Every Member Option - Independent Teachers

23 Dec

Colorado Education Association Tops Million Dollar Mark in 2008 Political Contributions

The final reports are in for political contributions for 2008. The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates narrowly topped one million dollars in giving to political candidates and parties.

Here are the details:

The Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $1,000,585 in political contributions during the 2007-08 election cycle – including:

* $452,360 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $263,500 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $210,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 49 dollars to Democrats

Note: This does not include $4,657,810 contributed to the issue committee Protect Colorado’s Future and $1,600,000 to the issue committee Coloradans for Middle Class Relief to oppose three Colorado state ballot initiatives.

And for AFT:

The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $60,275 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including $40,275 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.

As usual, other membership groups that Colorado teachers are eligible to join did not spend any money on the 2008 election because they do not sponsor any committees to fund political action:

That closes the book on the 2008 election cycle and the roles of different Colorado teacher organizations. Where did your money go this past year?

4 Dec

December 15 deadline for Colorado Education Association Members to Request Political Refund

Tracy

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In this 2-minute video, a Jefferson County teacher advertises the Independent Teachers site and tells interested Colorado Education Association members how they can get refunds from CEA ($39) and their local unions (as much as $24) before December 15:

To learn how to obtain the political refunds, including a link to the online request form and refund request contact information, go here.

Or you can go directly to CEA’s Every Member Option refund request page here.

18 Sep

Colorado Education Association Tops $800,000 in Political Contributions: 97% to Democrats

Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through September 10. Here are the new totals. First, for CEA:

Through September 10, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $825,885 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:

* $280,685 to Democratic candidates and party organizations
* $200,000 to the 527 group Colorado Citizens’ Coalition to support “progressive” political candidates
* $150,000 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates — Accountability for Colorado is also funded by liberal billionaires from the “Gang of Four”
* $9,250 to Republican candidates and party organizations — that’s 1 dollar to Republicans for every 30 dollars to Democrats

And for AFT:

Through September 10, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Colorado has reported $28,375 in political contributions during the current election cycle – $26,875 to Democratic candidates and party organizations and $0 to Republicans.

As usual, these records are obtained through searches on the Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance database.

18 Aug

Colorado Education Association Tops $450,000 in Political Campaign Contributions for 2008 Election

Tracy

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Information on political contributions by Colorado teacher organizations has been updated to reflect campaign reports through the month of July. Here are the new totals:

Through July 30, the Colorado Education Association (CEA) and its affiliates, mostly through Every Member Option funds, have reported $450,552 in political contributions during the current election cycle – including:

$150,000 to the 527 group Accountability for Colorado to support political candidates

$112,975 to Democratic candidates and party organizations

$7,125 to Republican candidates and party organizations

As usual, these records are obtained through searches on the Colorado Secretary of State campaign finance database.

6 Aug

NEA Has Lots of Member Money to Spend on Colorado Political Issues

Tracy

National Education Association, Political Contributions Colorado Education Association, Colorado teachers, constitutional convention, Every Member Option, Florida, Hawaii, Labor Pains, Massachusetts, member dues, Membership Options, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, political issues, political refund, tax cuts, Wall Street Journal

Colorado education professionals, this may be your hard-earned dues dollars at work – if you belong to the Colorado Education Association that is.

According to yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, the National Education Association has a ton of money to spend on state political issues during this election. In the past year, among other things, the NEA has spent money to launch a constitutional convention in Hawaii, and to oppose proposed tax cuts in Florida and Massachusetts. But the Journal also notes:

Expect more of the same going forward in a state near you. “Unlike most previous years,” writes [Mike] Antonucci, “NEA finished 2007-08 with a surplus of nearly $5.9 million, which means the union will enter the 2008-09 school year with almost $20 million available to spend.” It’s a shame the NEA doesn’t spend as much money and effort trying to improve lousy schools as it does trying to keep taxes high.

Mike Antonucci reports that NEA has already granted $89,500 to the Colorado Education Association. It isn’t clear whether those funds are included in the $177,000 NEA has contributed to the issue committee Protect Colorado’s Future – which opposes a Right-to-Work ballot proposal, and supports several initiatives deemed unfriendly to business.

Learn more about how other CEA member money is spent on politics, how a refund can be requested, and what membership options teachers and other education professionals in Colorado have.

Hat Tip to Labor Pains blog

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