Monday, February 21, 2011

Open Class Struggle in Wisconsin | Dailycensored.com #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Open Class Struggle in Wisconsin | Dailycensored.com

Open Class Struggle in Wisconsin

While less than 10% of the private sector work force is in unions in the United States, these unions still represent a potentially massive force in US society, capable of mobilizing millions of workers and youth. This is in the process of being proven in Wisconsin, where the class struggle has broken out into the open.

One-Sided Class Warfare

For the last few decades, it has been almost entirely a one-sided class war. The employers and their political representatives (Republican and Democrat alike) have been conducting a policy of “death by a thousand cuts”. In the work place, workers have seen cuts in benefits, pensions and wages as well as speed-up (often masked by what is called “multi-tasking”). In education, high school students have seen increased class size and elimination of many extra curricular activities while teachers have seen wage cuts and increased work loads. Workers in the public sector have seen lay offs and cuts in benefits and pay while the

A Challenging Week in the Indiana House of Representatives (facebook) by Terri Jo Austin #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

A Challenging Week in the Indiana House of Representatives (face book)

A Challenging Week in the Indiana House of Representatives


Terri Jo Austin
by Terri Jo Austin on Monday, February 21, 2011 at 7:58pm
As I write this, we are about to begin one of the most difficult weeks in my time at the Indiana General Assembly.
In the days ahead, the people of this state will be facing an unprecedented attack from a radical agenda advanced by House Republicans. As a result, we will see hundreds of millions of dollars drained away from our public schools in favor of for-profit schools and private schools. Working men and women will be deprived of their rights to earn a decent living and to have a voice in the decisions that will impact them in the workplace. It is nothing less than an anti-child and anti-worker agenda that is a huge step backward for most Hoosiers.
Here is what is happening to our children.
As you know, our public schools already have had to deal with $600 million in spending cuts ordered by the governor over the past two years. Thanks to legislation that will divert your tax dollars toward private schools through charter schools and vouchers our schools will see even more cuts. As more public money goes toward for-profit schools, the funding available for public schools gets smaller and smaller. How can we justify these steps when we haven’t even paid for full-day kindergarten for all children yet?
This week we will be voting on a new state budget (House Bill 1001) that cuts support for most schools across Indiana. Madison County schools will lose over $15 million dollars. That will mean larger classes and fewer programs and materials for children who will never have a chance to attend a private school. Is that a fair trade in return for unchecked growth in charter schools and voucher programs? I don't think so.
But funding cuts are only one place where public schools are under attack. Another proposal enables many private schools to avoid following the same rules and regulations as those imposed on public schools.
Schools are not the only area of attack from this radical agenda. This House majority also has done nothing to help Hoosiers who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own and are trying to support their families while they look for work.
We have done nothing to help close to 300,000 unemployed Hoosiers find jobs. The only thing we have told them so far is that the House Republicans want to cut their unemployment benefits by 25 percent.
Today, a House committee passed a "right to work" bill that was described as a job creation measure by its proponents. In fact, all this legislation will do is force salaries down at a time when Hoosiers already are only making 85 cents for every $1 earned by the average American.
Unfortunately, this has become one of the most partisan sessions I have ever experienced. More than 71% of roll call votes have been along party lines. Time after time, amendments offered by House Democrats have been rejected, dismissed or denied an opportunity to be heard in committees and on the floor. The people of Indiana elected us not just to represent a particular party or philosophy, but to represent the needs and interests of our constituents and our communities. I will do everything in my power to see the most extreme parts of this agenda defeated, but I need your help. Call the toll-free Statehouse telephone number of 1-800-382-9842 and tell the members of the Indiana General Assembly that we need to protect our children and our workers. Insist that we make all children a priority, not just some.

School Tech Connect: A Unique Opportunity

School Tech Connect: A Unique Opportunity

A Unique Opportunity

brazenly lifted from here
One of the most vexing periods of my life was very recently, in 2009, when it seemed like the public option was still a possibility. The president had been so forceful on the issue-- it was definitely a central theme of his candidacy and there was so much hope for progress.

But then they started to let the clock run out, and Rahm Emanuel basically dealt it away in favor of the bullshit "trigger" idea (Rahmreflexively supports laws with the word "trigger" in the title, no matter how terrible they are.) It's hard to find a public statement from Rahm that supports the idea of the public option; he was never behind it and he helped it die.

At the time, I believe I wrote, "If the president makes me buy health insurance from the same crooks who have been refusing to sell it to me, that will be the beginning of the end of the Democratic party."

Anyway, I bet we could have had a public option but the president decided to roll with Rahm. I would rather vote for a horse's ass than for Rahm Emanuel, and with Gery Chico's standing in the polls, I might just get the chance.

Pittsburgh Council Members in Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Pittsburgh Council Members in Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers | AFL-CIO NOW BLOG

Pittsburgh Council Members in Solidarity with Wisconsin Workers

by Tula Connell, Feb 21, 2011

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More shows of solidarity with Wisconsin workers. Tomorrow, Feb. 22, Pittsburgh Councilmember Natalia Rudiak will preview a proclamation co-sponsored by all nine City Councilmembers expressing support and respect for public workers prior to the Pittsburgh City Council’s regular weekly meeting.

Council Member Rudiak and other councilmembers will be joined by a variety of public workers including fire fighters, drivers, snow plow drivers, school crossing guards drivers, snow plow drivers and school crossing guards.

Says Jack Shea, President of the Allegheny County Labor Council:

The right-wing assault on public workers grossly misrepresents facts and tries

Donors to Education Seek Ways to End Teacher Tenure - Chronicle of Philanthropy- #wisolidarity #wiunion #weac

Donors to Education Seek Ways to End Teacher Tenure - Conference Notebook - The Chronicle of Philanthropy- Connecting the nonprofit world with news, jobs, and ideas

Donors to Education Seek Ways to End Teacher Tenure

October 18, 2010, 1:02 pm
Amelia Island, Fla.
For many donors who want to improve the education system, the question isn’t whether teacher tenure needs to be abolished but how to do so.
In a session at the Philanthropy Roundtable’s annual conference entitled “How to End Teacher Tenure,” nonprofit leaders discussed how philanthropic dollars could be spent to help get rid of teacher tenure, which protects teachers from arbitrary dismissal.
Critics of tenure for public schoolteachers argue that it has made removing bad teachers far too difficult, if not impossible.
Timothy Daly, president of the New Teacher Project, a nonprofit in Brooklyn, N.Y., that recruits and trains teachers to work in needy schools, said that making teachers more accountable won’t happen until there are good data to evaluate teacher performance. Collecting such data have been a focus of his organization and others.
“If we want to change the culture and make it more performance-oriented, the key point is that we have to generate information about performance that means something,” he said. ”Until we have real information on teacher performance that we can employ in this conversation, we’re just arguing with one another and chasing our tail.”

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now,2-21-11 Special #wiunion Evening Edition #weac

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now, #wiunion

Big Education Ape: Ed News Now


#wiunion
politico.com - As organized labor hails an unprecedented moment of unity playing out amid a sea of supporters marching in Madison, Wis., other union officials elsewhere are quietly wringing their hands about the ...


coopmike48
tnr.com - Anti-labor forces have waited decades for the opportunity that they are now trying to seize in Wisconsin. Republican Governor Scott Walker’s plan, echoed in proposals put forward by several other c...


coopmike48
blog.aflcio.org - Kamal Abbas, general coordinator of the independent Egyptian Centre for Trade Unions and Workers Services (CTUWS), has sent an amazing message of solidarity to U.S. workers under assault by CEO-bac...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - We’d rather be in the classroom, but it was time to speak outBy Terry Schoessow, Special to Workday20 February 2011MADISON, Wis. - If you had told any of our group of eight teachers a month ago tha...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - Madison, Wisconsin, The Heartland, AmericaI am not what you would call a real "progressive" in the modern sense of the word. I actually have significant concerns about the role of public sector uni...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - Protests in Wisconsin continue to surge Friday, even as reports from Thursday evening claimed as many as 25,000 demonstrators had taken to the state's capitol building in Madison. Residents are tur...


coopmike48
dailykos.com - The following comes directly from http://www.patriotactionnetwork.com/... Our goal is to make the gathering look as greedy and goonish as we know that it is, ding their credibility with the media a...


coopmike48
abcnews.go.com - Feb. 20, 2011 The Democratic Wisconsin state senators camped out across the border in Illinois fired back at Gov. Scott Walker today, saying their action to block a vote on his budget proposal is a...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Stand With Wisconsin WorkersWISCONSIN WORKERS ARE UNDER ATTACK! TUESDAY, FEB. 22, 2011 STATE CAPITOL, SACRAMENTO 5:30 PMSupport Workers’ Rights!Join us for a Candlelight Vigil in solidarity with Wi...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - You might want to read this.How do states which allow collective bargaining for unions compare, academically, against those that don’t? Let’s first look at HS graduation rates:Grad Rates- The red a...


coopmike48
npr.org - Steve Inskeep talks to Wisconsin state senator Scott Fitzgerald about the crisis with state employees there. Sunday was the sixth day of massive protests in Wisconsin, where Governor Scott Walker a...


coopmike48
blogs.forbes.com - BusinessFeb. 18 2011 - 6:45 pm | 0 views | 0 recommendations |By RICK UNGAR As the nation focuses on the efforts of Governor Scott Walker to take away collective bargaining rights from public emplo...


coopmike48
reuters.com - By James Kelleher MADISON, Wisconsin | Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:45pm EST MADISON, Wisconsin (Reuters) - The issues were serious but the mood was cheery on Sunday among demonstrators in Wisconsin protesti...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - Watching the battle in Wisconsin it is clear that the historic deal that created the great American middle class is in danger of unraveling. Government workers have long exchanged greater job secur...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - WASHINGTON -- It's day four of exile for Wisconsin's Democratic state senators, who crossed state lines in order to stall the expedited passage of Gov. Scott Walker's (R) budget proposal. Although ...


coopmike48
signonsandiego.com - By RYAN J. FOLEY, Associated Press Monday, February 21, 2011 at 12:03 a.m. / AP Teacher Michael Mulvey of West Allis, Wis., carries a sign in the rotunda at the State Capitol in Madison, Wis., Sund...


coopmike48
voices.washingtonpost.com - "Republicans say that public-sector employees have become a privileged class that overburdened taxpayers," write Karen Tumulty and Brady Dennis. The question, of course, is whether it's true. Consi...


coopmike48
politifact.com - Crowds have built for a week in Madison as public employees and their supporters rally against Gov. Scott Walker’s plan to strip them of most of their collective bargaining rights. Walker supporter...


coopmike48
suntimes.com - Wisconsin Gov. Walker turns state into battleground for unions By David Roeder Staff Reporter/droeder@suntimes.com Feb 20, 2011 11:51PM Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, shown Thursday, campaigned on th...


coopmike48
cta.org - CTA stands with our colleagues and public employees in Wisconsin whose collective bargaining rights are under attack by Gov. Scott Walker. He is scapegoating working families for state budget probl...


coopmike48
philly2philly.com - Thousands of Wisconsin citizens are taking to the streets to protest Republican Governor Scott Walker's proposal to strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights. Republicans argue t...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - As events in Egypt showed, you never know what will set off mass protest.Here at home, over-reaching by a novice Republican governor of Wisconsin has finally triggered the protest marches that have...


mikeklonsky
coopcatalyst.wordpress.com - Just recently I got into a discussion on Facebook with some of my mother’s friends about the goings on in Wisconsin. To make a long story short, we disagreed about a lot of things including tax cut...


coopmike48
rawstory.com - Tags: American, budget, labor unrest, last fifteen years, Medicare, party, percent, president bill clinton, private sector employees, public sector workers, Republican, republican strategy, sector,...


coopmike48
memphisflyer.com - Well, it's about time! I wondered what it would take for Cairo-like demonstrations to break out on this side of the pond, and now, thanks to the folks in Madison, Wisconsin, we know the answer: it'...


coopmike48
nytimes.com - Last week, in the face of protest demonstrations against Wisconsin’s new union-busting governor, Scott Walker — demonstrations that continued through the weekend, with huge crowds on Saturday —...


coopmike48
act.aflcio.org - So-called “Right to Work” Legislation · Backed heavily by out-of-state corporate interests, “Right to Work” legislation is designed to wipe out unions by bankrupting them and weakening thei...


coopmike48
themoderatevoice.com - Across the US, GOP Lawmakers Build States of Denial by Michael Winship Forced at gunpoint this weekend to clean out a lot of old paper files in anticipation of some home improvements, I ran across ...


coopmike48
huffingtonpost.com - WASHINGTON -- The protests that erupted last week in Wisconsin have attracted attention not only across the United States, but even as far away as Egypt. One of those out-of-state observers, Maine ...


coopmike48
nytimes.com - WASHINGTON — The battle in Wisconsin over public employee unions has left President Obama facing a tricky balance between showing solidarity with longtime political supporters and projecting a mess...


DianeRavitch
media.www.dennews.com - Dave Balson/Opinions Editor 2011 is shaping up to be one hell of a year for democracy. History books will look back on the unprecedented protests of the past two months as a time when millions of p...


coopmike48
timesfreepress.com - NASHVILLE — While Senate Republicans largely support a statewide law banning collective bargaining for teachers, some of their House counterparts are talking about leaving the decision in local gov...


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leoniehaimson Gov. Cuomo's Speech Drowned Out By 'Tax The Rich' Chants:http://huff.to/gTNYgm via @addthis13 minutes ago · reply
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coopmike48 NFL, Union Resume Mediation for 4th Day in Row - Democratic Underground - http://goo.gl/brhF712 minutes ago · reply
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coopmike48 Modern School: Closing the Achievement Gap by Closing Our Eyes -http://goo.gl/xWT2A12 minutes ago · reply
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coopmike48 Read delvalleformayor.com Daily ▸ today's top stories via @chicitycollegeshttp://t.co/MbhM3ZY #chicagomayor#wiunion8 minutes ago · reply
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - After six days of protests that packed the state capitol, Wisconsin's major teachers' union called on members to start returning to work Monday but keep fighting a proposed rollback of union protec...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - crooksandliars.com - Fox News broke this bulletin about an hour ago. It stems from a video posted by the MacIver Institute Wisconsin alleging that a doctor is signing bogus excuses for teachers pro...


coopmike48
boston.com - MILWAUKEE—Doctors who wrote medical notes over the weekend excusing protesters at the Wisconsin Capitol from work are getting slammed with angry phone calls and profane e-mails from people telling ...


coopmike48
247wallst.com - Successful political activity often spreads from one geographic area to another. That has certainly been true among financially weak countries in Europe. It is now happening among nations in the Mi...


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bigeducationape.blogspot.com - MADISON (WKOW) -- The Madison School District sent out this memo Sunday evening, asking staff to report, but saying schools will be closed again Monday.The Madison Teachers Union is advising member...


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cnn.com - Protesters crowd Wisconsin capitalSTORY HIGHLIGHTS Rock guitarist says he'll play for protesters on Monday Governor Walker reiterates calls for missing Democrats to come back Tea Party activists ar...


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communities.washingtontimes.com - EASTON, MD — February 21, 2011 — Thousands of peaceful protestors flood the capital. Thinly veiled threats of force are issued against the protestors. Opposition leaders flee elsewhere, going int...


coopmike48
buzzfeed.com - 45 awesome protest signs against Governor Scott Walker's budget bill. I'm very impressed with your signs, Wisconsin. Very clever.


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nyceducator.com -


DianeRavitch
sunjournal.com - Nuggets from the notebook while wondering if Maine's labor groups will be emboldened by their colleagues in Wisconsin ... From Maine's perspective, watching the protests in Wisconsin may seem like ...


coopmike48
salemnews.net - LISBON -Columbiana County's two state legislators find themselves on opposite sides of proposed legislation to limit the negotiating power of public employee unions.State Rep. Craig Newbold is will...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Indiana teachers rally against efforts by Governor Mitch Daniels to divert resources from public schools to charter schools and private schools.


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - With the battle going on in Wisconsin, we wanted to ask: How many states have collective bargaining with public employees' unions? How many forbid it? Check out our map. It's pretty revealing. Map ...


coopmike48
bigeducationape.blogspot.com - Micheal Moore posted video from Cairo, Egypt for the Wisconsin protesters. 2/21/11.Watch the video here:http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/must-read/statement-kamal-abbas“Victory belongs to all the ...


coopmike48
tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com - Tensions remained high in Wisconsin on Sunday as Gov. Scott Walker (R) remained in a standoff with state public employees unions and Democratic legislators over a proposal that would not only requi...


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