Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. With teacher strike fever in the air, it is worth checking to see to what extent California will catch the bug. An examination of the state’s eight largest school districts reveals that while Los Angeles and San Diego school workers could potentially head to the picket lines,...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The Los Angeles Times once called the California Teachers Association “arguably the most potent force in state politics.” I don’t think there is any argument about it. Its influence over education policy is legendary. CTA’s leverage over the state budget lifts it well beyond what other interest...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. The Los Angeles Unified School District is going to have its hands full dealing with employee contract issues, if the smoke signals emanating from local unions are any indication. SEIU Local 99, which represents some 30,000 LAUSD education support employees, is currently holding an all-member strike authorization...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Two years ago, members of United Teachers Los Angeles voted by a large margin to raise their dues by 33 percent. UTLA President Alex Caputo-Pearl warned that if the increase failed, the union would be “bankrupt or dramatically weakened.” UTLA did have a dues system that was...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report.  United Teachers Los Angeles spent the early months of 2018 promoting and then celebrating the ratification of their healthcare agreement with the Los Angeles Unified School District. But if school board members think this bought them some time and good will when it comes to contract negotiations,...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report.  The California Public Employee Retirement System (CalPERS) and California State Teacher Retirement Systems (CalSTRS) handle a combined half-trillion dollars in assets. The decisions of their fund managers on where to invest have repercussions not only for retirees, but taxpayers and private businesses. Despite these vast sums,...

Mike Antonucci’s Union Report will appear weekly at LA School Report.  The California Teachers Association readied itself for the June primaries by formally recommending candidates for statewide offices and the legislature — and now its money will follow. The State Council of the 325,000-member union voted in late January to recommend incumbent State Controller Betty Yee...