Bev vetoes bill 'punishing' NC teacher group (The 'group' is a ham-handed trade union in disguise.)

Verne Strickland Blogmaster  June 18, 2011 'Non-partisan' Associated Press ignores NCAE's role as shill of leftist parent outfit NEA. But group looks like a union, waddles like a union, and quacks like a union. By EMERY P. DALESIO  Associated Press Gov. Bev Perdue By NBC-17 and Associated Press Published: June 18, 2011 RALEIGH, N.C.    Gov. Bev Perdue vetoed a bill Saturday that strips the revenue stream from the North Carolina Association of Educators. Republican legislators singled out the Democrat-friendly NCAE to stop it from deducting membership dues from paychecks. “This bill is nothing but a petty and vindictive attempt to seek retribution against a group that opposed the Republican budget,” said Perdue in a written statement. “The bill unfairly singles out this one group for special treatment. The state Constitution requires organizations with similar missions to be treated equally. This bill clearly does not follow that requirement, therefore I veto it.” Republican leaders say the cutoff of dues was not an attack on teachers. They say it was a move against the political activity of the group's leadership against GOP causes. Minority Leader Joe Hackney issued a statement shortly after the governor's veto. "Gov. Perdue made another strong stand for teachers today by refusing to allow this frivolous legislation go into law," Hackney said in a written statement. "Teachers have the right to share their opinions about a budget that hurts our children and should not have to fear political retribution in return. House Democrats will support them and our governor again if we are called upon." ***********  NCAE LOOKING OUT FOR CHILDREN, MEMBERS -- OR ITSELF? Posted May 3, 2011 by Bob Luebke CIVITAS The North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE) portrays itself as concerned with the interests of students and public education.  Don’t be fooled by the rhetoric. NCAE represents the interests of approximately 50,000 teachers and public school employees who pay them. NCAE tax documents state the real purpose of its mission: “[Tax] Exempt purpose is to advance the interests of educators and the promotion and protection of welfare of the association’s members”1 “To advance the interests of the teaching profession”2   While Schools Suffer, NCAE is Immune from Current Economic Hardship Over the past several years, NCAE has bemoaned declining average teacher salaries, the loss of ABC Bonuses and rising insurance premiums. However, NCAE seems immune from these troubling trends. In 2009, NCAE took in more than $11 million in total revenue,3 including $8.8 million in membership dues Total NCAE revenue has increased from $10.1 million (2006) to $11 million (2009) According to the NCAE web site, average dues for teachers for 2009-10 were about $370/year 4 Since 2006, the number of NCAE employees has increased from 86 to 135, an expansion of 56 percent NCAE spent $7.9 million on salary and compensation in 2009. Divided among 135 employees, this generates an average salary and compensation: $58,719 5 Compensation as a percentage of total NCAE expenses has increased from 66 percent (2006) to 72 percent (2009) http://www.nccivitas.org/

CIVITAS EXPOSES OUTRAGEOUS UNION SALARIES PAID BY NCAE.

May 10, 2011

As the average teacher salary declines and the state is adopting large budget cuts to education – one group is thriving in this dire economic situation. It may (or may not) surprise you that group is the North Carolina Association of Educators (NCAE).  A group whose mission is to defend and advocate for the interests of educators in North Carolina, seems to have its priorities in disarray. The Civitas Institute released a report last week that tracked the average salary and compensation of NCAE employees, and discovered that NCAE salaries for top executives have increased at more than double the rate of the average teacher salary.   After releasing this report the NCAE launched direct protests against Civitas.  Civitas staff and volunteers attended an NCAE rally at the capitol last week to hand out copies of this research to teachers and other attendees. Union representatives were not pleased. They had State Capitol police and Raleigh police tell us to leave the Bicentennial Mall (public property) and stay on the sidewalks. We complied and handed out the flyers as people walked by only to see those people stopped by union employees who ripped the materials out of teachers’ hands or demanded that they discard any information provided by Civitas. Take a moment to watch Civitas video of the rally here. In 2009, the NCAE collected more than $8.8 million in membership dues.  $7.9 million was spent on salary and compensation, which is 72 percent of total expenditures.  With 135 employees, that is significant overhead.  The Executive Director reaped Compensation totaling $229,120, to see other executive compensation click here. Other information included in the report was the NCAE’s political contributions since 2008.  In 2009 the NCAE made over $700,000 in lobbying and political expenditures.   The NCAE also made direct contributions to candidates totaling $172,950, of which 98.6 percent went to Democratic candidates and only 1.3 percent to Republican candidates.  The NCAE along with the NEA also contributed more than $1.8 million to Bev Perdue’s 2008 Governor’s race. It seems in the NCAE’s case, actions speak louder than words.   Civitas in its mission to educate and empower the citizens of North Carolina is working to make this information available to the public.  Please help support our research and allow us to continue to expose union corruption. Click here to make a tax-deductable contribution. The Civitas Institute accepts no government money and is fully funded by the generous support of people like you. Sincerely, P.S. All contributions made to the Civitas Institute are tax-deductible.  If you prefer you can mail your contribution to: Civitas Institute 100 S. Harrington St. Raleigh, NC 27603 or call us at 919.834.2099.  . Civitas Institute <marianne.suarez@nccivitas.org>

NCAE plans to boycott chain stores owned by conservative businessman Art Pope.

//

you're reading...

Verne Strickland Blogmaster

TARGET OF TEACHER UNION IS VARIETY WHOLESALERS -- PARENT GROUP OF ROSES, MAXWAY, VALUE MART, SUPER 10 AND SUPER DOLLAR.

April 24, 2011

By Christopher Carpenter | The Macon County News

The largest association of educators in the state is calling for a boycott of all businesses owned by Art Pope, a North Carolina business man and political insider who has contributed millions of dollars to conservative groups pressing for the elimination of caps on charter school funding. The decision to call for the boycott was made last week at the annual convention of the North Carolina Association of Educators.

Art Pope is the president of Variety Wholesalers, Inc., and a director of the conservative political advocacy group, Americans for Prosperity. Pope is also a major supporter of the Civitas Institute, and he holds a seat on the boards of directors for the John Locke Foundation, the Atlas Economic Research Foundation and the North Carolina Retail Merchants Association. Variety Wholesalers is the parent group to a number of popular stores in the state such as Roses, Maxway, Value Mart, Super 10 and Super Dollar (though not Dollar General), among others owned by Variety Wholesalers Inc.

On Tuesday, Brian Lewis, the government liaison for the NCAE, confirmed the association’s plans to call for a boycott. Nearly 1,200 delegates from every part of the state participated in the annual convention in Raleigh where the boycott was voted on. Lewis said a formal announcement of the boycott is will be made on Thursday.

Americans for Prosperity is among the most forceful proponents of Senate Bill 8, which would lift the cap on charter schools and entitle them to more public school funding. Supporters of the bill say it will inject a level of competition into public education that will improve it in the long run. Detractors say it could cripple a public education system that is already embattled in the state.

As it is currently written, S.B. 8 would require that local school systems hand over a portion of their funding to charter schools in their district, but the charter schools receiving the funds would not be required to provide the services for which the funds were originally allocated to the districts, such as nutrition programs and transportation. Lewis noted that the bill, which is currently being reworked in the House, has been softened slightly from earlier versions that could have even opened local P.T.O. funds, athletic game receipts and even endowments to charter schools.

Senator Jim Davis (R-Franklin) says that some changes to the original bill have been necessary, such as those to protect non-governmental funds and address other legitimate complaints which educators have. At the same time, Davis remains a strong supporter of removing the cap on charter schools.

“The bottom line is we’re trying to expand the educational opportunities for students and for parents in North Carolina, and we feel like lifting the cap on charter schools would go a long way towards that,” Davis said. “I think that we need to introduce competition into our educational system.”

But according to Lewis and the NCAE, rather than strengthen education in the state, such competition could ultimately destroy public schooling. Pope has reportedly said in speeches that he would be happy if all traditional public schools were replaced with charter schools, a statement which should raise alarm bells, says Lewis.

“The most egregious thing about Mr. Pope’s activities, … from our member’s standpoint, is that he makes his millions off of poor people,” Lewis said, explaining the reason Pope has been singled out. “He makes his millions off of African Americans and other disenfranchised groups, and then takes this money and uses it to undermine the poor by gutting the public schools and creating a system of vouchers that help the affluent.”

“Taken to its natural conclusion, this would mean there would be no bus services, no nutrition programs,” says Lewis of the Pope dream of a privatized education system. “Children would be segregated by race or economic status. Teachers would lose their due-process rights and their professional salaries would be cut along with healthcare and other benefits.”

Davis disagrees and says statistics prove otherwise. According to Davis, of the 100 charter schools in the state, twelve of them have 99 percent-plus minority populations, which he believes demonstrates that charter schools would not disadvantage certain groups. “This is just an empty argument to try to thwart the effort of bringing competition into our school system,” says Davis.

Lewis and Davis (and maybe Pope) do agree on one thing. Public education in North Carolina is in trouble. But the annual NCAE Fund Schools First report points to other reasons for the situation. North Carolina is ranked 46th in the nation in terms of per-pupil expenditures and 45th in the nation in terms of average teacher salaries. Giving charter schools the right to skim off even more funding from local education agencies will only exacerbate the problem, say opponents of S.B. 8.

“The NCAE is drawing the line in the sand,” said John deVille, vice president of the Macon County chapter of the NCAE. “We’ve identified who the leaders are in breaking apart public education as we know it in this state and remaking it in their image.”

http://politicsispower.com/2011/04/24/n-c-politics-nc-teachers-to-boycott-art-pope-businesses/