Mike Antonucci’s Union Report appears weekly at LA School Report. Within the next 12 weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will issue a ruling in the case of Janus v. AFSCME. Considering the ideological composition of the court, it is widely assumed that the justices will end the practice of public employee unions collecting representation fees from non-members....

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...

I believe that most educators who are parents want for their students exactly what they want for their own children — to be academically, socially, and emotionally prepared and supported to thrive in their chosen college and career. My daughter is doing exactly that as a freshman at Hampton University this year, and I work...

This week, many new teachers in California will be granted “tenure” and they won’t even know how or why or what it means for their career. By the start of my third year in the classroom, I learned I had achieved permanent status (a term more commonly known as “tenure”) when a trusted colleague mentioned...

“Are you sure you want to do this job? You’ll be perpetually stuck in puberty.” Those were the first words I heard from a colleague on my first day as a middle school special education teacher. She was only half joking and five years later, I realize the truism of her question all too well: Pubescent pre-teens are...