Illinois public sector unions have perfected and popularized a model for bending Americans to union interests. In their model he has three steps. Control the children, control the politicians, control the laws. It is highly effective and detrimental to the future of the countries that adopt it.
Children are at the center of Illinois' union control strategy. After all, in “Animal Farm” the pig Napoleon (representing Joseph Stalin) says:The education of young people was more important than what could be done to those who were already adults.”
The state of Illinois is seeking to control children in the vanguard by forcing them to consume pro-union propaganda in schools.Behold House Bill 4417in many ways the logical outcome of years of union domination.
The bill, currently moving through the Illinois House of Representatives, would require all public high schools to “designate and observe a 'Work Readiness Week.'”
This innocuous-sounding bill is sinister. Students would be forced to consume information about the right to unionize, rather than preparing high school students to communicate professionally and ace interviews.We can spread this in schools too. Advertisement “During a special event after regular school hours.” Perhaps the next step will be to test students' ability to accurately regurgitate this pro-union propaganda.
The pathology runs deeper, especially when it comes to the Chicago Teachers Union.
Chicago public schools are a symbol of inequality. T2023 Illinois Report Card revealed On the SAT, only 22.3% of 11th graders met or exceeded the proficiency level in reading, and 19.1% met proficiency in math. The chronic absenteeism rate was 40%. Despite this, the graduation rate was 83%. (Related: Bryce Hill: It's business as usual for politicians in this blue state. Meanwhile, residents are evacuating in droves.)
How will power-hungry unions respond to this injustice? Force more students into failing schools.
In 2023, CTU's notable accomplishment was not improved educational outcomes that fostered student growth. Eliminating the Invest in Kids scholarship program deprived poor and minority students of school choice. supported 71% of black voters and 81% of Hispanic voters supported it.
The face of their campaign was Chicago Teachers Union President Stacey Davis Gates. Because she's rich (she is) make (about $300,000 a year in addition to her husband's salary), she can afford: send She sent her oldest son to a Catholic school to “fulfill his dreams.” What if you're poor? Then you have no choice and can't dream.
The closure of Invest in Kids has already led to the closure of four other Catholic schools. announcement It will be closed in 2024. Another broken dream.
As an encore to Invest in Kids Murders, CTU aisle December 2023, Chicago Board of Education solution Develop a five-year plan to consider eliminating selective enrollment schools, a form of public school choice.because majority The fact that these schools, on average, significantly outperform Chicago Public Schools in the same region highlights the reality that CTU is to blame for Chicago Public Schools' failures. what will you do?try it kill They are too. Forced fairness.
Plan 2 involves controlling politicians. Since 2010, the teachers union has Gave Donated more than $21 million to sitting state legislators.Labor unions will start spending money on burials for Invest in Kids from June 2023 Over $1.5 million.
CTU owns Springfield, but it literally runs Chicago.
Prior to becoming Mayor in May 2023, Brandon Johnson served as CTU's “Legislative Coordinator.” reception Last year alone, more than $75,000 was donated to active campaigns for mayor. CTU and its state and local chapters Gave Johnson made more than $5.7 million before becoming mayor. Overall, only 17% of CTU spending went Expenditures to representatives and political expenditures in FY2023 tripled under Davis Gates, according to the union's own report to the U.S. Department of Labor.
CTU's next contract negotiations are coming up this summer, and they almost certainly expect to be handsomely rewarded for their political “investments” with lucrative new contracts. (Related: Maylie Smith: Unions continue to persevere despite being crushed by SCOTUS nearly five years ago)
Plan 3 involves controlling the courts by enshrining union supremacy in state law.
In November 2022, unions secured passage of the First Amendment. expanded The power of trade unions. It established a “fundamental right” to organize. Expand bargaining rights to include “economic welfare.”Blocking traffic and tying the hands of lawmakers Any law that “interferes with, denies, or diminishes the right of employees to organize and bargain collectively with respect to wages, hours of work, other terms and conditions of employment, or workplace safety.” and prohibits Illinois' right-to-work law.
Unlike Las Vegas, what happens in Illinois doesn't stay in Illinois. Labor unions are already trying to export the First Amendment to the United States. California and pennsylvania.
Americans need to see Illinois' union dystopia and take heed. Otherwise, its dark shadow will spread far and wide.
Joshua Bundock is policy director at the Illinois Policy Institute.
The views and opinions expressed in this commentary are those of the author and do not reflect the official position of the Daily Caller News Foundation.
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