http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/cta/ en-us Sun, 12 May 2013 13:28:28 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018454/posts Ten California teachers are suing to break one of the strongest iron triangles in American politics, where the taxpayers pay the teachers; the teachers’ union supports candidates and referenda, and that leads eventually to the teachers getting better pay, benefits and working conditions. A civil rights law firm filed a federal law suit April 30 on behalf of 10 California teachers and the Christian Educators Association International challenging the state’s closed shop law that has them contributing to support political activity they opposed. "Individual teachers have a constitutional right to decide for themselves whether to join a union and financially... Townhall.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3018454/posts#comment Sun, 12 May 2013 13:28:28 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3000315/posts The Chicago Transit Authority, one of the largest employers in Chicago, has a dramatic racial imbalance in its workforce, records show. Data obtained by WND through a Freedom of Information Act request reveals that whites and Hispanics are vastly underrepresented in the Chicago Transit Authority workforce. World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3000315/posts#comment Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:53:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2966329/posts Message for wealth-bashing millionaire actor Ed Asner: Man up and take responsibility for lying to America's schoolchildren. Confronted by a producer for Fox News Channel's "The Sean Hannity Show" this week, the left-wing celebrity claimed he couldn't remember "a thing (he) said" on a vile propaganda video produced and published by the California Federation of Teachers. Asner narrated the unforgettable eight-minute anti-capitalist screed geared toward children. Think Occupy Wall Street meets Sesame Street. "Things go downhill in a happy and prosperous land after the rich decide they don't want to pay taxes anymore," Asner warbles in a folksy grandpa voice.... Creators Syndicate http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2966329/posts#comment Thu, 6 Dec 2012 21:30:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2947570/posts Gloria Romero grew up in Barstow, the daughter of a railroad worker, and like many of the desert community's young, left for the big city – in her case Los Angeles, where she earned advanced degrees, and became a college professor and later a Democratic state legislator. By happenstance, however, Romero's most important legislation – empowering parents to take control of failing public schools – is making its first impact in Adelanto, just a few miles from Barstow. This week, a San Bernardino County judge ordered Adelanto's school board to stop stalling and grant the charter school petition of parents... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2947570/posts#comment Sat, 20 Oct 2012 05:28:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2927035/posts Former Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson once referred to Sacramento as a "cowtown," but Gloria Romero, a pro-labor Democrat who served as California's Senate majority leader from 2001 to 2008, takes exception to the belittling description. The capitol building in Sacramento, she says, has "the eighth most powerful economy in the world under that dome," and it operates not unlike other wealthy kleptocracies. "There's no other way to say it politely. It's owned." The Wall Street Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2927035/posts#comment Wed, 5 Sep 2012 20:19:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2923820/posts Michael Hiltzik infers in his column Sunday that Proposition 32 is a big lie -- because it prohibits both corporations and labor unions such as the California Teachers Assn. from extracting involuntary political contributions from the paychecks of workers. Hiltzik argues that its prohibition of corporate deductions is of minor impact, but that union political fund-raising will be crippled. He is amazingly untroubled by the fact that taking such payroll deductions for political purposes without consent is patently immoral. Why should a worker have some of his forced union dues spent on candidates or causes that he doesn't agree with?... The Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2923820/posts#comment Tue, 28 Aug 2012 17:32:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2892209/posts In a bold move for teacher independence in Fresno, California, a group of local teachers, led by veteran educator Mike Cerrillo, recently voted to disaffiliate from the California Teacher Association (CTA) and the National Education Association (NEA) in favor of local representation. The newly formed Washington Unified Faculty Association (WUFA) will now bargain independently and rely on the non-union Association of American Educators for nonbargaining member benefits and services such as liability insurance and legal counsel. The process to sever ties with the CTA/ NEA was lengthy and often dramatic for this tight-knit group of hardworking teachers. In the diverse... Association of American Educators http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2892209/posts#comment Wed, 6 Jun 2012 15:04:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887273/posts In 1962, as tensions ran high between school districts and unions across the country, members of the National Education Association gathered in Denver for the organization’s 100th annual convention. Among the speakers was Arthur F. Corey, executive director of the California Teachers Association (CTA). “The strike as a weapon for teachers is inappropriate, unprofessional, illegal, outmoded, and ineffective,” Corey told the crowd. “You can’t go out on an illegal strike one day and expect to go back to your classroom and teach good citizenship the next.” Fast-forward nearly 50 years to May 2011, when the CTA—now the single most powerful... City Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2887273/posts#comment Wed, 23 May 2012 23:43:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2877691/posts What Chicagoans now call The Red Line is a century-old commuter train, part of the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). It runs all the way from Howard Street on the north to 95th Street on the south. As Aliotta-Haynes-Jeremiah famously said of nearby Lake Shore Drive, it’ll take you “from rags on up to riches” in just fifteen minutes. But unlike the scenic LSD, this train line can also give you a close-up view of some pretty rough neighborhoods, making some stations very dangerous. And the more dangerous a place is, the more you put off repairing it, until the cost... Illinois Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2877691/posts#comment Sun, 29 Apr 2012 02:10:24 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2864707/posts In a court battle that could shape how schools are funded, a judge tentatively ruled Tuesday that California lawmakers can reduce education funding by diverting state revenues into new pots of money. School boards and administrators sued the state last fall alleging that Gov. Jerry Brown and lawmakers had shortchanged schools by shifting about $5 billion in sales tax revenues to counties in a new realignment fund. Under voter-approved Proposition 98, the state is required to devote a specified share of overall general fund revenues to K-12 schools and community colleges. School officials said that by diverting $5 billion in... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2864707/posts#comment Wed, 28 Mar 2012 00:32:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2747958/posts When voters passed a union-backed measure last year to reduce the legislative vote on the state budget from two-thirds to a simple majority – thereby eliminating Republican leverage – skeptics said it could foster legislative mischief. Proposition 25 applied not only to the budget but "trailer bills" that the Legislature deemed necessary to implement the budget. And all budget bills would take effect immediately with a governor's signature, making any challenge via referendum legally doubtful. That legislative loophole, this column and other analysts pointed out, would make it easy to push major pieces of policy legislation through the Capitol with... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2747958/posts#comment Wed, 13 Jul 2011 17:42:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2742277/posts Teachers win layoff protection while school finance officials see their powers curtailed in the state budget package Gov. Jerry Brown is expected to sign today. The last-minute school legislation, Assembly Bill 114, emerged publicly less than an hour before lawmakers approved it in a late-evening Tuesday session. It reflects the negotiating muscle of teachers as Democratic lawmakers crafted their majority-vote budget with a governor of their own party. Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2742277/posts#comment Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:53:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719678/posts Hundreds rally in downtown Pershing Square, urging legislators for ballot measures to fund schools. A teachers' union leader is released after his arrest in Sacramento with 25 others. By Jason Song, Los Angeles Times May 14, 2011 Hundreds of teachers, parents and students rallied in Pershing Square on Friday to protest budget cuts and urge legislators for ballot measures to help fund education. The protest was part of a weeklong series of events around the state intended to draw attention to education funding. Over the past three years, state lawmakers have approved nearly $20 billion in cuts to K-12 schools... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719678/posts#comment Sat, 14 May 2011 03:16:34 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719458/posts More than two dozen teachers were arrested at the state Capitol on Thursday evening while protesting against deeper cuts to education in the state budget. Twenty-eight people were arrested after they remained in the building after it closed and refused to leave despite multiple requests by California Highway Patrol officers, said CHP spokesman Officer Sean Kennedy. "At least half of them said, point blank, 'no,' and the rest of them just basically refused to leave, at which time the parties were arrested," Kennedy said. The California Teachers Association issued a release saying 26 of its members were arrested, including President... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719458/posts#comment Fri, 13 May 2011 17:39:26 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719232/posts This week's series of rallies by teachers unions and their allies have prompted plans for a counterprotest at 3 p.m. today in Fullerton by KFI radio show hosts John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou. The radio duo, which frequently crusades against tax hikes, is urging listeners to rally at the same time as a planned teacher demonstration – a move that could bring hundreds of the John and Ken Show's 1 million listeners to the community. OC Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2719232/posts#comment Fri, 13 May 2011 06:43:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2718997/posts The state's largest public employee union, Service Employees International Union California, will launch a "seven-figure" ad campaign Friday targeting GOP members who could vote for a budget deal. Coupled with ongoing protests and rallies organized by the California Teachers Association, the SEIU ad campaign marks an aggressive new approach by Democratic allies in the days leading up to Gov. Jerry Brown's budget revision Monday. The ads will air on broadcast and cable television stations in the Sacramento-Stockton-Modesto market, as well as Fresno, Monterey, Santa Barbara and Palm Springs. SEIU also plans to air radio ads. The media spots play heavily... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2718997/posts#comment Thu, 12 May 2011 19:29:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2718857/posts The exhortation, intoned with the moral authority of a preacher who has marched for justice, whipped up the crowd. "This is holy work!" the Rev. James Lawson said Monday to 1,000 teachers as they prepared to march on the Capitol. "You are about holy business! You are walking on holy ground as you confront the economic domination and the exploitation of the poor by the rich!" Lawson, who worked with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., was one of several religious and labor leaders who cast California's fiscal battle in stark moral terms at the California Teachers Association's noon rally:... SacBee: State Worker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2718857/posts#comment Thu, 12 May 2011 14:59:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717883/posts The state's largest teachers union revved up its faithful Monday to lean on state lawmakers to extend current tax rates – and eventually increase them. The daylong rally by the California Teachers Association kicked off a week of budget lobbying, press events and teach-ins by the union. Their plans and those of anti-war protesters this week prompted stepped-up Capitol security over concerns that some activists might stage Wisconsin-style sit-ins at the Capitol or commit other acts of civil disobedience. Although law enforcement officials said the crowds were generally peaceful, they arrested about 65 protesters after warning them to leave the... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717883/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 20:03:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717814/posts Took some pictures of the CA Capital Takeover and there were arrests. BTW....there is also a picture of Blair Underwood in the gallery. He just happened to be at the Capital and I am pretty sure is unrelated to the protest. http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717814/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 17:39:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717630/posts Several hundred California teachers left their classrooms in the hands of substitutes Monday to participate in demonstrations in Sacramento, saying the fight against extensive budget cuts to education was worth the time away from teaching kids. The educators rallied downtown and then marched to the Capitol, where they visited lawmakers and gave them letters outlining the potential impact of an all-cuts solution to California's remaining $15.4 billion deficit, $4 billion of which could be slashed from the public school system. ....Teachers traveled to Sacramento from as far away as San Diego, although a majority of them came from the Bay... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717630/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 11:53:01 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717554/posts The California Highway Patrol has begun arresting protesters at the Capitol, after warning about 65 to leave the building after its 6 p.m. closing. The daylong protest, organized by the California Teachers Association, drew about 1,000 protesters for various activities. About 150 moved into the rotunda in late afternoon, and some of them refused to leave at closing time. .. Mike Parker, a community college teacher who expected to be arrested, said the protest is to provide a "moral witness...What's happening in this society is totally out of kilter," he said. sac bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717554/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 03:59:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717462/posts About 1,000 teachers, parents, school support workers and religious leaders came to the Capitol today and urged lawmakers today to pass a tax extension to avoid deeper cuts to education budgets around the state. About 150 protesting educators left their sit-in near the governor's office and moved to the Capitol rotunda around 5 p.m., shouting "They say cut back. We say fight back. Tax, tax, tax the rich! We can solve the deficit." A rally that started at Cathedral Square one block from the Capitol late in the morning, took on the air of a spiritual revival as blue-shirted members... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2717462/posts#comment Tue, 10 May 2011 00:33:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2715916/posts Cindy Sheehan, the Northern California peace activist who rose to prominence for starting an encampment near President Bush‘s Texas ranch, will headline a week-long occupation of the State Capitol next week to protest proposed spending cuts and encourage lawmakers to extend tax hikes. Initially proposed by the California Teachers Association, the occupation has expanded to include protesters with the California Alliance for Retired Americans and the fringe Peace and Freedom political party as well as peace organizations Veterans for Peace and Peace of the Action, of which Sheehan is national director. Sheehan, speaking at a Thursday morning press conference at... Orange County Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2715916/posts#comment Fri, 6 May 2011 09:17:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2714747/posts The Los Angeles school district will hold a shortened day of classes on May 13 to accommodate a planned teachers union protest without interrupting standardized testing on most campuses. Dismissal time will vary from school to school but could be up to several hours earlier than normal. Schools will be required to make up the lost time from the shortened day later in the year, according to Los Angeles Unified School District officials. The teachers' demonstration is aimed at encouraging state legislators to place tax extensions on the fall ballot to provide continued funding to school districts. L.A. Unified faces... Los Angeles Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2714747/posts#comment Wed, 4 May 2011 12:25:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2711599/posts A top adviser to Gov. Jerry Brown suggested Wednesday the governor would veto legislative tax proposals that do not require voter approval, but the California Teachers Association remains steadfast in its belief that lawmakers should pass taxes without going to the ballot. Brown aide Steve Glazer posted on Twitter this morning that if there's two-thirds legislative support for taxes, "there's 2/3 to override Gov veto." California Teachers Association President David Sanchez said later that the Education Coalition, which includes a variety of school organizations, still does not believe taxes should be settled at the ballot. Sanchez first made this point... SacBee: Capitol Alert http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2711599/posts#comment Thu, 28 Apr 2011 02:31:19 GMT