’s hoping they aren’t so lucky with the gaming industry, where the union bosses are starting to place their bets.

SEIU bosses appear to be breaking political laws in Kansas.