Category: Public-Employee Unions
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The Aggressive Progressive Democratic Agenda
By Steve Haner The Democrats now running Virginia’s General Assembly are not just more progressive, but far more ambitious than their predecessors. To fully understand how ambitious you must compile the entire list of progressive bills advancing in the 2024 session and consider their total impact on the cost of living and cost of doing…
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Virginia Child Victims in the Left’s War on the Enlightenment and Science
by James C. Sherlock Modern progressivism is religion, defined by Webster as “a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.” The critical theory progressive, that is to say the modern American progressive, rejects proudly and publicly, root and branch, both the Enlightenment and the Scientific Revolutions of the 16th through…
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Around the Commonwealth: Local Unions and Housing Help
by Dick Hall-Sizemore Some interesting recent actions by local governments: Local employee unions–Many on this blog predicted that local government bodies, especially those in “progressive” urban areas would not be able to resist attempts by local employee unions to enter into collective bargaining. The City of Norfolk has demonstrated that it can and will resist.…
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Another Race Institute at UVa
by James C. Sherlock Fund it and they will come. The Daily Progress reports that thanks to a $4.9 million gift from an anonymous philanthropist, a new “Institute” has been launched at UVa’s School of Law. The new organization, the Education Rights Institute, plans to “find ways to improve K-12 education and help educators address…
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Major Actions to Reduce Corporate Overhead Offer Lessons and Opportunities to Virginia Government
by James C. Sherlock The chart above shows that management and administrative overhead growth has been a trend not limited to government. The difference is that corporations are making quick and decisive strides in reversing the trend. It is axiomatic that government should minimize overhead to maximize efficiency in delivery of services. And to lower…
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What Do We Owe To and Expect from a Special Ed Teacher?
by James C. Sherlock On February 16, USA Today published a story by Jeanine Santucci. That is the latest in an excellent series of reports on the shooting of Newport News first grade teacher Abigail Zwerner. Her article, “Virginia 6-year-old who shot his teacher exposes flaws in how schools treat students with disabilities.” raises questions that Virginians…
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RVA 5×5: Needed Resources for Human Resources
by Jon Baliles Last week we had a story about a glut of open positions at Richmond’s City Hall and the difficulty in filling them. Lo and behold, the Richmond Free Press this week put out an article about the struggle to fill positions as the department responsible for filling those positions (Human Resources, aka…
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Where Is the VEA on School Safety?
by James A. Bacon Greetings from sunny Costa Rica, the well-run Central American nation that bears less resemblance these days to a banana republic than to the United States! Costa Rica dedicates some 7% of its GDP to education, according to Wikipedia, and its population is 97% literate, which, if you think about it, might…
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Preparing for the Costs to Government of Virginia’s Generation COVID
by James C. Sherlock To justify her insistence on keeping schools closed, Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, said in February of 2021, “kids are resilient and kids will recover.” She brought that same message to Virginia. In one of the strangest choices in Virginia political history, Terry McAuliffe brought Weingarten…
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Projected $312 Billion Cost of Lost Earnings of Virginia K-12 Students due to Pandemic School Closures
by James C. Sherlock Over $312 billion in present value. That is the estimate published by Stanford’s Eric A. Hanushek of expected economic losses attributable to Virginia’s pandemic school closures. Virginia students in the COVID cohort can expect on average 5.5 percent lower lifetime earnings. History indicates that the economic losses will be permanent unless the schools…
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Status of Public Employee Collective Bargaining
by Dick Hall-Sizemore The Virginia Mercury has performed a service by compiling a list of the status of public employee bargaining in the Commonwealth. So far, eight jurisdictions have adopted ordinances authorizing collective bargaining agreements. There is activity in another six localities. “Activity” is defined as campaigns advocating collective bargaining agreements or local government officials…
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FOIA Council Response on Open Meeting Requirements in Discussions of Local Government Contracts with Public Unions
by James C. Sherlock I submitted questions to the Virginia Freedom of Information Advisory Council concerning FOIA open meetings requirements applicable to local government sessions discussing contracts with unions. I received a very prompt and thorough reply. The following is the response of Alan Gernhart, Esq., Executive Director.
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Richmond, Its Unions and Taxes
by James C. Sherlock Richmond residents should note that: The number of employees at City of Richmond in year 2020 was 4,140. Average annual salary was $56,410 and median salary was $50,001. City of Richmond average salary is 20 percent higher than USA average and median salary is 15 percent higher than USA median. Median…
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Richmond Parents and Taxpayers, Welcome to Chicago Public Schools
by James C. Sherlock The gulf between what the City of Richmond School Board (RSB) and the Richmond City Council (RCC) on what will be negotiated with their public unions is actually an ocean. The RSB has authorized the negotiation of virtually everything about how the schools are run. It leaves nothing off the table…
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Know the Terms of Surrender in Negotiating With Teachers Unions
by James C. Sherlock Franklin Roosevelt thought collective bargaining agreements incompatible with public sector work. Today’s left, unburdened by the public interest, finds FDR’s principles at best quaint. Since May of last year collective bargaining is legal in Virginia for local government employees by local option, but for not state employees. The issues most people think…