The California Teachers Association spent $211.8 million on California politics in a single decade, outspending oil companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers combined. SEIU collected 1.6 million signatures for a wealth tax with a fine-print expansion clause the voters won't get to approve. Lorena Gonzalez carried the AFL-CIO's signature legislation through the legislature, then left to become the AFL-CIO's president. The prison guards' union helped write Three Strikes and has given Gavin Newsom $2.9 million since he took office. The same governor who talks constantly about criminal justice reform.
The schools rank 38th. The pension debt is larger than the annual education budget. One million California students had no computer when the schools closed. None of this is hidden. All of it is public record.
In this video, we break down the closed loop — CTA, SEIU, Lorena Gonzalez, and why the exit doesn't exist.
Sources referenced:
– Reason Foundation, California Pension Liability Report, 2025
– Stanford SIEPR Pension Tracker (pensiontracker.org)
– Brookings Institution, CalSTRS Unfunded Obligation, 2023
– Freedom Foundation, CTA Political Activities Report, February 2025
– InfluenceWatch, California Teachers Association
– CalMatters, California Lobbying Spending 2024, April 2025
– National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
– Janus v. AFSCME, U.S. Supreme Court, 2018
– California Secretary of State, 2026 Billionaire Tax Act initiative text
California Underground covers the California stories the rest of the media ignores — following the audits, the contracts, the budgets, and the officials responsible for outcomes that aren't matching the promises. No team. Just receipts.
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