School employee unions in California weren’t always powerful. That started to change in 1975 when they were extended collective bargaining rights but that alone didn’t confer their dominance. The other ingredient was the failure of good government organizations to persistently resist their demands. Nearly six million California kids heading back to K-12 schools this week suffer the consequences. Treated more like captives than customers and all too often served by poorly-performing employees who can’t be fired, they haven’t even benefited from a doubling in spending per pupil eaten up by faster-growing pension costs.
School unions persistently donate to legislators, track thousands of bills each year, and never forget those who help or cross them. Good government supporters must do the same. That’s what GFC has done since 2011. It takes time to catch up — public employee unions had a multi-decade head start — but it doesn’t take a lot of money. Donations of any size are effective because they are bundled alongside persistent donations from other members of our network, which makes more direct donations to legislators than any other organization. Support persistent resistance here.
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