Today's News and Commentary- February 20

The Washington Post reports that the National Education Association (NEA), the largest teachers union in the country, described the implementation of common core standards in the nation’s public schools as “completely botched” and called for major changes to the roll-out of the standards.  The NEA has previously been one of the Obama Administration’s strongest allies on the push to adopt common core standards.

According to the New York Times, labor leaders identified raising the minimum wage as a winning strategy for both unions and Democrats during this year’s election season. The unions will be focusing their efforts most heavily in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Florida, and will be paying increased attention to state and local races.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal highlights a potential rift between Democrats and unions over the IRS’s proposed rules that puts some union activity at risk of losing its tax-exempt status.

The Hill notes that the American Federation of Government Employees, National Treasury Employees Union, and other federal employee unions are calling for Congress to end pension cuts for federal workers.  Congress recently voted to end pension cuts for military personnel, but not other government employees.

In sports news, the New York Times reports that Northwestern football player Kain Colter testified for four hours in front of the National Labor Relations Board about the need for a player’s union on campus.