The War on Schools

In February of this year a special issue in Labor Notes focused on the war against public education.

"A handful of conservative billionaires with enormous political and media savvy are leading an all-out war on public education and its unionized teachers. Their initiative is part of a broader attack on all public services and public employee unions. This special section on the following pages outlines the attacks and explores alternatives."

It's a great article and I encourage everyone to read it.

"It’s no coincidence that those fueling and funding school reform are millionaires, billionaires, and large corporations. To believe that their interest lies in helping children would require a suspension of logic and a denial of our history." 

You should also check out this blog post "10 Things Charter Schools Don't Want You to Know" from Modern School, a blog by a public educator in the San Francisco area.  I will adding the blog to my list on the right.

Have you seen Waiting for Superman?  Check out this post, which explain why this film is yet another example of the attack on our public school.

Two Steps Back

It takes an emotional toll, this fight we, the middle class, are fighting.  One step forward, two steps back.
Remember how just a few weeks ago, I posted this: A (Small) Victory for the Middle Class.

And today, this story broke:  Bill voiding sick leave law sent to Walker.

Yesterday the Assembly Republicans sent a bill to Walker that would void the Milwaukee ordinance requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave.  More and more we see businesses running our country.  We've heard the Republican drill:  if we treat businesses well by offering tax cuts and no regulations, then they in turn will create lots of jobs, helping us "lower" class via the trickle down effect.

But what are the results?  The CEO's get richer and the middle class gets poorer.

Want to see even more crystal clear graphics?  Then go here:  Mother Jones.

Wisconsin's Journey in Photos

This photo was taken by Lori Compas, a Wisconsin photographer from Fort Atkinson.
Check out her blog- Traveling Light- for some amazing photos of the Wisconsin protests and most recently, the walk from Whitewater to Madison by UW Whitewater faculty.

Thank you, Lori, for telling our story in photos!

If I Only Had a Heart

On the April 6th show, Rachel Maddow said, "Corporations do not have hearts.  They have profits, they have interests."  She later went on to say, "For corporations seeking profits regardless of the human cost, it is rational, it's business.  And watching out for the humans in that equation- that is what governments are for."

A 2003 article from the San Francisco Chronicle: Corporations not Human, reported on the Supreme Court case, Kasky vs Nike.  "A corporation is an artificial being -- invisible, intangible and existing only in contemplation of law. Being human must be a valid condition for protection under the First Amendment. In effect, the court ruled that there is no constitutional basis for bestowing Bill of Rights protections upon corporations."


Which seems a direct contrast to the recent Supreme Court ruling on Citizens United vs Federal Election Commission, which now allows corporations to donate as much as they want to political campaigns.


Justice John Paul Stevens dissented, saying, “In the context of election to public office, the distinction between corporate and human speakers is significant. Although they make enormous contributions to our society, corporations are not actually members of it."


What can you do?  Go to this website:  Move to Amend  Sign the petition to amend the Constitution.
Get involved in their project- here's an event in the Milwaukee area next weekend.

Columbian Unions

On April 6th the US and Columbia reached a free trade pact which will raise US exports to Columbia by more than $1 million.


The deal came, "after the Colombians agreed to offer greater protections for workers and union leaders, an area of key concern for the U.S."


"The key U.S. concerns in negotiating the Colombia pact focused on high rates of violence against Colombian labor union leaders and insufficient protections for workers' rights. Under the new agreement, the Colombian government will phase in a series of measures throughout the year aimed at increasing protections for labor.

The measures include:

— Expanding by April 22 the scope of existing protections to help union leaders protect labor activists, workers trying to join unions, and former union activists who may be threatened because of past activities.

— Reforming Colombia's criminal code by June 15 to criminalize and penalize actions or threats that could limit workers' rights, including the right to organize.

—Directing Colombia's National Police to assign 95 full-time investigators to support prosecutors handling cases involving crimes against union members by December."


So the US government fights for workers' right to organize and join a union... as long as they're in Columbia.

Pessimistically Optimistic

As we wait to hear the results of the Kloppenburg vs Prosser vote, here's an article from last Friday's Examiner that gives hope.

"The ruling by U.S. District Judge Ronald Guzman affirms that collective bargaining rights cannot be overturned by governmental edict. Guzman told the Legislature 'it had no business trying to interfere with collective bargaining'" 

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr

Here's an excerpt from Martin Luther King III on the Unions.org blog.

"Forty-three years ago my father, Martin Luther King Jr., was assassinated while he was in Memphis, Tenn., supporting a strike of municipal sanitation workers. It was, in his eyes, more than a quest for a few more dollars in a paycheck. He saw the strike as part of the great struggle of his time—a struggle for democracy, for truth, for justice and for human dignity.

These are the same basic reasons that my father would be joining with millions of other Americans today in supporting public employees in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio and other states, where collective bargaining is now under attack.

On April 4, the anniversary of the assassination of my father, I’ll be joining the with thousands of Americans of all races in the nationwide “We Are One” demonstrations supporting America’s public employees, trade unions and working people in a common quest for jobs, justice and decency for all citizens. In this endeavor, we seek the support of all Americans of good will."

http://wisaflcio.typepad.com/wisconsin-state-afl-cio-blog/2011/04/we-are-one-wi.html

It's What I've Been Saying

Last night, Rachel said what I've already been saying- that last year the CEOs of this country did very well for themselves (some of those which we, the American People, bailed out) while the rest of us...not so well.

Here are the resources she sited:

USA Today:  CEO pay soars while workers' pay stalls

McClatchy: Strong corporate profits amid weak economy- What's up with that?

Here's the interesting thing- if you read the McClatchy article, here's what it says:

"Regalia and other analysts think several factors are behind the strong profits, which seem to contradict other indicators of an underperforming economy, especially the 8.9 percent unemployment rate. These factors include record low interest rates since late 2008, muted demand for borrowing by companies and a surge in productivity that has allowed companies to do more with the same number of workers or fewer.

Profits aren't rising solely because companies are making and selling more widgets to keep up with customer demand, which would be the case in a healthy, booming economy. Instead, they're more profitable because it now costs less to make the same widget, often because there are far fewer workers needed to make it."

Listen, I can read between the lines as much as anybody.  Here's what this really means- companies got rid of their workers when the economy tanked.  The rest of the employees were expected to do twice as much work to take on the load and they did it because they didn't want to lose their jobs.  Now that things are getting better, CEOs are making more because profits are up.  But are they hiring more employees and helping our nation's unemployment?  No.  Are they spreading the wealth by raising wages of those employees they do have?  No.


I do not feel badly for these CEOs.


And with all these people in the private sector doing more work for the same or less pay, it's no wonder they are upset.  But rather than blame the true cause of this situation- corporate greed- some blame the public sector unions for the situation.


This is why all hard working Americans must ban together- not fight amongst each other.  WE bailed out these companies who CAUSED this problem.  When do we get rewarded for our hard work?  They certainly are!