AFT Members Making a Difference Every Day - #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

AFT - A Union of Professionals -

Making a Difference

As states deal with the continuing fallout from the recession, the most promising strategies to get the economy moving are balanced, commonsense approaches that include investments in vital public services, creative ways to find new revenues, shared sacrifice where cuts are necessary, and, above all, a focus on creating good jobs. Unfortunately, the leadership that swept into power in many states last fall has turned to approaches that are anything but balanced. A common theme has been to attack long-standing worker protections, slash the modest public employee pensions that workers have contributed to for years, and cut funding for vital public services such as public safety, healthcare and education—all while maintaining tax breaks for corporations and wealthy individuals.

Despite the toxic political environment, AFT state and local affiliates across the country are making a difference by restoring balance to policy debates and presenting their own solutions for how to work cooperatively to move the economy forward.

On the map below, click on the orange states to see what's happening in those locations and how the AFT and its allies are responding.

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Featured Story

From threatened layoffs of more than 10,000 school employees in New York to efforts to pass right-to-work legislation in Michigan, and calls for rollbacks of even the most basic elements of workplace fairness and professional voice in Florida and Illinois, AFT members and affiliates are fending off devastating blows from elected officials and from well-funded, well-coordinated fringe organizations.

Read more from the latest issue ofAmerican Teacher.

Watch the video: Indiana Teachers Fight for Public Education.

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Great Public Schools

AFT members are making the public schools where they work great places for children to learn and for teachers to teach and for school staff to support the learning process. See our profiles of some of those great public schools.

AFT Members Making
a Difference Every Day

Read our profiles highlighting some of the outstanding AFT members who have gone above and beyond—both in and outside the workplace

REMINDER: "WE ARE ONE" – CALIFORNIA ACTION aflcio.org - #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

aflcio.org - America's Union Movement

REMINDER: "WE ARE ONE" – CALIFORNIA ACTION CANDLELIGHT VIGIL in solidarity with Wisconsin Workers Tuesday, February 22nd at 5:30pm State Capitol West Steps, Sacramento Rallies. Crowds spilling into the streets. A sea of people marching together in solidarity. Every day this week, nonstop. This isn’t happening in Egypt...It’s happening in Madison, Wis. Wisconsin Gov. Walker’s immediate attack is aimed directly at some 200,000 public workers—but the brave men and women taking to the streets come from every walk of life and recognize that all working people—public and private sector—are in jeopardy. And they know that if we don’t all speak out and stand together, we’ll all be targets. JOIN US ON TUESDAY FEBRUARY 22ND! 5:30pm at the State Capitol West Steps, Sacramento For more information, contact Katie Gjertson or Steve Smith.

To find out more about the AFL-CIO, please visit our website at www.aflcio.org.

FLORIDA – Your HELP is needed #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

FLORIDA – Your HELP is needed …Please, please pick up a PHONE and call tonight. Numbers below. SB 736 (teacher quality bill) and pension bills are in Senate Hearings tomorrow, Feb 23, 2011. Can you GO ? Tallahassee, Florida « Continuing Change

« Micheal Moore posted Video from Cairo, Egypt for the Wisconsin Protesters. #Wisconsin #Unions

FLORIDA – Your HELP is needed …Please, please pick up a PHONE and call tonight. Numbers below. SB 736 (teacher quality bill) and pension bills are in Senate Hearings tomorrow, Feb 23, 2011. Can you GO ? Tallahassee, Florida

February 22, 2011 by gatorbonbc

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FLORIDA – Your HELP is needed now !!

Please, please pick up a PHONE and call tonight.

SB 736 (teacher quality bill) and pension bills are in Senate Budget Committee tomorrow, Wed, Feb 23 at 9 am.

Can you GO ? Tallahassee, Florida

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List below of names/numbers is great thanks to Mary B. Calls are more effective.

Sen Jeremy Ring 850-487-5094
Sen Gary Siplin 850-457-5190
Sen LizBeth Benequisto 850-487-5356
Sen Ellyn Setnor Bogdanoff 850-487-5100
Sen Mike Fasano 850-487-5062
Sen Anitere Flores 850-487-5130
Sen Rene Garcia 850-487-5106
Sen Stephen Wise 850-487-5027See More

Senate Budget Committee

Alexander (R) (850) 487-5044
Negron (R) (850) 487-5088
Altman (R) (850) 487-5053
Benacquisito (R) (850) 487-5356
Bogdanoff (R) (850) 487-5100
Fasano (R) (850) 487-5062
Flores (R) (850) 487-5130
Gaetz (R) (850) 487-5009
Hays (R) (850) 487-5014
Joyner (D) (850) 487-5059
Lynn (R) (850) 487-5033
Margolis (D) (850) 487-5121
Montford(D) (850) 487-5004
Rich (D) (850) 487-5103
Richter (R) (850) 487-5124
Simmons (R) (850) 487-5050
Siplin (D) (850) 487-5190
Sobel (D) (850) 487-5097
Thrasher (R) (850) 487-5030
Wise (R) (850) 487-5027

But email addresses may be found here:

http://flsenate.gov/Committees/Show/BC/

Info quoted from and thanks to Facebook advocacy group:

Testing is not Teaching! – PBC citizens united to make a difference!
Organization

http://www.facebook.com/testingisnotteaching?ref=ts

Raise Your Hand Idaho #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

idahoea

http://www.idahoea.org/

Posted: February 18, 2011 | 0 comments

Parents and teachers hate the Luna plan, but it’s barreling toward passage. Ask your state Senator to say NO on the bills.

Singing my song. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Singing my song. « Fred Klonsky's blog

Singing my song.

by Fred Klonsky

World Wide Rebel Song by Tom Morello at a rally in Madison.

Popout

Ohio Protesters Singing "God Bless America" #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

ProgressOhio | February 22, 2011 | 2 likes, 0 dislikes

Thousands of Ohio citizens were locked out of the Statehouse today when they arrived to protest SB 5. While left out in the 20 degree weather, they came together to sing "God Bless America." February 22, 2011

To my critics: Teachers deserve rights - CNN.com #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

To my critics: Teachers deserve rights - CNN.com

To my critics: Teachers deserve rights

By Diane Ravitch, Special to CNN

February 22, 2011 5:03 p.m. EST

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Diane Ravitch's column supporting Wisconsin teachers got huge, emotional response
• Many agree teachers demonized, she says, but others think they deserve it
• Wisconsin public sector unions agreed to all the governor's financial demands, she says
• Aim is busting unions, she writes, to leave no barrier to more cuts in pay, benefits

Editor's note: Diane Ravitch is a historian of education and the author of the best seller "The Death and Life of the Great American School System."

(CNN) -- A few days ago, I wrote an opinion piece for CNN.com explaining why teachers in Wisconsin -- and throughout the nation -- are angry, and it isn't just because Gov. Scott Walker asked them to pay more for their pensions and health-care benefits. They are angry because of the unwarranted public vilification that has been heaped on them for the past two years.

The response was unlike anything I have ever seen before, and I've been writing about education for 40 years. The column received more than 8,000 comments and more than 37,000 Facebook shares. I personally received scores of emails. The overwhelming

Labor's Edge Blog : In Wisconsin, Shades of the Thirties #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Labor's Edge Blog : In Wisconsin, Shades of the Thirties

In Wisconsin, Shades of the Thirties

By Dick Meister

By now, there's can be no doubting it: What's happening in Wisconsin is one of the most important labor developments in decades. It's of major importance to unions and their members, of major importance to working people generally ­ of major importance to us all.

In many ways, it's the 1930s again. Just as then, workers and their political allies and other supporters are demonstrating, picketing, marching, striking and otherwise forcefully demanding the basic civil right of collective bargaining ­ the unfettered right for workers' representatives to negotiate with employers on setting their wages, hours and working conditions.

Eventually, workers and their millions of supporters won the 1930s struggle.

Congress, acting closely with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, granted the legal right of collective bargaining to most workers. Farm workers, domestics and a few other groups were excluded from the law, but all others finally had that vital right.

The 1930s struggle arose primarily because of the economic pressures of the Great Depression that led to massive protests, just as today's struggle can be traced to the pressures of the Great Recession that also have led to massive

A Look at Public Worker Rallies Around the Country Education Votes

Education Votes

A Look at Public Worker Rallies Around the Country

by treed [editor] | Discuss 0

Tags: activism, activist, CA, California, ID, Idaho, IN, Indiana, OH, Ohio, rally, teachers, Tennessee, TN, Union, WI,Wisconsin, Your Voice

Wisconsin

In Wisconsin, WEAC has stood firm for collective bargaining, while agreeing to the changes proposed by Governor Walker and offering to meet with him. Demonstrations are continuing throughout the week. For recent articles on the crisis in Wisconsin, visit the