At one of the first PTA meetings my wife and I attended, the group was asking for an OK to buy paint for freshening up the classrooms. I suggested that as a group we could all come in on a weekend and paint the whole school. I was quietly informed that we couldn’t do that without upsetting the district’s painters’ union and risking a strike of all unionized district workers.

Later, we were on the Technology Committee of the PTA and we were funding the purchase of personal computers and a server for the school. The computers needed to be connected to a cabled local area network. Since my wife had been in the LAN cabling business she offered to plan and execute the work with some of her former co-workers and any PTA volunteers. We would save thousands of dollars by DIY. Nope – it had to be done by union members. Her former employer offered to do the work for $1 and provide all the proof of the necessary licenses, insurance coverage, worker’s comp, etc. But that was rejected because he ran a non-union shop.

We tendered our resignation from the PTA at that point.

Here is another example: http://articles.mcall.com/2009-11-15/news/4476519_1_eagle-scout-nick-balzano-seiu-members . In Allentown, Penn., back in November of 2009, a group of some 39 union members had been laid off because Allentown could no longer afford to employ them. A Boy Scout seeking to earn his Eagle award is required to plan and run a service project that benefits the public. So a local Eagle Scout candidate, with the permission of the city of Allentown, cleared 1000 feet of a walking and biking path at a local park.

From the story:
“Nick Balzano, president of the local Service Employees International Union, told Allentown City Council Tuesday that the union is considering filing a grievance against the city for allowing Anderson to clear a 1,000-foot walking and biking path at Kimmets Lock Park.

“We’ll be looking into the Cub Scout or Boy Scout who did the trails,” Balzano told the council.

Balzano said Saturday he isn’t targeting Boy Scouts. But given the city’s decision in July to lay off 39 SEIU members, Balzano said “there’s to be no volunteers.” No one except union members may pick up a hoe or shovel, plant a flower or clear a walking path.”

Right. Because the union, not the public, owns the right to do work for the community. The union members don’t have jobs to benefit the public. The public exists to benefit the union. God forbid that the community do unpaid work for itself. Why, they’re stealing from the union members! Those are THEIR jobs!

And this is California and I actually think it is waking a lot of the otherwise liberal parents up as to how stupid this is.

rose-of-sharon on March 21, 2012 at 7:18 PM

You would be wrong. I guarantee it. Keep watching.

Please help to frequently remind every parent who has a child at this school not to vote for any candidate who is supported by the Unions! I.e. Never vote for Democrats in local, state or Federal elections!
Some of these parents may not have made the connection between Democrat Candidates and Union Power yet, so you can help them connect the dots.

wren on March 21, 2012 at 8:06 PM

This is not just ca, this is the bay area. These people are not quite ready for that.They might never be. There are people that are liberal and are just always going to be. But due to our severe budget issues a lot of parents who otherwise wouldn’t are getting very involved in local politics and it is eye opening and that is a big start. My town is actually a very small town relatively economically poor compared to surrounding areas and we have been pretty fiscally responsible because of it, but the major problem is not only the economy but also how the state’s budget issue has taken our funds hostage and it is making people question what are state reps are doing about it. Really, this is huge here. There is no question these people will vote in democrats, but that they are starting to demand some accountability from them is a start.

Actually our teachers and parents and school board and legislators work together pretty well, but it is a pretty small city for this area, so it works for me. It’s not so insane that I can’t stand it lol.

The school exists because of native Japanese and Spanish speakers who have volunteered at the school.

They function as unpaid language instructors to facilitate an environment in which all classroom teaching — even English instruction — is done in one of the above two “primary” languages. In this era of union job losses, such a level of volunteerism is unacceptable.

The school has a very long waiting list for entry.

My neighbor across the street is one of the Japanese instructors.

http://culvercitycrossroads.com/2011/05/05/celebrate-40-years-of-immersion-may-13-15/

And this is California and I actually think it is waking a lot of the otherwise liberal parents up as to how stupid this is.

rose-of-sharon on March 21, 2012 at 7:18 PM

Please help to frequently remind every parent who has a child at this school not to vote for any candidate who is supported by the Unions! I.e. Never vote for Democrats in local, state or Federal elections!

Some of these parents may not have made the connection between Democrat Candidates and Union Power yet, so you can help them connect the dots.

And this is California and I actually think it is waking a lot of the otherwise liberal parents up as to how stupid this is.

There are certain LE activities that honestly do not require a sworn officer, that uniformed, trained volunteers could undertake, however frequently, police unions prevent it.

Democrats on educational vouchers: There’s not capacity in the system to voucherize education in the short term, so it’s not workable.

Democrats on emerging energy technologies: It’s vitally important that we force everyone into using wind and algae and biofuels even though there’s not capacity in the system right now, and if you object you lack vision!

DrSteve on March 21, 2012 at 3:21 PM

Excellent.

I swear. People just keep getting dumber and dumber. :P

If they try to unionize bloggers, we’ll KNOW the Nargles are behind it. :)

Here in Ohio, over $10,000 per year is spent on each public school student.

dominigan on March 21, 2012 at 5:35 PM

The California School Finance Center is a handy online database that shows that Culver City Unified School District spends $10,783.30 per student.

$10K+ for a 9 month school year should be plenty of money to teach a child reading, writing, math, history and science.

You can use this link to look up info for any other school district in California:

http://schoolfinancecenter.org/data.php?action=summary&cds=19644440000000&type=fiscal

That’d be Michigan, and we’re making SLOW progress to shut off the Home Health Care ‘Dues Skim’. Read all about it.

/.

CaveatEmpty on March 21, 2012 at 5:33 PM

My apologies to Michiganites – in several ways – I couldn’t remember who it was. Talk about union power-grab (and money of course – always about the money)…..

My sister is an active member of a local teacher’s union. When I ask her what can be done to improve abysmal student performance, it’s never the teacher’s fault. If she’s not complaining about the lack of money available to them, she’s citing the lack of parental involvement – which I’m sure is a huge factor.

Hill60 on March 21, 2012 at 3:35 PM

Here in Ohio, over $10,000 per year is spent on each public school student. And yet, in my area, private schools provide better education at around $7,000 per year per student (in high school, elementary is cheaper).

You need to ask your sister how a school that spends 30% less can outperform her public school teacher’s union. Ask her why she thinks more should be spent on a model shown to have a consistently poor return on investment.

Oh, and a stay-at-home mom with no teaching education can provide an even better result than either of those sets of teachers when homeschooling.

Unionizing parents.
taznar on March 21, 2012 at 4:36 PM

One state has already tried doing that – was it Minnesota or Illinois? ..
dentarthurdent on March 21, 2012 at 4:42 PM

That’d be Michigan, and we’re making SLOW progress to shut off the Home Health Care ‘Dues Skim’. Read all about it.

/.