Episodes
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Episode #18 - #MeToo Movement Gone Amok?
So much has already been written about the Brett Kavanaugh subject, that I hesitate to add my own observations. But NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia’s latest Blackboard commentary provided the impetus for what you will read here. You won’t find any argument in opposition/support of Kavenaugh’s...
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Episode #17 - "Solidarity" Among Teachers? Not Really ...
The NEA President, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, claimed that unions and teachers in West Virginia “stood in solidarity,” while a teacher defiantly stated “Hell no” when instructed by her union to return to work. Solidarity? Sound more like strife if you ask me. I’ll tell you this. If "solidarity" means...
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Episode #16: The Teacher “Pay Penalty” – Fact or Fiction?
“The overdue national attention on the erosion of teacher salaries across the nation couldn’t come at a more urgent time … the teacher pay penalty – the percent by which public school educators are paid less than comparable workers – has reached an all-time high.” Tim Walker, NEA Writer...
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Episode #15 – A History Teacher is in Need of an Economics Lesson
Here is what the teacher said: “… the goal of business is to make a larger profit and the easiest way to save money is to pay your workers less.” What is interesting when you first read this statement, is that it appears to be factually correct. After all, if you cut your payroll costs (assuming...
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Episode #14: Opting Out – A Practical Guide
I have gotten several questions from readers about what happens to their teacher contracts once they opt out of the union. “Will you have to appear before the Board of Education each year and negotiate on your own?” “Will you get paid less because you are one individual negotiating against the…
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Lucky Episode #13 – Vouchers for PUBLIC Schools – Inter District School Choice
Teachers unions do not support vouchers for private schools. No surprise there, but what about the idea of vouchers for PUBLIC schools? “Vouchers for public schools,” you ask, “what the heck is that?” Its called Inter-District School Choice and it is currently being practiced in New Jersey and...
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Episode #12: Propaganda or Journalism? The NEA ReLIES on a Biased Report.
NEA writer Tim Walker is at it again. When it comes to school privatization, he can’t seem to help himself – he loves to stretch the truth (lie) when it comes to vouchers and charter schools. By the way, Mr. Walker is paid big bucks for writing this kind of garbage, and your union dues are paying...
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Episode #11 - One Major Problem With Collective Bargaining
If someone does a better job at something, shouldn’t she be compensated accordingly? This was the question that came to mind after I read that Mandy Manning had been chosen 2018 National Teacher of the Year. Here is what NEA President Lily Eskelsen Garcia had to say about this exceptional woman:...
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Episode #10 - Promises vs. Reality - Teacher Pension Costs are Unsustainable
I wrote a blog post back in October of 2017 about the state of teacher pensions. Teachers unions need to stop demanding so much in their negotiations with states. My conclusion: “Teachers will need to be super flexible in negotiations if they want to save the [pension] system. Taking a hard line…
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Episode #9 – Sorry, NEA, higher taxes will not solve the education funding gap in the states.
The NEA’s list of simplistic solutions reminds me of recent comments made by the new darling of the Democrat party, democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In a recent interview on the Daily Show, Trevor Noah asked her how she intended to pay for all of the new governmental programs she…
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Episode #8 - Motel 6 Explains Why Teachers (and Other Workers) Can’t Make Ends Meet
Today’s episode uses Motel 6 to provide a possible answer to why many teachers (and workers in general) just can’t seem to make ends meet. I have written about the teacher pay gap in several previous blog posts but I found a new and interesting way to look at it which I think goes a long way to...
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Episode #7 - The NEA and Educational Negligence – Promoting Unproven Liberal Policy Initiatives
President Lily Eskelsen Garcia says "We’ve been working to … [highlight] … the philosophy of restorative justice while focusing on ‘restorative practices,’ including peace circles, peer juries and mediation and community service ...” In case you don't know what "restorative practices" and...
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Episode #6 - Poor Choice for Students or Poor Choice for the NEA? Supreme Court Nominee Brett Cavanaugh.
Poor Choice for Students or Poor Choice for the NEA? Supreme Court Nominee Brett Kavanaugh The NEA is no fan of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh – but this opposition is only nominally about a concern for students (you know, The Children). The NEA lists several reasons why it doesn’t like...
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Episode #5 - My Google Search Rankings Look Very Good
Where a website ranks on Google is the ultimate sign of success or failure. If you don’t come up on the first Google results page, you basically don’t exist in the world of the internet. As the Anti-NEA Blog approaches its first anniversary, I got to thinking. What have I really accomplished in…
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Episode #4 - $130,000 – That is the Adjusted NEA Employee Average Salary. Teachers only make $58,000 on average.
It is worse than I originally thought. I did some further research and found that the pay gap between the average teacher and the average NEA employee is really about $70,000. In my last podcast I noted that the pay gap was only about $40,000. But then I refined my research a bit by removing…
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Episode #3 - Average NEA Employee makes $98,802 – Average Teacher makes $58,064
I think that the title of this podcast says it all. The average NEA employee makes $40,000 more than the average teacher. This seems fair to you? The NEA is looking out for teachers? And you know how much our fearless president Lily Eskelsen Garcia makes? Listen and find out.
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Episode #2 - Why I intend to opt-out of my state union dues.
Today I am going to discuss one of the reasons why I intend to opt-out of my state union dues. As you probably all know by now, the recent Supreme Court decision Janus has given us the option to opt out. Approximately $100 of my dues goes to the National Education Association (NEA) – an...
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Episode #1 - Welcome to the Anti-NEA Podcast
Welcome to the Anti-NEA Podcast I am keeping it short for this first podcast. This is where I introduce myself and explain why I started the Anti-NEA Blog and why I am now expanding it to podcast format.