{"id":22967,"date":"2019-03-31T01:20:23","date_gmt":"2019-03-31T09:20:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/?p=22967"},"modified":"2019-03-31T01:20:23","modified_gmt":"2019-03-31T09:20:23","slug":"rouge-forum-dispatch-speeding-the-end-of-empires","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.richgibson.com\/blog\/rouge-forum-dispatch-speeding-the-end-of-empires\/","title":{"rendered":"Rouge Forum Dispatch: Speeding the End of Empires"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Teachers bypass union, organize sickout on social media page (Rousing Video)<\/h1>\n

Jefferson County KY Public Schools was forced to cancel classes Tuesday as teachers staged the fourth ‘sickout’ in less than two weeks. Hundreds of teachers called in sick, despite an agreement reached between the school district and the Jefferson County Teacher’s Association to send a delegation of approximately 500 educators to Frankfort.<\/p>\n

The sickout was organized by teachers on a Facebook page called JCPS Leads. JCPS teacher Justin Newby, one of the page’s administrators, said his colleagues were unhappy with the JCTA\/JCPS plan.<\/p>\n

“Ultimately, the teachers decided they did not agree with this and they needed to be here and wanted to be here,” Newby said.<\/p>\n

JCPS Superintendent Dr. Marty Pollio said he was disappointed the district had to cancel classes yet again.<\/p>\n

“We thought we had put together a pretty good deal where a large number of teachers could still advocate in Frankfort,” Pollio said.<\/p>\n

Brent McKim, president of JCTA, said teachers organizing themselves has presented challenges for the union.<\/p>\n

“We’ve been trying to find some common ground options but that was not the case, so we respect our members’ decisions,” McKim explained.<\/p>\n

Newby said there is a disconnect between union leadership and teachers. Many teachers believe it’s essential that they are in Frankfort to advocate for students and make sure lawmakers don’t try to pass legislation last minute, as they did with the pension bill last year.\u00a0 www.wlky.com\/article\/teachers-bypass-union-organize-sickout-on-social-media-page\/26802536?fbclid=IwAR1GkHVTd_FzTYdhEuaEg5UYIevAXUPR6e3ojAEBO3P4VKt5xNTC2A4R-tM<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Image<\/p>\n

There Is No Excuse for How Universities Treat Adjuncts (well, capital and empire)<\/h1>\n
\n

Students are paying higher tuition than ever. Why can\u2019t more of that revenue go to the people teaching them?<\/p>\n

In early June, California labor regulators ruled that a driver for Uber, the app-based car service, was, in fact, an employee, not an independent contractor, and deserved back pay. The decision made national news, with experts predicting a coming flood of lawsuits. Two weeks later, FedEx agreed to a $288 million settlement after a federal appeals court ruled that the company had shortchanged 2,300 California delivery drivers on pay and benefits by improperly labeling them as independent contractors. The next month, the company lost another case in a federal appeals court over misclassifying 500 delivery drivers in Kansas. Meanwhile, since January, trucking firms operating out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have lost two major court battles with drivers who claim that they, too, have been robbed of wages by being misclassified as independent contractors.<\/p>\n

If you think you notice a pattern here, you\u2019re right. After years of inertia, courts and regulators are starting to take on companies that categorize employees as contractors in order to avoid wage and benefit costs. With inequality and the declining middle class becoming major issues in the 2016 presidential race, politicians (at least on the Democratic side) are now also vowing to do something about the plight of contingent workers. \u201cI\u2019ll crack down on bosses who exploit employees by misclassifying them as contractors or even steal their wages,\u201d Hillary Clinton said in her big economic-policy speech in July.\u00a0 www.theatlantic.com\/business\/archive\/2015\/09\/higher-education-college-adjunct-professor-salary\/404461\/?fbclid=IwAR0_JNHKvkDUe5gaRbPB6SRGMD5wm0U4e34dy140_FIHAKB4JMGMC5_hSK8&utm_campaign=the-atlantic&utm_content=5c9ac08f4b738500018cddf9_ta&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Teachers<\/p>\n

Mexico: Teachers return to legislative palace, block deputies\u2019 access<\/h1>\n

The 2013 educational reforms were up for discussion in the lower house of Congress again today, but not for long: teachers once again blocked access to the Chamber of Deputies, shutting down all congressional activity.<\/p>\n

Education and constitutional affairs commissions were to meet today and formally discuss the reforms implemented by the previous federal government, but only 20 of the 66 deputies arrived before members of the CNTE teachers\u2019 union.<\/p>\n

The meeting was called off and re-scheduled for Thursday.<\/p>\n

About 30 arrived at the congressional palace at about 7:00am. Within an hour and a half, all the entrances were blocked by teachers and their tents.<\/p>\n

The spokesman for the union\u2019s Oaxaca local, Section 22, told reporters that the protest was in response to the failure of deputies to meet one of the teachers\u2019 demands, namely having access to the document the lawmakers were going to discuss during today\u2019s meeting.<\/p>\n

Wilbert Santiago warned that \u201creinforcements\u201d were expected to arrive in buses later today, and augment the protest camp\u2019s numbers.<\/p>\n

Last week, the Chamber of Deputies was shut down for 48 hours after about 1,500 protesting teachers set up a camp on the streets outside.\u00a0 mexiconewsdaily.com\/news\/teachers-return-to-legislative-palace\/?utm_source=Mexico+News+Today&utm_campaign=51a6a33595-MNT+mar27-2019&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_f1536a3787-51a6a33595-349631657<\/a><\/p>\n

\"https:\/\/uziiw38pmyg1ai60732c4011-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com\/wp-content\/dropzone\/2019\/03\/Screen-Shot-2019-03-25-at-8.34.56-AM-768x544.png\"<\/p>\n

Epifanio Camacho: a Militant Farmworker Brushed Out of History<\/a> (beats sellout religious fanatic Chavez)<\/h1>\n

Cesar Chavez is perhaps best known for his role in the 1965-1970 Delano grape strike and boycott and his nonviolent tactics in those protests.<\/p>\n

Although Chavez insisted on nonviolence, there was dissent within the National Farmworkers Association as some workers believed more militant tactics were necessary. One of these workers was Epifanio Camacho. \u00a0With Cesar Chavez day approaching, it is important to remember the work and life of Epifanio Camacho, who recently published his memoir<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Epifanio Camacho: The Making of a Militant<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Camacho\u2019s life story is critical to understanding how and why he became militant.<\/p>\n

Epifanio Camacho was born in San Agust\u00edn, a village of about 150 inhabitants, in the province of Tamaulipas, Mexico, on the eve of the Mexican Revolution. Camacho spent his formative years in Mexico and migrated to the United States in 1955 when he was in his thirties.<\/p>\n

Camacho\u2019s first job was in Corpus Christi, Texas, where he worked as a gravedigger. His employer consistently underpaid him and Camacho eventually tired of this and left. He went to Oklahoma to pick cotton and then to Arizona to do the same. From there, he went to the Coachella Valley in California, where he picked dates. Eventually, he got a job at Montebello Rose in McFarland, California grafting rose plants.<\/p>\n

The Rose Grafting Strike in McFarland (Counterpunch online)
\n<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Why L.A.\u2019s Ride-Hail Drivers Went on Strike<\/h1>\n

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

For 25 hours Monday, hundreds of Los Angeles ride-share drivers turned off their apps in protest of low wages. Though both Uber and Lyft drivers participated in the movement, members of the L.A. organizing group Rideshare Drivers United said the strike was catalyzed by Uber\u2019s recent decision to reduce per-mile pay in Los Angeles County and parts of Orange County by 25 percent.The timing of the strike was bad news for the ride-hail companies: Both are preparing for an IPO, with Lyft\u2019s public offering expected to open at a $23 billion valuation as soon as Friday. But among ride-hail drivers across the country, frustration has been mounting for awhile\u2014and with it, organizing momentum. After New York City successfully passed a ride-hail driver minimum wage of $17.22 per hour<\/a> last year, more drivers across the country have been asking: Why not us?”The driving experience in general has been getting worse and worse over time,\u201d said Karim Bayumi, a driver and an organizer with Rideshare Drivers United with whom CityLab connected over phone through the organization\u2019s press team. When asked which ride-hail company he worked for, Bayumi scoffed. \u201cI do both, Uber and Lyft,\u201d he said. \u201cBut technically I\u2019m not \u2018working\u2019 for them, according to them.\u201d\u00a0 www.citylab.com\/transportation\/2019\/03\/uber-lyft-nyc-la-driver-wage-strike\/585715\/https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/2360822873968752\/videos\/517760198753564\/?t=74<\/a><\/section>\n

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

\"\"<\/p>\n

Greg Grandin on Teaching Empires Workshop<\/h1>\n