Elementary Students in Class. (Photo: SB Professional/Shutterstock)
CA Teachers Union Did Oppo Research on Parents Who Wanted Schools to Reopen During COVID
‘To have the teachers’ union dedicate personnel to politically target moms and dads protecting their children is startling and disgusting’
By Katy Grimes, September 7, 2022 5:51 pm
Reopen California Schools just exposed via emails received through California Public Records Act requests that the California Teachers Association labor union conducted opposition research on parent groups pushing for school reopening during the government ordered COVID school shutdowns in California.
???? BOMBSHELL ????
Newly PRA’d emails show @WeAreCTA conducted opposition research on school reopening parent groups during the school shutdowns in CA.
Then after a principal was accidentally CC’d, the “damage control” was asking him to illegally delete the email.
1/???? pic.twitter.com/uwbtdYnkpl
— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) September 5, 2022
Opposition research (“oppo” research) is the practice of collecting information on a political opponent or other adversary that can be used to discredit or weaken them.
“Then after a principal was accidentally CC’d, the ‘damage control’ was asking him to illegally delete the email,” Reopen California Schools reported. “The email was initiated by CTA researcher Ann Swinburn, to an activist parent arm of the local union. In the email Ann says, she is ‘currently doing some research into the various ‘reopen’ groups around the state.’”
Reopen California Schools continues:
“In Dec 2020, the local SDUHSD union, with help from CTA, sued the district to stay closed. Parents then successfully sued to open schools in March 2021. The CTA researcher was wanting to dig up intel on the parents funding the reopen lawsuits. (Hint: It was just parents.)”
“Later in the email, one person accidentally cc’d the wrong Adam, who was a principal in the district. Knowing the information was not only embarrassing, but could be subject to a Public Records Request, they asked the principal to illegally delete the email (he didn’t).”
Reopen California reports that CTA activist Ann Swinburn then made her account private. “And now her account is deleted. Guess making it private wasn’t good enough. Truly was not expecting this (nor paid attention to her Twitter before), but now, I really want to know what were in some of those tweets.”
“The CTA researcher’s tweets are protected now, but older ones are available via an internet archive. Like these from Apr 1 & Oct 15 2021. She seems convinced it was right-wing dark money instead a parents just wanting their kids in school & w/ normalcy.”
The CTA researcher’s tweets are protected now, but older ones are available via an internet archive. Like these from Apr 1 & Oct 15 2021.
She seems convinced it was right-wing dark money instead a parents just wanting their kids in school & w/ normalcy. https://t.co/kpYBZETnCq pic.twitter.com/TlJEHfjyvZ
— Reopen California Schools (@ReopenCASchools) September 6, 2022
The Globe spoke Wednesday with a parent group mom who has been active pressing for school re-openings and getting back to what used to be normal in schools. She said every school district “has a few loudmouth smart moms” who start shill group Facebook pages with innocuous sounding names like “Parents Supporting teachers,” and pump out teachers unions talking points. She said they are usually recruited by the teachers unions.
“Several archived tweets shared by Reopen California Schools, show that Swinburn appeared to be convinced that parent groups fighting to reopen schools were covertly being backed by big money interests,” Fox News reported.
“Lance Christensen, who is a candidate for California superintendent of public instruction, called the email revelations ‘startling and disgusting.'”
“Conducting opposition research is a common practice in political campaigns. But to have the teachers’ union dedicate personnel to politically target moms and dads protecting their own children and expressing their first amendment rights is both startling and disgusting,” Christensen said in a statement to Fox News.
He added: “Entrenched special interests have used their war chests over the last two and a half years to intimidate and threaten anyone who dares to challenge their ineffective reign over public education. This must end.”
These parents exemplify the desperation for normalcy:
“We just wanted schools open, now we just want our kids to be able to read and do math at grade level, and this is what CTA spends $$ on,” the mom says.
“On the front lines”. It’s crazy these people talk they they are at war with parents.
We just wanted schools open, now we just want our kids to be able to read and do math at grade level, and this is what CTA spends $$ on. pic.twitter.com/ytY4muBZsM
— Megan Bacigalupi (@meganbaci) September 6, 2022
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June 11, 2021
It’s actually a relief and a sort of vindication to see in black and white a glaring example of what school district and city hall watchdogs have long suspected: That THEY — the effective parents and citizens —- are typically targeted (and harassed) for merely requesting that their public school “leadership” be REASONABLE and do their jobs. This sort of behavior pre-dates Covid. I could tell stories all day long about the harassment I’ve seen.
Interesting the reference to “right-wing dark money” by the CTA “researcher.” Because we know there is paranoia and psychological projection from teachers’ union (and similar) camps, such an accusation reveals that the accusers are THEMSELVES doing the sorts of things they accuse parents and others of doing.
Rush Limbaugh exposed the Left deflection years ago. if the Left is pointing an accusing finger…the Left is in fact guilty of the behavior. Sadly that deflection has gained ground in effectively brainnwashing thousands of minds.
I graduated HS in 72 with a half-sister 16 years my junior. By the end of the 70s my Pop and his associates began a movement for a return to Basic Education and he felt we would deal with Communism through Education. it’s easy to see my Father and Friends failed miserably and that’s the sadder point. So many have lacked so much for so long and are completely unaware.
Hrwolfe: Because people who engage in fighting the school district (or other entity) may succeed in ways that cannot be measured, it’s likely your father and his group influenced the district and others in substantial ways at the time of the activity. This includes educating the activists and those watching about the ways of malevolent government entities first-hand. On-the-job training, so to speak. Thus I believe his efforts were NOT a failure. Sometimes one has to be satisfied with what has been “clawed back” from these creeps so that the situation does not become worse.
The bad guys have an advantage in that they typically have no qualms about lying and cheating the way we do. Intimidation and harassment are common, seemingly done without conscience and with impunity. I know of at least two memorable situations where activists I knew, fighting for their children or fighting a tax measure, had experiences that spooked them so badly they wouldn’t even tell me exactly what had been done that convinced them it had come from those they had challenged. They didn’t give up, though.
You need a strong stomach and a suit of armor to take on these people. Vigilance and strategy is key. I’ve seen stealth, a network you can count on, and publicity produce victories from time to time. Unexpected backlash takes them off guard. And there ARE citizen victories, even in CA and in CA’s public schools, city halls, and state legislatures.
I don’t see anywhere in this article that it’s mentioned that the author made any attempt to reach out to the CTA researcher or the union for clarification or comment. This therefore is a. one sided opinion. I can’t come to an opinion of my own on that. no where that I see does she specifically state she had any intentions behind looking into the funding of these parent groups. Were they funded by any other special interest political group? this is a poorly written piece that assumes the reader has already made their minds up that all actions taken by the teachers union are underhanded.