+  In January, when the California Teachers Association allocated its campaign funds, it set aside $1.45 million to support a large school construction bond initiative working its way through the Legislature at the time. But the bond never got the required legislative approval, so CTA has reallocated the money — $700,000 will be returned to the union's Initiative Fund, $250,000 will be added to its No on 227 campaign, and $500,000 to No on 226. 

        The reallocation means the union has committed $1 million to defeat Prop 227, which would largely end the practice of bilingual education in California. The total commitment to defeating 226, the paycheck protection initiative, now totals $4 million (including $500,000 from NEA). The most recent $500,000 allocation will be spent on an "internal campaign" to persuade the union's own members to oppose 226. This raises a curious paradox. CTA had previously issued a press release announcing that its State Council — a democratic body of some 660 members, each representing 350 teachers — voted unanimously to oppose 226. If the representative vote was unanimous, why is an internal campaign necessary? Aren't the Council reps voting according to their constituents' wishes? Waiting breathlessly for the explanation... 

+  Update: Last week, EIA reported that CTA questionnaires were being returned at a 30 percent rate. New information reveals the actual rate to be 44.34 percent. Returns from Los Angeles City, with by far the largest number of union members, totaled 16.75 percent. 

+  Negotiating contracts, organizing, and directing political advocacy are stressful activities. Sometimes a union staffer just needs to get away and recharge the old batteries. The Wisconsin United Staff Union is providing just such an opportunity for teacher union staff across the country. WUSU is sponsoring a three- day workshop this July on "self-renewal and team building" at the Flambeau River campgrounds near the town of Ladysmith. The workshop will include discussion, reflection time, camping, canoeing and campfire singing. EIA sources add that the smallmouth bass and muskies are biting as well. 

+  This weekend the Montana Education Association's Delegate Assembly will vote whether to merge with the Montana Federation of Teachers. If the assembly approves the new constitution and transition plan, the state affiliates of the NEA and AFT will become one organization by June 15, 2000. Minnesota is the only other state to approve a merged state affiliate, though others are exploring the possibilities. 

+  Unions with even a small number of members in the private sector are bound by the reporting requirements of the Labor Management Reporting and Disclosure Act. Public sector unions are exempted. Because they generally organize nurses, custodians and other private sector workers, most AFT affiliates are therefore required to report the compensation paid to each union officer and staffer. NEA and a small number of its state affiliates are likewise required to report these figures. But most NEA affiliates, including those in California, New Jersey and Wisconsin, are not bound by LMRDA. Should they merge with their AFT counterparts, however, chances are good their compensation figures would become public record. Could this be fueling some state staff opposition to merger? 

+  An innovative idea is causing discomfort in education circles in Arizona. The plan is for private developers to build charter schools within their housing subdivisions, obviating the need for public spending on school construction. Ball Charter Schools has signed a deal with a developer to build six schools in Arizona. While the proposal seems heaven-sent for those dealing with classroom overcrowding and uncertain bond initiatives, educators claim it will lead to resegregation. The remarks of Gene Glass, a professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Arizona State University, are suggestive of the tack the establishment will take. "The only hope for marginalized students is to hold a middle-class white kid hostage in that classroom," Glass told The Arizona Republic. "Then all the political and economic power of the parent will be brought to bear to make sure the class is safe and has good materials." 

+  Personnel move: Robert Barkley, a manager for NEA's National Center for Innovation, will be taking over as executive director of the Ohio Education Association next month. 

+  Philadelphia office worker Tommie Storino and 21 of her colleagues decided last year to unionize in order to improve their wages and benefits. Storino didn't foresee any problems from management, because she works for the Carpenters Health and Welfare Fund — a union. She was wrong. Storino was fired, despite her 15 year tenure, ostensibly for misuse of the union's 800 phone line. The National Labor Relations Board disagreed, ordering the union to reinstate Storino and pay her back wages. "How can a union condemn us for being in a union?" asked Storino. "We were doing the same thing that they do all the time." The union is appealing the NLRB ruling. 

+  Quote of the Week: "The last time I checked, unions were run democratically, and nobody's money gets spent on anything without a vote by union members who have participated." — Gale Kaufman, a consultant for the No on 226 campaign in California, explaining (?) why the unions are spending millions of dollars fighting an initiative their members support by a two-to-one margin.