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Ever wonder why union members' salary and benefits, workload agreements, and other aspects of their collective bargaining agreements, or "contracts," often remain unchanged and enforced during the all-too-common periods when public employees labor without a contract? In New York, the answer boils down to an understanding of the Public Employees' Fair Employment Act (commonly known as the Taylor Law) and one particular clause in the law, the Triborough Amendment. Together they have provided powerful stability in New York's public union workplaces, while sacrificing public employees' right to strike. This essay provides a brief summary of both measures and argues that this amendment to the Taylor Law be watched over diligently, lest the winds of anti-labor sentiment, which have blown through Wisconsin, Michigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Ohio, end up in New York and elsewhere.

The article explores the reasons for the popularity of U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who uses divisive and hateful speech to boost his candidacy, and highlights the need for educators to help inform the public about the real state of the country through informed and civil democratic discourse.

In this article, the author stresses that Trumpism can be considered as conservatism.