by Mike Hall, May 9, 2011
More than 200 students, teachers and other activist—many from Wisconsin and Pennsylvania—rallied today in Washington, D.C., against Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) and Gov. Tom Corbett’s moves to privatize their states’ schools.
The two—along with former Washington, D.C., school chancellor Michelle Rhee—were the key speakers at an annual conference by a right-wing “education reform” foundation that advocates privatizing public education and draws of some of the biggest funders of right-wing political projects nationally.
The American Federation for Children (ACF) promotes school privatization and voucher schemes that take away critically needed funds for public education.
Both Walker and Corbett are pushing privatization efforts and Rhee has long been connected to corporate education interests who would profit from school privatization. According to The Nation’s John Nichols:
In addition to his much-publicized proposal to strips teachers of collective bargaining rights and to make it dramatically harder for their unions to advocate for small class sizes and other priorities, Walker’s budget plan seeks to cut funding for local schools and reduce the authority of local school boards to make decisions that defend and strengthen public education in their communities. It also outlines a number of initiatives designed to clear the way for and encourage private-school choice schemes
Corbett has also proposed a budget that drastically slashes public school funding and wants to spend state funds on private schools. Tim Brown, a Pennsylvania parent who bused down from Pennsylvania, told Philly.Com that Corbett’s and other voucher plans are “cynical maneuvering by right-wing billionaires,” who want to privatize all education in America.
ACF was founded Michigan billionaires Dick and Betsy DeVos. Dick DeVos is a former Republican nominee for governor of Michigan and Betsy DeVos is a former chair of the Michigan Republican Party. Writes Nichols
But the couple’s real political work has involved the direction of tens of millions of dollars into the ideological and electoral infrastructure that supports school privatization.
At the rally, protesters carried hand-lettered signs that included “Public Schools Make America Strong,” “Move America Forward,” “Save Public Education” and “Public Education, Not Privatization.” But several members of the tea party-aligned organization “Freedom Works”—founded by former House majority leader Dick Armey—posed as demonstrators and one posed as a reporter before being outed. Armed with small video cameras they then tried to goad ralliers into confrontations.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Currency Manipulation Should Top U.S.-China Talks
by James Parks, May 9, 2011
China’s currency manipulation should be the main focus of talks this week between high level U.S. and Chinese government officials, says Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing (AAM).
The meetings in Washington, D.C. May 9 –10 provide an important opportunity for the American delegation—led by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner—to back up the Obama administration’s tough talk on the Chinese government’s undervalued currency with strong action, he says.
If the administration will not get tough and demand that China play by the rules, Congress will have no option but to once again pass tough legislation to counter the artificial advantage China enjoys on trade.
More than 5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost since China joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, Paul says. Even at the current rate of manufacturing job creation, it would take 24 years to restore all of the lost manufacturing jobs our economy has shed, he adds.
Paul says:
We hear tough talk, but we need equally tough action to level the playing field for American companies and their workers if this economy is to grow and prosper in the coming months and years.
Meanwhile, the unfair trade practices that force production to move overseas are weakening our national defense industrial capabilities, Paul says. We now have to rely on critical components for weapons systems from uncertain trading partners, such as China, who has been restricting exports of rare-earth minerals and elements used in many defense applications. Paul says the U.S. public correctly believes our nation’s economic strength and national security depends on a strong manufacturing sector.
Asian Pacific American Community Active in State Battle Fights
Jenny Ho, a labor economist with AFSCME and secretary-treasurer for the D.C. Chapter of the Asian Pacific American Labor Alliance (APALA), sends us this report from her experience in Ohio mobilizing residents
The forces against workers’ rights are powerful. Super-rich global conglomerates and a web of very well-funded conservative think tanks are currently fueling GOP-led attacks against working families across the nation, shamelessly lobbying for union-busting and corporate tax cuts in a campaign that even Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin has admitted has little to do with budget deficits. Yet America’s workers have shown time and again that workers, united, have prevailed in the most daunting battles. More than ever, the union movement must build solidarity. We must pull together all the stakeholders of the American Dream.
In Ohio, I joined workers and allies in the campaign against Senate Bill (S.B.) 5—which, if left to stand, would strip collective bargaining rights from thousands of public servants. We reached out to small local businesses who understood that slashing wages and benefits creates a downward spiral detrimental to the local economy. Currently, more than 400 small businesses, which serve a diverse number of neighborhoods and communities across Ohio, are on board, including family-owned restaurants, auto repair shops, independent bookstores and many more.
Taking part in such critical coalition-building activities reinforced my conviction in the power of community partnerships. As an APALA member and chapter leader, I recognize the crucial role that labor constituency groups must play in the current battle to save the middle class. Anti-union legislation such as S.B. 5 will have serious repercussions for the Asian Pacific American (APA) community. There are some 800,000 APA workers represented by public-sector unions and recent research revealed that APA workers and their families depend on the wage and benefit protections that unionization brings. The majority of APA workers are immigrant workers who look to unions as the first line of defense against unfair employment practices. Plus, the APA community faces the deterioration of vital public services. As a result of an initiative spearheaded by APALA, the National Council of Asian Pacific Americans (NCAPA), a coalition of 29 organizations representing a wide range of Asian Pacific American communities, pledged support for public employees in a historic and unified gesture of solidarity in March.
With 13 chapters in eight states, APALA has been a driving progressive force within the APA community since it was founded in 1992. APALA has highlighted the stories of APA workers and APA labor leaders, educated the APA members on their rights in the workplace and solidified the support of community allies. As the fight for workers’ rights intensifies across the country, APALA members are fired up! We have taken part in solidarity events in New York; New Jersey; Washington, D.C.; Detroit; Alameda, Calif., Los Angeles; San Francisco; and Sacramento, Calif. APALA members have traveled to Wisconsin to stand with workers. APALA chapters continue to hold local workers’ rights hearings, bringing together community partners to uplift the voice of workers.
The current political landscape has heightened the urgency for growth and capacity building. Facing escalating attacks against workers’ rights, APALA must expand activities to bridge community groups and labor. We must ensure that the rapidly growing immigrant workforce recognizes its shared interests with the union movement and is actively engaged with us. Growing APALA membership and building new chapters in all 50 states, which APA workers call home, is the only way we can effectively equip APA workers and their families with the knowledge and training to protect their basic human right to organize under the most challenging conditions. Together we can build a stronger movement for every community, every family and every worker.
IAM: America Needs Manufacturing Policy Now
by James Parks, May 9, 2011
Unlike our competitors, the United States does not have a national manufacturing strategy. The “Make It in America” agenda, proposed by House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), is a step toward pursuing policies that will support and create manufacturing jobs, says Machinists (IAM) President Tom Buffenbarger. He urged support for the agenda and praised parts of it as critical to restoring the nation’s economic and national security.
Each month that passes without a comprehensive national plan to rebuild our manufacturing infrastructure is another month this nation suffers needlessly. The time for debate and lip service to the notion of large-scale job creation has past. We need big ideas, big enough to put hundreds of thousands of Americans back to work every month. Our economy will remain stuck in neutral until we do.
Every American should be concerned about the outsourcing of key defense capabilities and loss of this nation’s ability to manufacture the means of our own defense.
The IAM released “Creating And Sustaining U.S. Manufacturing Jobs,” which calls for specific policy changes to bolster manufacturing, including requiring domestic employment impact statements for government program contracts and enforcing trade laws among others.
Read the full report here.
Washington Hospital Center Nurses Ratify Contract
by James Parks, May 9, 2011
After nearly a year without a contract and a temporary lockout two months ago, the 1,650 registered nurses at Washington Hospital Center ratified a contract in voting over the weekend.
The agreement includes a new staffing plan that will increase the number of nurses at the bedside and a new Professional Practice Committee to address and solve issues dealing with patient care and staffing issues. The agreement also requires hospital managers to meet with the nurse committee on a regular basis and respond to proposals to improve patient care.
Most nurses’ wages will increase by 8.5 percent to 9 percent over three and a half years under the new pact. The deal also restores the differential pay for nurses who work evenings, nights and weekends to pre-March 2011 levels for 30 months of the 42-month agreement.
Emma Bioc, a union bargaining committee member, said:
This was a long and difficult struggle. I am proud that the nurses stood in solidarity with each other and for our patients. This contract respects our professional practice, our expertise and dedication.
The agreement also includes a return to work for eight nurses fired during the back-to-back snow storms in February 2010.
Linda Buckman, a 31-year nurse who was fired after the storm, said:
It is only because we have a strong union that my co-workers and I are able to return to work with dignity and care for our patients.
The nurses at the largest hospital in the nation’s capital—owned by the MedStar Health chain—have been without a contract since June. In October, they voted by a 15-1 margin to join the National Nurses United (NNU). In March hospital management temporarily locked out the nurses.
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