ALEC Has a Stranglehold on Pennsylvania Legislature
Jodi Hirsh of Pittsburgh writes that ALEC has forty members in the Pennsylvania legislature, and many hold key positions. ALEC is the voice of major corporations, who oppose any sort of government regulations. She writes that: “House Majority Leader Mike Turzai, Senate Judiciary Chair Stewart Greenleaf, and House State Government Chair Daryl Metcalfe, as well as the Republican chairs of the Health
Amazon in Culture Clash in Germany Because of Anti-Union Policies
The New York Times reports that Amazon is involved in labor disputes in Germany, one of its biggest markets, because of Amazon’s antipathy to union labor. Germany has strong unions. Amazon eventually plans to bring in robots to do the work of people and fears that unions will be an obstacle. Robots never form a union and don’t ask for higher wages, health care or pensions. The article says: Last
Jeff Bezos: Worse Than We Thought
Lee Fang, brilliant investigative journalist for The Nation, has looked closely at Jeff Bezos’ interest in education, and the news is bad. (Fang wrote this classic article about influence-peddling and corruption in the reform movement.) Bezos is throughly smitten with the idea that the way to improve education is to privatize public schools and to eliminate teachers’ unions. Fang writes: —The Bezo
Michigan: Snyder Declares Financial Emergency in Pontiac
Governor Rick Snyder declared a financial emergency in Pontiac, setting a course to name an emergency manager, with the powers to cancel all contracts and–if he or she chooses–to privatize the public schools and give them to charter corporations.
LISTEN TO DIANE RAVITCH 8-6-13 Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all
Diane Ravitch's blog | A site to discuss better education for all: What Will This Charter School Teach This Public School?New York State has this really big idea. It will spend $4.5 million so that top charter schools can teach ordinary public schools how to succeed. What secrets will the charter schools share with the less fortunate, less successful neighborhood public schools? Consider the exa