Teachers on Strike

For John, BLUF:  The Democrats, with Joseph Biden as their President, are toying with a game of economic 52 Card Pickup.  It might not end well for them.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘Our Fight Is Against Capitalism’ and ‘the Patriarchy,’ Says Union Boss Leading Teachers Strike

Here is the sub-headline:

The teacher strike in Minneapolis shows how prescient FDR was when he warned about the dangers of public sector unions.

From Foundation for Econoomic Education (FEE), by Jon Miltimore, 12 March 2022.

Here is the lede plus one:

Minneapolis teachers were striking for a fourth consecutive day Friday on bridges and overpasses throughout the city. Some 4,500 members of the Minneapolis Teachers Federation and Education Support Professionals are demanding more compensation, improved working conditions, and smaller class sizes.

“Our fight is against the patriarchy, our fight is against capitalism, our fight is for the soul of our city,” said Greta Callahan, head of the Minneapolis teachers union.

The article tells us that average teacher saleries are good (Indeed.com, says mean salary is $76,000 pa, 98% above national average), tenure is good, and performance of students, in terms of high school graduation is poor (schools graduate only 74.2% of high school students, state average is 83.8% and national average is 85.3%).

In my humble opinion, this strike is about the revolt of the COVID Moms.  When the Union says it is against the Patriarch it is really against the Matriarchy.  It is K-12 and Mothers are the ones focused on that.  When the Union says it is against Capaitalism it is really saying it is against Charter Schools, Private Schools. Parochial Schools and Home Schooling.  Because the Public Schools are under-performing, these "Capitalist" challengers must be suppressed for the Public Schools to keep their monopolies.

But, I doubt that will be part of the public discussion.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

School Reopening

For John, BLUF:  We are approaching a crunch point with regard to reopening of schools.  The different players are maneuvering for position.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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‘Nothing is off the table’: National teacher union supports strikes over reopening plans

From The Boston Globe, by Reporter Collin Binnley (Associated Press), 28 July 2020.

Here is the lede plus two:

One of the nation's largest teachers unions is authorizing its members to strike if their schools plan to reopen without proper safety measures in the middle of the global pandemic.

The American Federation of Teachers, which represents 1.7 million school employees, issued a resolution on Tuesday saying it will support any local chapter that decides to strike over reopening plans.

In providing its blessing, the union is also offering local chapters access to its financial and legal resources as they navigate a return to the classroom.  Union officials said they will provide legal support, communications support and staffing to local chapters that vote to strike.

In the mean time, Home Schooling has begun.  At least that is the report I have from family in Virginia.

As for Lowell, I am in favor of a hybrid system.  In my mind we should be determining which students thrive in an on-line learning enviornment.  Those who can benefit from on-line education should be moved to that path.  It is my assumption that this will free up teach resources, to allow us to (1) do more social distancing and (2) allow for more attention for those students who would benefit from more attention.

For sure, we need to be doing better by all of our students, especially those who struggle in the current school enviornment.

The United Teachers of Lowell, our local Teachers Union has an on-line presence, here.

Regards  —  Cliff

Joe Backs AR5

For John, BLUF:  AR is a California Assembly bill that kills the Gig Economy, the work where people do individual items of work for a variety of organizations, like writing and selling articles to newspapers or being an independent photographer, working for a number of print outlets.  Or Uber.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Biden Steps In It Big Time as He Weighs In on California’s Job-Killing #AB5 Law, Gets Blasted by Voters

from Red State, by Mr Nick Arama, 7 March 2020.

Here is the lede plus one:

Joe Biden just weighed in on California’s AB5, the job-killing law that went into effect in January and basically killed countless gig-worker jobs all over the state including such jobs as Uber drivers, entertainers, freelance writers and the like.

Biden has come out in favor of the law which millions have been fighting.  This is a concern not just to California but across the country because the House passed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, the PRO Act which has language taken from AB5, so if Biden becomes president and a president like Trump isn’t there to block it, it may become law and put millions more out of work.

It’s an incredibly stupid law that will kill freelance work.  They thought that it would force companies to hire workers rather than pay them as independent contractors.  But that would require another level of expense for most companies, especially those just getting by, because then they would be required to do things like provide health insurance and other benefits that they wouldn’t have to now.  So they wouldn’t do that, they simply wouldn’t hire the workers because they wouldn’t be able to afford to.  Or they wouldn’t be able to hire as many and so all those people will lose their jobs.

People on both sides of the aisle have come out against it because it’s something they understand and it can impact and harm so many people.

True, AR5 and its US House equivalent, are job killers.

On the other hand, our local US Representative, Lori Trahan, is all in favor of it.  She brags about it.

Representative Trahan has been invited to the City Life Show, but after a polite promise by staffers to look Ito it, nothing.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Money in Politics

For John, BLUF:  Trying to manage political contributions by legislation seems like a fool's errand.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Union Is Banking on Key House Committee Democrats in ‘Living Wage’ Push

From The Epoch Times, by Mr Mark Tapscott, 21 January 2019.

Here is how Mr Tapscott wrote it up for Instapundit:

DEMS FEAR MONEY CORRUPTING POLITICS.  THIS WILL SCARE’EM TO DEATH:  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) invested more than $335,000 in 25 of the 27 Democrats serving in the 116th Congress on the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

Why?  Because that’s the committee that will soon pass the “Raise the Wage Act of 2019,” which will mandate a federal “living wage” of $15 per hour by 2024.  The proposal will do some other stuff that SEIU likes, too, so the union’s strategists apparently think it’s in their interest to get it through the House this year in anticipation of a Democratic landslide in 2020 that puts the Senate and the White House back in their hands.

See, money does buy influence.  So any minute now Democrats will start raising you know what about this blatant special interest abuse of democracy.  Right?

Right.  Absolutely.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Permalink • 4:59 pm by Mark Tapscott •5

Protesting Trump Appointees

For John, BLUF:  Remember the Tea Parties and how vicious they were?  Me neither.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Eric Prince's Big Sister Gets Protection for US Marshals

Some InstaPundit posts are perfect the way they are:

THEY TOLD ME IF DONALD TRUMP TOOK POWER, FASCIST VIOLENCE WOULD THREATEN CIVIL GOVERNANCE.  AND THEY WERE RIGHT!  Betsy DeVos being guarded by U.S. Marshals Service.  “The last Cabinet member protected by marshals was a director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy.”

So, basically, taking on the Education Cartel is as dangerous as taking on the Drug Cartels?  Well, the former has more money and jobs at stake. . . .

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Is Mr Pacheco Standing in the Way?

For John, BLUF:  Unions are necessary in our economy, but so is reasonable competition.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Here is The Boston Globe, back in 2011, editorializing about the Pacheco Law.

One wonders if this particular law will interfere with efforts to make the MBTA more effective and efficient.

I guess at some level this doesn't really make any difference, except that the MBTA is important to the economy of Eastern Massachusetts.  When the weather is good, that the MBTA usually works well and there are no problems, but if next Winter is as bad as this last one, or worse, and if the MBTA breaks down more than this last year it might well be very disruptive.  For one thing, those with access to automobiles may abandon the MBTA, taking to the highways, slowing everyone's commute.  That is tolerable, but for those who have no alternative to the "T" breakdowns mean late to work or not making it to work, which might lead to firings, which leads to extra costs for the Commonwealth, and more important, possible loss of housing.  Bad in any weather, it would be worse in the Winter.  We need the MBTA to work.

Regards  —  Cliff

Health Care Reform

For John, BLUF:  Breaking up monopolies is a good thing.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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I fairly often hear defenders of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act throw out the "so what is your solution?"  Frankly, as I have been saying, the answer is to fund the Public Health Service to bring into uniform some 80,000♠ new physicians, physicians assistants and nurse practitioners and assign them to those areas where the density of physicians is low.  Part of their charge would be the education of the population as to modern health practices and how the population should interact with the medical profession.

So, I was happy to see, in the blog Marginal Revolution, this item, "Is there a creeping deregulation of health care?"  It is short, so I recommend you take a peek.

This is the kind of thing that Economist Hernando De Soto would approve. Regards  —  Cliff

♠  The number is probably not 80,000.  It may be less.  I leave the final number to the health economists.

You Can't Keep Your Doctor

For John, BLUF:  Physicians not being able to treat pain because their union doesn't like it and won't talk about it.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The Instapundit links to this article, "Men With Pelvic Pain Find a Path to Treatment Blocked by a Gynecology Board".  It appears the Gynecology guild is opposed to Gynecologists treating men.  I hope this isn't some insightful reaction to the PP&ACA.♠

As Professor Glenn Reynolds says, "Pathetic".

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  On City Life host George Anthes pokes fun at me for not calling it ObamaCare, but rather going for the proper title, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.  On the other hand, MSNBC host Melissa Harris-Perry has stated quite frankly that "ObamaCare" is a racist term.  Per the Washington Times "The word was conceived by a group of wealthy white men who needed a way to put themselves above and apart from a black man — to render him inferior and unequal and diminish his accomplishments.”  Frankly, I am not wealthy nor am I "white", although I am a man.  With regard to the "white" thing, that is just Ms Harris-Perry trying to diminish me.  I am a caucasian.

A Burning Poppy

For John, BLUF:  The Brits are squashing the right to dissent.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

A poem "Upon Hearing Of The Arrest Of A Kent Man For Burning A Poppy".

Appropriately, since it relates to Remembrance Day (Veterans Day) it is with the rhyme and rhythm of "In Flanders Field".

Can we not remember why we fought those great wars?

Regards  —  Cliff

Teachers in Chicago

Over at the paper and on-line City Journal is an article looking at the larger issues surrounding the Teachers' Strike in Chicago.  The Mayor, Rahm Emanuel, is fighting a Union looking for a 30% pay raise over three years.  Given our economic state, this seems a little large.  Granted, they are asking to work longer hours, but their current pay is $76,000, plus benefits.  Not grand, but very good.

It’s possible, of course, that the CTU could prevail in this dispute and win valuable concessions from Emanuel.  But it’s also possible—if the mayor remains strong—that Chicago’s teachers have given Illinois the shove it needs to start moving toward the Wisconsin model.

The author of this article is Christian Schneider, a senior fellow at the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute and a columnist for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Regards  —  Cliff