{"id":21324,"date":"2018-04-21T22:41:18","date_gmt":"2018-04-22T06:41:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=21324"},"modified":"2018-04-21T22:51:21","modified_gmt":"2018-04-22T06:51:21","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-the-school-workers-spring-is-on-no-more-sellouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-the-school-workers-spring-is-on-no-more-sellouts\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: The School Workers’ Spring is On! No More Sellouts!"},"content":{"rendered":"

We Say Fight Back!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Red<\/p>\n

PHOENIX \u2013 April 19, 2018 \u2013 Today, the Arizona Education Association (AEA) and Arizona Educators United (AEU) announced in front of AEA headquarters, that 78% of 57,000 Arizona educators voted to walk out of Arizona\u2019s schools \u2013 citing 10 years of drastically underfunded schools resulting in overcrowded classrooms, crumbling infrastructure, and low wages for educators. Facebook video<\/a> | YouTube video<\/a><\/div>\n
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\u201cAfter years of starving our schools, some classes are stuffed with kids, while others sit empty because there isn\u2019t a teacher to teach,\u201d says AEU organizer and Littleton elementary music teacher Noah Karvelis. \u201cThe #RedforEd movement has provided educators the opportunity to voice what action they want to take in an historic statewide vote.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cThis vote was not an easy decision for educators,\u201d says AEA Vice President and Isaac Middle School teacher Marisol Garcia. \u201cAs I turned in my ballot today, I thought about my son, my colleagues, and my students. By voting today, I am standing up for my son and all students in Arizona and the public schools they deserve.\u201d<\/div>\n
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\u201cWe\u2019re using textbooks from the 1990s because there\u2019s no money for books. That\u2019s just one of the reasons we\u2019re fighting to make Arizona\u2019s kids, schools and educators a higher priority in the governor\u2019s office,\u201d says AEA President and Mesa government teacher Joe Thomas.<\/div>\n
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As educators, the students are at the center of everything we do. Every student deserves a chance at a quality education, and access to services like nutrition, health, and after school programs.<\/div>\n
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The decision to walk out also comes on the heels of weeks of #RedforEd walk-ins and a disingenuous budget proposal from the governor that claimed a raise that excluded support professionals like counselors, bus drivers and cafeteria workers \u2013 and was not supported by actual funding.<\/div>\n
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\u201cEducation isn\u2019t just a job, it\u2019s a calling. That\u2019s why we\u2019re walking out,\u201d said Noah.<\/div>\n
\"Image<\/div>\n
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This is the FB page for Florida Educator United. 2200 people joined in 30 days.<\/strong><\/div>\n
www.facebook.com\/groups\/1486079688185253\/<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n
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Miami Educator<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

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16 hrs<\/span><\/abbr><\/a><\/span> \u00b7 <\/span><\/i><\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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***Please share widely!***<\/strong>
\n Rally for Public Education Funding, this Monday, 4\/23 @4pm in Miami Beach outside the North Beach Bandshell (7275 Collins Avenue).<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"No<\/p>\n

The Florida State Legislature is considering going back to a Special Session. The Florida Education Association is calling for an increase in education funding to be put on the agenda at this Special Session. But nothing will be discussed on education funding unless we demand it. They will decide by early next week; so we need to move quickly. See the Tampa Bay Times article discussing this: m.facebook.com\/story.php?story_fbid=2136134556404495&id=581909748493658<\/a> <\/span><\/p>\n

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In response and as part of the Statewide Day of Action, educators across Miami Dade County are organizing a rally outside the North Beach Band Shell at 4pm on this Monday, April 23rd. All supporters of public education are welcome. We are also asking everyone to wear red on Monday, as well as to contact your state representatives and Governor Rick Scott today and on Monday asking them to reconvene in a Special Session and to increase public education funding overall (not only the earmarked funds for school safety) to exceed the cost of inflation, which was 2.3% last year. You can get their contact information here: www.myfloridahouse.gov\/\u2026\/Repre\u2026\/myrepresentative.aspx<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Indiana teachers could strike despite laws, labor experts say<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n

As teacher strikes have spread across the country, several factors would determine if Indiana would follow, experts and union leaders say.<\/p>\n

Although state labor laws are written to deter strikes, the state is facing pressing issues in education including teacher shortages, dropping pay and a shift toward using property tax referendums to shore up local budgets. Teacher unions are watching strikes in other states, but have no definite plans and will watch how lawmakers address funding during the 2019 legislative session, they said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Although teachers cannot strike under Indiana labor laws, there would be little the state could do to stop a large-scale one, such as in Oklahoma<\/a>, West Virginia and Kentucky<\/a>, said Kenneth Dau-Schmidt, a labor law expert at Indiana University<\/a>\u2019s Maurer School of Law at Indiana University in Bloomington.<\/p>\n

Practically speaking, lawmakers and schools understood it would be too hard to fire and replace so many educators on short notice, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those states where they have had strikes, it\u2019s also illegal,\u201d he said. \u201cIf conditions get bad enough in a workplace, they will do it, even though they might lose their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n

At issue is a combination of stagnant wages, rising insurance costs and shrinking resources, he said. www.chicagotribune.com\/suburbs\/post-tribune\/news\/ct-ptb-education-teacher-strikes-pay-st-20180413-story.html<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Michigan E.A. Strike Action Guidelines from the Day NEA Used to Actually Strike (by me)<\/h1>\n

The strike is any worker’s most potent weapon. Short of guerilla warfare or revolution, the general strike is the highest form of open resistance. School workers strikes are especially effective because they immediately ruin the baby-sitting role schools play. Hence, a strike denies surrounding companies the full attention of their work force. Over time, strikes begin to expose the nature of school itself, an institution designed forthe most part not to serve the mass of people but only a tiny minority of the citizens. Even so, school can be a weapon for equality and democracy.
\nIn the best of world’s, thorough strike preparations are frequently enough to be the justification for bargaining victories. Ours, more and more, is a defective universe. Preparations may well be not enough. Our preparations should be real, not sham. The employer should never be given reason to believe that they face a bluff. Get the community involved.\u00a0 A strike is a battle of will.\u00a0 richgibson.com\/JOBACTIO.html<\/a><\/p>\n

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Big Protests in South Africa Force Ramaphosa to End London Visit<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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South Africa\u2019s new president, Cyril Ramaphosa<\/a>, who had traveled to London this week to assure global investors of his determination to tackle corruption in his country and restore faith in its public institutions, cut short his trip on Thursday to deal with unrest at home \u2014 a vivid indication of the challenges he faces.<\/p>\n

The protests in the North West Province, in which demonstrators seeking better jobs and housing, and improved roads and hospitals, clashed with the police, were the biggest in the two months since Mr. Ramaphosa took office<\/a>.<\/p>\n

His predecessor, Jacob Zuma, was tarnished by scandal and deeply unpopular during much of his nearly nine-year tenure, and he was eventually forced out in a struggle within the leadership of the African National Congress, the party that has governed South Africa since the end of apartheid in 1994.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a> announcing his return from London to Pretoria, one of South Africa\u2019s capitals, Mr. Ramaphosa\u2019s office said he had \u201ccalled for calm and adherence to the rule of law\u201d in the province, and urged demonstrators \u201cto express their grievances through peaceful means and engagement rather than violence and anarchy.\u201d\u00a0 www.nytimes.com\/2018\/04\/19\/world\/africa\/south-africa-ramaphosa-protests.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Below, see how S. Africa’s new president treats workers where he is invested…<\/p>\n

www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ssPrxvgePsc<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Freezing Mid-Michigan students taking part in national walkout on Columbine<\/h1>\n

anniversary<\/h1>\n

\"Over<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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Mid-Michigan students are set to walk out of classrooms Friday morning to commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting and have their voices heard about putting an end to gun violence.<\/p>\n

Hundreds of events are expected to take place at school districts across the country – including schools in Genesee and Bay counties — after the idea was launched following the Feb. 14 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead, including 14 students.<\/p>\n

Students in Grand Blanc, Flushing, Lake Fenton and Davison high schools in Genesee County have set up Twitter pages to plan activities and spread the word to others.<\/p>\n

Karissa Bombe, a 17-year-old Davison High senior, began a conversation with friend Lauren Delinger after the Florida incident.<\/p>\n

“We were both very upset by the Parkland shooting and we were wondering how we could make a real change and shed light on this issue,” she said. “We’re both very passionate about common sense gun control and anti-gun violence.”\u00a0 www.mlive.com\/news\/flint\/index.ssf\/2018\/04\/mid-michigan_students_taking_p.html<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The Little Red Schoolhouse<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\"Byler\"<\/p>\n

Hand Middle School teacher likely to be fired for making pancakes during PSSAs<\/h1>\n

A teacher at Hand Middle School said he is being fired for serving whole-grain pancakes to his students while they took the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment last week.<\/p>\n

Kyle Byler, who has taught eighth-grade social studies at Hand since 2013, said he was suspended without pay on April 10 after assistant Principal Marian Grill walked into Byler\u2019s class and questioned why he was making breakfast for his students.<\/p>\n

Byler had brought an electric griddle and made one whole-grain pancake for each test-taker to eat during the test, he said.<\/p>\n

Within 24 hours, Byler, who parents have labeled as the \u201ceighth-grade dad\u201d at Hand, was called into a meeting with administrators and told he\u2019d be terminated for causing a distraction during PSSA testing, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t understand what I did wrong, to be honest with you. There was no infraction whatsoever,\u201d Byler, 38, said in a phone interview on Monday. \u201cAt no point was it any distraction for any of the students. They worked their butts off.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the Pennsylvania Department of Education, there is no rule against serving or preparing food during the PSSAs; however, \u201cthose activities would likely interfere with \u2018actively monitoring\u2019 the assessment, which is a key task,\u201d spokeswoman Nicole Reigelman said.<\/p>\n

School District of Lancaster officials had no comment Monday, saying in an email that it\u2019s a personnel matter.<\/p>\n

Alizea Rodriguez, 14, said the only distraction was when Grill entered the classroom.<\/p>\n

‘Mr. Byler is an excellent teacher. To lose him would be a terrible injustice to his students, his co-workers and the community.’<\/em><\/p>\n

lancasteronline.com\/news\/local\/hand-middle-school-teacher-likely-to-be-fired-for-making\/article_f0e9a46e-41b9-11e8-a943-47e429d3a4fa.html?utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&utm_campaign=user-share<\/a><\/p>\n

Las Vegas (Clark County) EA will vote to leave NEA, or not, on April 25<\/strong><\/p>\n

ccea-nv.org\/dev\/wordpress\/<\/a><\/p>\n